Published: 29 Aug 2008: TUI Travel and Thomas Cook are in talks with Germany´s Lufthansa about a possible merger of their respective low-cost and charter carriers.
TUI Travel stated that it is in early discussions with Lufthansa and Thomas Cook in relation to a potential merger of Condor, Germanwings and TUIfly Germany. The development was also confirmed by Thomas Cook.
However, no commercial terms have been agreed. There is no certainty that any transaction will result and a further announcement will be made if and when appropriate, according to TUI.
Lufthansa and TUI began negotiations last year over a tie-up of their airlines. Thomas Cook joined the talks after Air Berlin last month scrapped plans to buy Condor, blaming deteriorating economic conditions.
According to media reports, Thomas Cook sources said it had still not ruled out the original deal with Air Berlin but analysts said with the new statement it looked like such a deal had been all-but abandoned.
