Troubled Air Berlin in talks to transfer planes to new airline

Frankfurt : German airline Air Berlin said Wednesday it would discuss transferring part of its fleet to a new group founded by package tour giant TUI and Gulf carrier Etihad as part of a major overhaul.

Air Berlin will discuss bringing 35 of its aircraft, including 14 already leased from TUI subsidiary TUIfly, into a "new airline group to be founded by the TUI group and Etihad", it said in a statement.

The plans remain subject to negotiation and regulatory approval, the statement continued.

In a separate statement, Etihad said "the new airline group would serve a comprehensive route network from Germany, Austria and Switzerland".

Air Berlin shareholder Etihad has kept the struggling airline alive with regular cash injections in recent years.

The German company suffered a record loss of 447 million euros ($500 million) in 2015.

Air Berlin a week ago announced a major restructuring that would see it shrink its fleet from 144 planes to 75 and cut 1,200 jobs, saying it would focus on its core business areas in a bid to return to profitability.

In future, Air Berlin said it would concentrate on its hubs of Berlin and Duesseldorf, building out long-haul routes with new destinations and more frequent flights, especially to the United States.