Lufthansa may buy bulk of Air Berlin fleet

Lufthansa is considering buying a majority of insolvent Air Berlin’s aircraft, sources have said, as the German government and rivals race to carve it up.

Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.

German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt has backed Lufthansa to buy a major portion of Air Berlin’s assets, saying Germany needed a “national champion” in international aviation. Berlin has granted a bridging loan of €150m that will keep Air Berlin’s planes in the air for up to three months, securing 7,200 jobs in Germany while buyers for its assets are found.