Future of Air Berlin's Niki uncertain as Lufthansa begins talks

Austrian holiday airline Niki's 850 employees braced for a bumpy ride as insolvent parent Air Berlin began talks Friday to sell its assets before it runs out of cash. Lufthansa was scheduled to hold discussions about buying parts of Air Berlin ahead of other potential bidders, a senior labour union official said Thursday. Media said Lufthansa was interested in taking over major parts of Air Berlin as well as Niki. However, Niki labour bosses said on Friday that the brand's future was unclear and it was not known whether the Austrian carrier would be sold separately from Air Berlin's assets or as part of a package. Niki, founded by former Formula 1 race car driver Niki Lauda, is not part of the insolvency proceedings but depends on cash from Air Berlin to cover its costs. Union representative Peter Stattmann told journalists all bills had been paid so far but that the next "litmus test" would be August wages in the two-digit millions of euros, due at the end of the month. "We were promised (these wages). We will see if it will happen that way," he said after a staff meeting at Vienna Airport.<br/>