Eyeing Air Berlin, Lufthansa board backs extra investment for Eurowings

Lufthansa’s supervisory board approved plans to invest E1b in up to 61 additional planes to expand its Eurowings budget business after German rival Air Berlin was declared insolvent. Air Berlin’s creditors have selected Lufthansa and British budget carrier easyJet to negotiate over a carve-up of its assets. The Lufthansa investment is set to be used for the purchase and lease of 41 A320 single aisle jets and 20 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 planes, Lufthansa said. Those planes will likely come from Air Berlin, with Lufthansa saying the purchase or lease of the planes is “partly dependent” on a successful conclusion of talks to take over assets from Air Berlin. Lufthansa has made an offer for Air Berlin’s holiday airline Niki, which flies 21 A320 family jets, regional unit Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter, which flies 20 Dash 8 turboprops, plus some additional A320 planes, Air Berlin’s administrator said on Monday. <br/>