Brussels Airlines CEO hopes Lufthansa proceeds with takeover

The CE of Brussels Airlines told the IATA annual meeting that he is hopeful Lufthansa will acquire the part of the Belgian carrier that it does not own. "I hope for it," CEO Bernard Gustin said when asked at the meeting in Dublin. Lufthansa owns 45% of Brussels Airlines owner SN Airholding and has a call option for the remaining 55%. The German airline is taking more time to decide whether to exercise its option after the attacks on the Belgian capital in March and now expects to announce a decision in September. Lufthansa was also looking at SAS for possible consolidation but CEO Carsten Spohr said Lufthansa had decided not to invest and would instead look at deepening cooperation with the Scandinavian carrier. Discussions with Brussels Airlines include how to make the carrier part of Lufthansa's Eurowings low-cost platform, which Lufthansa hopes to use as a vehicle for consolidation. Gustin said he did not want to see the identity of Brussels Airlines disappear, especially as it was a strong brand in Africa, where the German carrier does not offer many routes. Spohr said he was convinced Lufthansa would need to keep some Belgian touches. "The customer in Brussels wants a Belgian element, the customer outside a European element," he said.<br/>