BERLIN (Reuters) - Flights operated by insolvent German carrier Air Berlin (AB1.DE) will end by Oct. 28 at the latest, the carrier said on Monday as it works toward a carve-up of its assets.
Air Berlin filed for insolvency in August and a government loan is currently keeping its planes in the air to give it time to negotiate with investors for parts of its business and it is currently in talks with Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) and easyJet (EZJ.L).
Talks are due to run until Oct. 12 and once a deal for parts of its operations has been agreed, Air Berlin will need to wait for approval from competition authorities, which could take several months.
“After purchase contracts have been agreed, the company must end its own operations step by step,” Air Berlin said in a statement.
That means that Air Berlin will fly for the successful bidders under wet leases, whereby the bidder rents the planes and crews for use on its own routes.
Holiday airline Niki and regional airline LG Walter are not insolvent and those operations will continue to run, Air Berlin said.
Reporting by Victoria Bryan
