Lufthansa hopes to add a substantial number aircraft after the restructuring of Air Berlin, regardless of what happens to the rest of the troubled carrier’s assets. This was announced to journalists by Lufthansa CEO Karsten Spohr in Frankfurt, on September 20.
The German giant‘s priority are the 38 aircraft for medium-haul flights, which it now rents from Air Berlin along with the crews. In addition, according to Spohr, Lufthansa is interested in another 20-40 Air Berlin aircraft that would go to Lufthansa’s LCC division Eurowings.
At the same time Lufthansa has no interest in the long-haul aircraft operated by Air Berlin, Spohr added.
Lufthansa is seemingly leading the race for the insolvent Air Berlin, an airline that will be remembered as Germany’s second largest carrier. The creditors exclusively negotiate with the German market leader about the sale of the Air Berlin subsidiary Niki and other parts of the second largest German airline, German news agency DPA reports. Smaller parts could still go to the British company Easyjet, probably also the Thomas Cook subsidiary Condor.
In August, Air Berlin was forced to declare bankruptcy, as one of its shareholders Etihad Airways refused further financing of Air Berlin after several years of uninterrupted losses.
In addition to the eponymous brand, Lufthansa Group owns Austrian Airlines, Swiss Airlines, Eurowings and Brussels Airlines, as well as a share in the Turkish SunExpress. In 2016, they transported a record number of passengers – 109.67 million people. In addition, the group includes logistics, technical and service companies.
Source – AeroTime
