With bankruptcy now in full swing....the question over the future of Air Berlin arises.
ARD covered this with a full business report.
What is suggested now is that Lufthansa wants the bulk of the airline (note, they didn't say the whole airline). This centers around an idea that Lufthansa would carve off a chunk of about 75-percent of the fleet, and likely keep the name. This hints, in my mind, that they want a short-range or Europe-only brand-name, and Air Berlin would fit that model....in essence, competition against RyanAir.
The remaining piece of Air Berlin (roughly 54 planes)? There are two minor players in the mix? Easyjet and Thomas Cook. Both are holiday movers....meaning they fly mostly from the UK and Germany....to holiday destinations (Spain, Canary Islands, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, etc). My guess is that each would like some fifty-percent deal of the remaining planes. Their interest isn't with the brand-name involved, or at least they don't act that way.
Someone sweeping and buying the whole brand of Air Berlin? No.....that probably won't happen.
The key motivator here? Air Berlin was set to be a major player in Berlin's new airport....BER. I suspect that key part of the deal will be one big reason that the three purchasers are looking over the entire deal.
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