Air Berlin To Negotiate With Lufthansa, easyJet

Air Berlin’s creditors have selected Lufthansa and easyJet to negotiate with on the possible sale of all or parts of the insolvent airline.

In a statement, Air Berlin said negotiations with the two airlines will continue until October 12th, with a view to “the disposal of the air transport activities” of the airline. It said partial disposals will also be considered.

Negotiations on other parts of the failed business will also continue with other bidders, the statement said.

Air Berlin applied last month to the local District Court in Berlin-Charlottenburg for provisional insolvency proceedings after major shareholder Etihad declined to continue financial support. The airline has made annual losses in all but one year since 2008, with financial year 2016’s loss hitting €781.9 million (USD$933.8 million).

In addition to Lufthansa and easyJet, Thomas Cook unit Condor, and British Airways and Iberia parent IAG were also reported to have considered bidding for parts of the airline.