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Germany: Lufthansa to buy large parts of Air Berlin

The bankrupt airline carried some 80,000 people a day

12 October, 15:19
(ANSA) - TRIESTE - Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said Thursday that the airline will sign an agreement to buy large parts of the bankrupt carrier Air Berlin, Ap reported. Spohr said that both airlines will sign the agreement later in the day in Berlin.

Air Berlin declared bankruptcy in August following years of losses and the decision of its biggest shareholder, Gulf airline Etihad, to cease financing. It had been in talks for weeks with Lufthansa and EasyJet about selling parts of its business. Air Berlin had been Germany's second-biggest carrier after Lufthansa. The airline carried some 80,000 people a day mostly on short-haul destinations.

It made a loss of about 782 million euros last year. After Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy, the German government gave the airline a 150 million euro government loan to stay afloat while it was negotiating possible deals with Lufthansa and others.

(ANSA).

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