Airlines Air Berlin begins negotiations with Lufthansa and Easyjet and ends long-haul operations

  • Air Berlin

Air Berlin' Supervisory Board has given information about the current status of the bidding negotiations for the sale of the company. The airline will focus on negotiations with Lufthansa and Easyjet. The aim of the talks that will continue until 12 October 2017 is to take over parts of Air Berlin. 

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In a statement Air Berlin says it has received offers from Lufthansa for the subsidiaries Luftverkehrsgesellschaft Walter (LGW), the Austrian holiday airline Niki and parts of Air Berlin. A successful conclusion of the negotiations could open up job prospects for several thousand employees. Lufthansa has already wet-leased thirty-six Airbus A320-Family aircraft from Air Berlin. A solution regarding the leasing contracts of 14 TUIfly aircraft that are currently operating flights for Austrian Niki has not yet been announced.

The British low-cost carrier Easyjet has submitted an offer to take over some of the Air Berlin fleet. This could also create new job opportunities for Air Berlin employees. The parties have agreed to keep the purchase price confidential. "We are on the way to achieving good job prospects for around 80 % of our colleagues with our bidders. Furthermore, there is currently great demand for qualified employees on the labour market." said Thomas Winkelmann, CEO of Air Berlin.

Air Berlin's long-haul fleet will not be part of the further negotiations. The carrier has announced the end of all long-haul flight operations by 15 October 2017 as all leased Airbus A330 aircraft will be returned to the leasing companies. Air Berlin operated a fleet of 17 Airbus A330-200 of which ten were returned to their leasing company in the last week. In addition to this, the carrier will discontinue services between several German airports.

Source © AirBerlin.com

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