Air Berlin is in talks with Thomas Cook airline Condor, as well as easyJet over the sale of some of its remaining assets, as time runs out for a deal to be done, a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Air Berlin had been in exclusive talks with Lufthansa and easyjet, but while a deal was agreed with Lufthansa for large parts of its business, talks with easyJet continued over the weekend. “Air Berlin is in talks with two bidders - easyjet and Condor. The race is wide open,” the source said. EasyJet has said it is interested in operations covering about 25 planes, predominantly at Berlin’s Tegel airport. EasyJet currently flies only from Berlin Schoenefeld and analysts say a deal could allow it to build its share in Berlin and possibly offer domestic routes within Germany. Condor had expressed interest in Air Berlin when the carrier filed for insolvency back in August, however the creditors chose to negotiate with Lufthansa and easyJet. Time is ticking for a deal to be done, however. The last Air Berlin flight is due to take place on Friday.<br/>
oneworld
A recruitment agency that sought to lure 200 Cathay Pacific Airways pilots into new jobs with mainland Chinese airlines cancelled a hiring event scheduled for Tuesday, after the government warned its approaches could be illegal. Longreach Aviation, an Australia- and Hong Kong-based company hiring for state-owned and private Chinese airlines, pulled the plug following “legal advice”. The recruiter had intended to capitalise on a plan by loss-making Cathay Pacific to cut salaries and benefits, and hire its pilots to help meet huge demand for foreign pilots on the mainland. To do so, it planned a series of “roadshow” meetings with prospective recruits this week.<br/>But on Monday evening it cancelled the events. “We regret to advise you that, due to circumstances beyond our control, the roadshows on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday have had to be cancelled,” the recruiter wrote in an email to pilots. “We have received legal advice today and unfortunately we are unable to proceed with the events as planned.” The first of the meetings, planned for Tuesday, was considered a breach of Labour Department laws, according to a person familiar with the matter, prompting the sudden cancellation on Monday evening. Another source said the department had threatened the company with a fine if it went ahead with the event.<br/>
There could be an influx of American tourists thanks to a new Qantas campaign offering US travellers a "free passport" to travel to Australia. The airline is offering American travellers a $US135 ($173) discount (or the cost of a US passport) off the price of their next ticket to Australia flying with the airline. It's estimated that only 40% of Americans hold a valid passport. The campaign is aimed at bringing more US travellers to Australia and position Australia as the next international holiday destination for Americans. Australia welcomed more than 8m international visitors in the year ending June 2017; 753,000 of whom were from the US. "Australia is in the top five destinations Americans would consider travelling to in the next four years, yet more than half the population do not hold a valid passport," Qantas chief customer officer Olivia Wirth said. "As Australia's national carrier, we are proud and excited to share all that Australia has to offer – and with this campaign we are keen to help boost tourism to our cities, towns and regional areas at the same time."<br/>