Air Berlin (1991) (Berlin Tegel) has confirmed that at least one proposal has been made for its Belair Airlines (Zurich) unit following the passing of a September 15 deadline for the submission of bids.

The notice was contained in an internal company memo seen by the Nordwestschweiz newspaper. The bid will be considered during an upcoming creditors' meeting scheduled for September 21. During the meeting, the fate of the bankrupt carrier and its various assets will be decided.

According to Reuters, those that are known to have submitted proposals for Air Berlin & Co. thus far include:

  • Lufthansa Group which is reportedly seeking access to ninety Air Berlin aircraft, including those operated by its Austrian production unit (and Belair sister carrier) Niki (Austria) (Vienna) and the thirty-eight aircraft already wet-leased from its rival;

  • easyJet (London Luton) which has confirmed its proposal is consistent with its "focused, city-based strategy in Germany";

  • IAG International Airlines Group whose participation in the bidding remains unclear;

  • Niki founder, Niki Lauda, and Thomas Cook Group unit Condor (DE, Frankfurt International) which have formed a 51/49 partnership to bid for Niki's fleet of twenty-one A320/1 jets as well as seventeen other aircraft in service with its German parent. If successful, the consortium plans to deploy the aircraft into service on short- and medium-haul leisure flights;

  • German family-owned logistics firm Zeitfracht which is seeking to acquire Air Berlin's cargo marketing platform, Leisure Cargo, its airberlin technik MRO business, and its regional unit LGW - Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter (Dortmund), which operates twenty Dash 8-400s;

  • INTRO Aviation founder and German entrepreneur, Hans-Rudolf Wöhrl, who has pitched a EUR500 million offer for the whole of Air Berlin albeit with payments to be made in installments;

  • China's LinkGlobal Logistics, which has already sent a Letter of Intent (LOI) to Air Berlin, but which has asked to be given until September 21 to formulate a bid;

  • The former head of German utility EnBW, Utz Claassen, who, according to German daily Handelsblatt, put up EUR100 million to buy the carrier and pledged another EUR600 million in liquidity.