Lufthansa to buy over half of Air Berlin’s jets
Print Edition
YEARS of struggle for Germany’s second-ranked airline Air Berlin appeared on their final stretch yesterday, as Lufthansa announced plans to buy more than half the bankrupt carrier’s planes.
The deal has sparked controversy in the European aviation sector, with the German government facing accusations it helped steer the process under a plan to build the Frankfurt-based carrier into an all-conquering juggernaut.
Lufthansa will take over Air Berlin’s Austrian subsidiary Niki, German subsidiary LGW and 20 further aircraft, guaranteeing all jobs at the two smaller firms, Air Berlin said in a statement.
The deal includes 81 of Air Berlin’s 144 aircraft and 3,000 of its 8,500 staff, Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said in Berlin, hailing it as a “great day” for his company.
Meanwhile, negotiations with Easyjet — the other bidder chosen for exclusive takeover talks — “are continuing”, Air Berlin said, offering no information about what the British firm hopes to buy or whether any Air Berlin staff will keep their jobs.
Spohr has suggested Easyjet is interested in up to 30 aircraft.
Lufthansa has yet to say how much it will pay under the deal, but Spohr told newspaper Rheinische Post yesterday that the group would invest 1.5 billion euros (US$1.8 billion) in its low-cost subsidiary Eurowings following the takeover.
He added that 80 planes was the largest addition to Lufthansa’s fleet that competition authorities would accept.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
