Lufthansa to land Air Berlin assets: sources

Lufthansa is set to pick up a large part of insolvent rival Air Berlin, and easyJet is also still in the running for some assets, two sources familiar with the matter said. Air Berlin’s creditors met on Thursday to discuss offers for Germany’s second largest airline and agreed the carve-up, the sources said. Air Berlin, which has about 8,000 employees and operates 144 mostly leased planes, filed for insolvency in August after major shareholder Etihad pulled the plug on funding. Lufthansa’s CEO said earlier that the carrier wanted to secure the 38 crewed planes it leases from Air Berlin, and was interested in a further 20-40 short-haul planes. Creditors will hold exclusive negotiations with Lufthansa until Oct. 12, the sources said, which means Air Berlin’s board may not make a final decision on Sept. 25 as had been expected. Other assets will go to easyJet and possibly Thomas Cook’s German leisure airline Condor, the sources said.<br/>