Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by sn26567 »

Lufthansa and TUI (Germany) are reportedly near an agreement for the possible takeover of the NIKI (Austria) unit of Air Berlin.
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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

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It's apparently the fact that leasing company AerCap (Ireland) sought the early return of 10 A330s on lease to Air Berlin that caused the carrier to drop several long-haul routes.

Air Berlin abruptly cancelled 70 flights on 12 September 2017, as many pilots went on sick leave, reportedly due to being unhappy about talks with potential buyers.

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/airberl ... call-sick/

Air Berlin received a €500 million offer from INTRO Aviation (Germany), a company controlled by investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl. This company earlier retracted its offer but is coming back into the bidding now.
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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by luchtzak »

149 pilots called in sick this morning at Air Berlin

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/airberl ... -schedule/

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

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Air Berlin was forced to cancel more than 100 of 750 flights on 12 September 2017 due to around 200 of the airline’s 1,500 pilots calling in sick. The events seriously endanger insolvency proceedings, says CEO, and may cause the airline to cease operations.

Air Berlin cancelled 32 flights on 13 September due to numerous pilots calling in sick again.

This reminds me the Sabena pilots going on strike when their airline was agonising...

On another topic, Air Berlin received buyer interest from LinkGlobal Logistics (China), who plans to bid for the carrier.
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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by jan_olieslagers »

Furious reactions from passengers in the German radio news re the cancellations. Even German government called in, asking all concerned to use common sense. Only a few cancellations today (14th). The big news is an offer from Niki hand in hand with Condor. Details not yet announced AFAIK.

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by sn26567 »

jan_olieslagers wrote: 14 Sep 2017, 17:56 The big news is an offer from Niki hand in hand with Condor. Details not yet announced AFAIK.
When you write Niki, it's not the airline, it's the F1 pilot Niki Lauda: Air Berlin received a combined €100 million offer from Condor (Germany) and Niki Lauda in a bid for 21 A320s and A321s from NIKI (Austria), as well as for 17 additional aircraft from Air Berlin.
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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by jan_olieslagers »

Thanks for correction, indeed that seems to correspond to what I heard on German radio news today.

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by Yuqu12 »

So Niki Lauda wants to be owner of NIKI again? Nice, good to see him back in aviation and this may be good news for NIKI, as it was uncertain what to expect if Air Berlin would go bankrupt.

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by Poiu »

Yuqu12 wrote: 15 Sep 2017, 12:12 So Niki Lauda wants to be owner of NIKI again? Nice, good to see him back in aviation and this may be good news for NIKI, as it was uncertain what to expect if Air Berlin would go bankrupt.
Don't think NIKI was a big success under his leadership, neither was Lauda.

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by Yuqu12 »

With the help of Condor this time, things may change.

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

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Yuqu12 wrote: 16 Sep 2017, 16:41 With the help of Condor this time, things may change.
Yesterday was the deadline for the submission of tenders. A potential list of candidates has been published here.

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/airbe ... ir-berlin/

Now the Board of Air Berlin must decide on 25 September. But their choice must also be approved by the competition authorities of both Germany and the European Union. Thus Air Berlin should be cautious to make sure that their choice will be accepted. Ryanair is there to make sure that there will not be a Lufthansa monopoly in Germany.

Lufthansa can certainly not take all what it wants. In my opinion, easyJet, Condor & Niki Lauda, and probably others will get a substantial part of the cake.

Nine more days and we will know...
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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

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IAG (British Airways, Iberia, etc.) reportedly joined the field of bidders for parts or all of Air Berlin. Now finally a serious competitor for Lufthansa!
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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

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Air Berlin creditors are reportedly negotiating exclusively with Lufthansa about the sale of NIKI and other parts of the insolvent airline. (Lufthansa's bid for Air Berlin assets is focused on securing the 38 crewed planes it currently leases from the insolvent carrier and it is interested in a further 20 to 40 planes). Not sure that the competition authorities will be happy with that!

Other sources say Air Berlin creditors picked Lufthansa and easyJet as possible buyers for the insolvent carrier’s aviation business and will negotiate with them for the next three weeks.

NIKI said it paid all bills owed to a tour operator and it, therefore, expected to avert bankruptcy proceedings.

