Niki Lauda and Condor join forces to bid on part of Air Berlin

Former F1 champion Niki Lauda, founder and former owner of Niki, the low-cost airline, has joined forces with Condor, Thomas Cook’s German airline, to bid approximately €100 million (US$120.00) for 38 Air Berlin leased aircraft. Bids for the insolvent low-cost carrier have to be submitted by this Friday, after which a decision will be made at a later than originally planned date of September 25, the day after Germany’s national election.
Interest has been expressed by a number of parties, the majority being interested in the 140 leased airplanes, take-off and landing slots, as opposed to the whole airline and its staff, who number approximately 8,000.
Lauda holds a 51% stake in the consortium with Condor and has placed a bid for 21 lease Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft operated by Niki, which is owned by Air Berlin, together with 17 Air Berlin jets. While it is known that Thomas Cook are keen to take an active interest in the disposal of Air Berlin’s assets, the company has not yet commented on this most recent turn of events.
However, as of yet, no bid has been made by the consortium, though rumor has it that Condor are certainly interested in Air Berlin’s long-haul planes. Currently Niki’s running costs are well below those of Air Berlin and, early this year, took over its popular routes from Germany to Spain.
Currently Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airline, would seem to be the major competitor, with sources indicating that it has its eyes on 90 aircraft, including the whole Niki fleet of 38 crewed planes which it currently leases from Air Berlin. It is believed that easyJet is also keen to acquire up to 40 aircraft, and the low-cost carrier has also expressed an interest in Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter (LGW), Air Berlin’s regional unit which currently operates 20 smaller Bombardier aircraft. It is understood that its operating certificate is being altered so that it can fly the A320s used by easyJet.