Lufthansa to decide on Brussels Airlines takeover by end-June

[FRANKFURT] Lufthansa will decide in the coming months whether to fully acquire Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines, the German group's finance chief said on Thursday.

Asked whether Lufthansa planned to fully acquire Brussels Airlines, in which it took a stake of 45 per cent in 2009, CFO Simone Menne said that a decision would be taken "in the second quarter." She was speaking on the sidelines of the group's annual earnings news conference.

Lufthansa owns not only its own brand, but also Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings, and has an option until 2018 to buy the remaining 55 per cent in Brussels Airlines from its shareholders.

Brussels Airlines flew back into profit for the first time in years in 2015.

German media reports have speculated that Lufthansa would like to incorporate Brussels Airlines into its low-cost platform Eurowings in a bid to become Europe's number-three budget airline behind EasyJet and Ryanair.

AFP