Etihad Aviation Group and TUI AG today are in discussions to create a ‘strong European leisure airline group, focused on point-to-point flying to connect key tourist markets’.
This new airline group would serve a broad network of destinations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and could see Air Berlin merge with TUIFly.
Air Berlin, the second largest carrier in Germany, is in the middle of a restructure and reports say it has agreed to discuss a transfer of its tourism operations to the new Etihad/TUI airline.
Etihad Airways is airberlin’s biggest shareholder, with a 29.21% stake.
Etihad and TUI issued a statement saying: "The leisure airline group will be supported by the expertise of Etihad Aviation Group, the fastest-growing aviation group in the world, and utilise TUI’s state-of-the-art distribution capacity.
"TUI AG, Etihad Aviation Group and Air Berlin PLC intend to finalise an in-principle agreement in due course. Any agreement entered into will be subject to all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals."
