Etihad Not Looking At Lufthansa Stake

Etihad Airways’ chief executive says the airline has no plans to acquire a stake in Lufthansa.

CEO James Hogan said on the sidelines of an industry conference in Dublin that Etihad does not intend to take a stake in the German flag carrier.

Hogan was speaking in response to a report in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero that Etihad and Lufthansa had discussed a stake of between 30 and 40 percent.

Etihad currently has stakes in several airlines including Alitalia and Air Berlin. Hogan told the conference that the two carriers are “operating in very tough competitive environments, and need to address long-standing issues facing their businesses.”

As part of a restructuring, Air Berlin announced in December the wet lease of 38 Airbus aircraft to Lufthansa Group airlines from February.