Air Berlin buyers can submit offers for Air Berlin Technik until 06 October 2017, following the decision about the airline itself.
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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by DannyVDB »

On airliners.net, the same rumour is repeated:

"some A330-200s could, however, make a return if the rumour is correct that Lufthansa has already struck a deal with AerCap for some of them. If that is the case, it seems the most likely that they will end up with Brussels Airlines that will operate them under the Eurowings brand from DUS. Some of the lost longhaul capacity will also be replaced by Condor"

Don't know what to think about it. Why not just deploying from BRU?

D

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by Yuqu12 »

How can they operate being Brussels Airlines under the Eurowings brand from Düsseldorf? Is it then really a SN colour scheme flying for EW? The most logical to me is that if LH takes over these planes and use them for EW, they'll have the EW colour scheme. It would make absolutely no sense that the name "Brussels Airlines" starts flying from another airport than Brussels Airport.

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

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Yuqu12 wrote: 24 Sep 2017, 10:50 How can they operate being Brussels Airlines under the Eurowings brand from Düsseldorf? Is it then really a SN colour scheme flying for EW? The most logical to me is that if LH takes over these planes and use them for EW, they'll have the EW colour scheme. It would make absolutely no sense that the name "Brussels Airlines" starts flying from another airport than Brussels Airport.
Why not I don't see the reason it can not fly from another airport with Brussels in it's name.
Hasta la victoria siempre.

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by Poiu »

DannyVDB wrote: 24 Sep 2017, 10:05 On airliners.net, the same rumour is repeated:

"some A330-200s could, however, make a return if the rumour is correct that Lufthansa has already struck a deal with AerCap for some of them. If that is the case, it seems the most likely that they will end up with Brussels Airlines that will operate them under the Eurowings brand from DUS. Some of the lost longhaul capacity will also be replaced by Condor"

Don't know what to think about it. Why not just deploying from BRU?

D
The EW A330s are operated by Sun Express ( a joint venture with TK), with crew on an inferior contract. The AB A330 crew are well paid former LTU employees, LH doesn't want to take over these contracts. If EW gets some ex AB A330s they will be operated by Sun Express, not SN.

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by brabel »

lumumba wrote: 24 Sep 2017, 12:15
Yuqu12 wrote: 24 Sep 2017, 10:50 How can they operate being Brussels Airlines under the Eurowings brand from Düsseldorf? Is it then really a SN colour scheme flying for EW? The most logical to me is that if LH takes over these planes and use them for EW, they'll have the EW colour scheme. It would make absolutely no sense that the name "Brussels Airlines" starts flying from another airport than Brussels Airport.
Why not I don't see the reason it can not fly from another airport with Brussels in it's name.
Like Norwegian.

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by Yuqu12 »

lumumba wrote: 24 Sep 2017, 12:15
Yuqu12 wrote: 24 Sep 2017, 10:50 How can they operate being Brussels Airlines under the Eurowings brand from Düsseldorf? Is it then really a SN colour scheme flying for EW? The most logical to me is that if LH takes over these planes and use them for EW, they'll have the EW colour scheme. It would make absolutely no sense that the name "Brussels Airlines" starts flying from another airport than Brussels Airport.
Why not I don't see the reason it can not fly from another airport with Brussels in it's name.
Ofcourse this can be, but it is in some way a contradiction if you are named Brussels Airlines and your slogan is: We fly you to the heart of Europe, meaning Brussels, but you also fly to Düsseldorf. Besides that, what is the gain for SN to start flying from DUS? They should better try and get these flights from DUS to BRU and expand at their home market, rather than starting something new in another country.

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Re: Air Berlin files for insolvency as Etihad pulls funding plug

Post by PttU »

Yuqu12 wrote: 24 Sep 2017, 10:50 How can they operate being Brussels Airlines under the Eurowings brand from Düsseldorf? Is it then really a SN colour scheme flying for EW? The most logical to me is that if LH takes over these planes and use them for EW, they'll have the EW colour scheme. It would make absolutely no sense that the name "Brussels Airlines" starts flying from another airport than Brussels Airport.
What about SN crew flying an Eurowings-branded plane from DUS? I don't know any resource-planning by SN, so I don't know if they have any excess that could by used by LH/EW?

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