Germany's Lufthansa is in talks to buy a majority of insolvent Air Berlin's aircraft, with the backing of Berlin, which is pushing for a national aviation champion, Reuters reported today. Air Berlin, Germany's second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses. Berlin granted a bridging loan of 150 million euros ($175.5 million) to allow the airline to keep its planes in the air for three months and secure the jobs of its 7,200 workers in Germany while buyers for its assets are found.
