EasyJet has confirmed the acquisition of part of Air Berlin in a deal worth E40m. The transaction will see the airline taking control of Air Berlin’s operations at the capital’s Tegel Airport, with EasyJet leasing 25 of its aircraft. The agreement also includes EasyJet taking over landing slots and offering employment to the defunct carrier’s flying crew. EasyJet CE Johan Lundgren said: “This move is consistent with EasyJet’s strategy of purposeful investment in strong number one positions in Europe’s leading airports. As a result of our acquisition EasyJet will operate the leading short-haul network at Tegel connecting passengers to and from destinations across Germany and the rest of Europe. This is in addition to EasyJet’s existing base at Berlin Schonefeld, and means that EasyJet will be the leading airline to and from Berlin.” <br/>
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Bidders for insolvent airline Niki have until Thursday to submit their offers for the Austrian unit of collapsed Air Berlin, its administrator said Monday. "None of the possible buyers have presented a binding, fully financed offer, but there are indications of interest," Lucas Floether told German news agency DPA. "We have set a deadline for binding offers for midday Thursday," he said, while declining to provide details on the bidders. Niki filed for insolvency last week after Lufthansa scrapped plans to buy its business, grounding the airline's fleet and stranding thousands of passengers. Founder and former Formula One champion Niki Lauda, as well as Thomas Cook and Ryanair, have expressed an interest in taking over Niki. <br/>
What does a Ryanair flight have in common with a Louis Vuitton handbag? Not much, except the bosses of those companies have been running the show for what seems like forever. Michael O'Leary has been CE of Ryanair Holdings for almost a quarter century, or about 6 times longer than the median tenure for European corporate leader. The airline is different, of course, from the Parisian luxury houses in that it's not a family-run affair. But O'Leary does hold 4% of Ryanair's stock and it's been impossible to view the company separately from the man. Yet he's looking far from impregnable right now. Friday, O'Leary's credibility suffered another big knock when Ryanair was forced to recognise trade unions -- something O'Leary had said wouldn't happen before Hades saw snowfall. <br/>
An Israeli man appealed Monday against a German court's ruling upholding Kuwait Airways' right to ban him from boarding a flight due to his citizenship, a legal decision that triggered sharp criticism from German officials and Jewish groups. The appeal argues that the ruling accepted a racist Kuwaiti law and allowed the airline to override German laws requiring that airlines transport any passenger with valid travel documents, according to the Lawfare Project, which filed the appeal. "We cannot allow our laws to be subverted by the state-sponsored racism of other nations," said the attorney for the group, which fights anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli discrimination. He said the decision by the Frankfurt district court had allowed "anti-Semitic discrimination to be imported into our country and helped whitewash and sanitize it." <br/>
Norwegian regional carrier Widerøe has announced developments to its route network that take it to major airports outside Scandinavia. Traditionally, Widerøe has played a major role in maintaining communications between isolated Norwegian communities in the Nordic nation’s rugged landscape. It operates to some 40 points within the country, with the only current non-Scandinavian destination being Aberdeen in northeast Scotland. This is connected to Bergen, on Norway’s west coast; both cities are heavily involved in the North Sea oil and gas industries. Over the course of the summer 2018 timetable, Widerøe’s Bergen hub will see new 3X-weekly services launched to Munich and Hamburg, while there will also be a new 4X-weekly service between Kristiansand, on the southern tip of Norway and London Stansted. <br/>