Tui distanced from Deutsche BA buyout

Holiday operator Tui – owner of Thomson, Lunn Poly and the airline Britannia - today distanced itself from a move for British Airways’ German arm.

Deutsche BA went back on the market last week after low-cost carrier easyJet pulled out of plans to buy it.

BA has confirmed fresh interest in the carrier but German-run Tui today dismissed speculation it was in talks. Tui already has its own Hanover-based airline Hapag-Lloyd, which flies to 23 destinations in eight countries.

A Tui spokesman said today: “There is no interest.”

EasyJet had hoped to introduce its own low-cost model at Deutsche BA but ran into difficulties over employment terms.

A downturn in the German aviation market was also blamed for the decision not to activate the buy option.

In the wake of last week’s announcement, BA said it would not close the business and would instead look to seek another buyer.

A spokeswoman said yesterday: “We certainly have got other interested parties but any talks would be at an early stage. We are not prepared to speculate or name names.”

BA also denied reports it was planning a merger with Dutch airline KLM.