Lufthansa (LH/DLH) is set to buy the majority of bankrupt Air Berlin’s fleet and network including Fly Niki & Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter.
Air Belin filed for insolvency in August but has remained operating thanks to a 150m euro loan from the German Government.
Talks have been ongoing with Lufthansa and Easyjet being the main interested parties.
The deal, which will see Lufthansa take on around 81 of Air Berlins fleet, secures the jobs of 3000 employees who were recently told that a potential buyer is unlikely to retain staff.
Talking to German media, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said: “We will see a milestone in the history of Lufthansa and Air Berlin today,”
The deal needs to be ratified by the EU under anti-trust laws but Mr Spohr expects operations to normalise within six to nine months.
