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Lufthansa is willing to sacrifice the right to fly some routes to save its deal to acquire assets of Air Berlin, the low-cost airline that collapsed recently, a source familiar with the company’s thinking said Thursday. The carrier will submit its proposed concessions to the EC before a midnight deadline, including giving up so-called ‘slots’ belonging to Air Berlin businesses Niki and LG Walter, the source said. Lufthansa last month signed a E210m deal to take over Niki and LG Walter, plus some short-haul planes, to cement its position in Germany and expand its Eurowings budget brand. But the deal has drawn fire from competitors and consumer advocates who fear Lufthansa would dominate German domestic routes and Austria where Niki, founded by retired Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda, is based. Lufthansa already owns flag carrier Austrian Airlines. The German government, which offered a bridging loan to keep Air Berlin flying until a deal could be done to sell its viable operations, held crisis talks with Lufthansa representatives on Thursday afternoon to discuss concessions to offer to Brussels. A spokesman for the Economy Ministry declined to confirm or deny whether the meeting took place, as reported earlier by the Bild am Sonntag tabloid. Lufthansa and the EC declined to comment. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr met EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on Wednesday in Brussels, where sources said the EC is leaning towards blocking Lufthansa’s takeover of Niki. Bild am Sonntag, citing its own sources, said the German government was alarmed that the deal may be blocked and had urged Lufthansa to make further concessions.<br/>

Asiana Airlines is increasingly dogged by rising borrowing costs just as stiff competition from low-cost rivals looms over a potential rebound in its China business. The Bank of Korea’s first interest-rate increase since 2011 on Thursday may add to the Seoul-based carrier’s woes by pushing up funding costs, according to Shinhan Investment Corp. The premium that investors demand to hold Asiana’s bonds jumped last week after its credit rating was cut to BBB-, one level above junk grade, by Korea Investors Service. China restricted group tours to South Korea after the latter deployed the US anti-missile system Thaad, but the two nations agreed to put aside the dispute in October. While that may help boost its Chinese business, concern remains about the health of its balance sheet: Asiana’s short-term debt made up 47.5% of its total at the end of September from 23.2% in 2013, providing less leeway for the firm to make repayments, according to KIS. “The BOK rate hike could make it more difficult for lower-rated companies to raise funds considering that absolute yields are rising,” said Kim Sang-hun, a credit analyst at Shinhan Investment in Seoul. “They will likely continue to face a difficult funding environment next year unless the government does something.” The airline has limited possibility to improve its profits because of the expanding presence of low-cost carriers and its delay in modernizing its fleet, said KIS, the local affiliate of Moody’s Investors Service. Asiana expects its ratings will be restored as its earnings will likely show a big improvement due to better relations with China and the 2018 Winter Olympics, it said in a response to Bloomberg. The rise of Korean low-cost carriers also threatens Asiana. For the cheaper airlines, the number of passengers on international flights connected to Korea rose 32.3% in October from a year earlier, according to the transport ministry. Such passengers on full-service carriers dropped 3%.<br/>

A Turkish Airlines flight from Nairobi to Istanbul was diverted after the detection of a wi-fi network called "bomb on board" that alarmed the passengers, the airline said on Thursday. Turkish Airlines said the flight made an emergency landing at the Khartoum airport in Sudan, but the flight was safely resumed after security inspections on all passengers and the aircraft. "Experts said the wi-fi network in question was created on board. No irregularities were seen after security procedures were carried out, and passengers were brought back on the plane once boarding restarted," Turkish Airlines said. Individuals can create personal wi-fi networks on devises such as mobile phones and name them what they want. The airline said all 100 passengers were brought back on board the flight, but did not say whether authorities had identified the passenger who had created the wi-fi network.<br/>

Vietnam Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines have signed an interline agreement that will allow passengers to connect between each others' networks. Passengers will be able to purchase LOT tickets through Vietnam Airlines, and vice versa, says Vietnam Airlines. While Vietnam Airlines does not fly to Poland, and LOT does not fly to Vietnam, passengers can connect with LOT services at cities on the European network of the Vietnamese carrier: Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, and London. They can board a LOT fight to Warsaw, where they can get access to that carrier's European and Polish networks. Similarly, LOT passengers can fly to a European city served by Vietnam Airlines, where they can connect to a Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City Service. From there, they can access the Vietnamese carrier's domestic and regional network.<br/>