Lufthansa to get first pickings of insolvent Air Berlin’s assets

It has been announced by a senior union official that despite interest being shown by other carriers, only Lufthansa will hold a first round of talks with its rival airline, Air Berlin, which has filed for insolvency protection. Lufthansa’s deputy chair Christine Behle, who represents labour union Verdi on the company’s supervisory board, has said that: “Only Lufthansa will initially be part of the talks … As far as I know, the other bidders will be invited for talks afterward and then an overall package will be put together.” Negotiations are due to begin today (Friday) and are expected to last through the weekend.
Air Berlin has been granted a €150 million (US$175 million) bridging loan to keep the German carrier operable for the next three months, so it is imperative that any purchaser to obtain any appropriate anti-trust deals while the beleaguered Air Berlin is still functional.
Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt has called for Lufthansa to buy a major part of the assets, declaring that Germany is in need of a “national champion” in international aviation, telling daily newspaper Rheinische Post: “That is why it is urgently necessary that Lufthansa can take over significant parts of Air Berlin.”
Comments from Dobrindt come hot on the heels of complaints already registered by Ryanair’s chief executive who has described the handling of the insolvency process “a conspiracy”, filing a complaint with both German and European Union competition authorities.
It is understood that Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr has presented to the flagship carrier’s supervisory board is that it could take on as many as 90 of Air Berlin’s roughly 140 leased planes, including the 38 aircraft that Lufthansa currently leases from Air Berlin and its leisure airline Niki, which is not part of the insolvency proceedings.