Lufthansa's Eurowings eyes some Air Berlin operations - paper

Eurowings is considering acquiring some of loss-making rival Air Berlin's routes, German daily Handelsblatt reported, citing sources. The paper, in an advance copy of a story to be published Wednesday, said Lufthansa was in talks with Air Berlin's largest shareholder Etihad over routes serviced by 40 aircraft outside of Air Berlin's main Dusseldorf and Berlin bases. Lufthansa and Etihad declined to comment. However, 2 Lufthansa sources said it was unlikely that Lufthansa would be interested in Air Berlin, which is struggling to return to profit despite restructuring efforts. In addition, any combination of Germany's 2 largest airlines would likely raise antitrust concerns, they said. In Hamburg, for example, Lufthansa and Air Berlin would have a joint market share of almost 70%. <br/>