56 min fa
Airberlin—which
filed for bankruptcy last week—should be sold by September at the latest, CEO Thomas Winkelmann has told the German daily
Bild am Sonntag.
The daily quoted Winkelmann as saying, “Airberlin will not be sold to only one buyer; it will have two or three buyers. Negotiations have been held with more than 10 prospective customers, including several airlines.”
Airberlin’s business units—long-haul, business and leisure flights—are too extensive [to sell airberlin to one airline], Winkelmann reportedly told the German daily.
Discussions with
Lufthansa on the takeover of a large number of airberlin assets began Aug. 18 and will continue this week. Other carriers showing an interest in airberlin are the UK’s Thomas Cook German subsidiary Condor, UK-based LCC
easyJet and German-based leisure carrier
TUIfly.
Germany’s second largest carrier filed for insolvency Aug. 15 after Etihad Airways—which has a 29.2% stake in airberlin—withdrew financial support.
Because of insolvency regulations, airberlin said will no longer be able to redeem vouchers or receive passenger claims for damages, delays or flight cancellations.
On Aug. 18, the Austrian government said it will issue a loan to Austria-based airberlin affiliate FlyNiki if necessary, to ensure flight operations in case of a possible insolvency. The
German government issued a loan of €150 million ($177 million) to airberlin to ensure flight operations for about three months.
Airberlin announced Friday it will delay its second-quarter results presentation.