Lufthansa CEO sees merger talk readiness -report
FRANKFURT, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHAG.DE) Chief Executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber said there is great willingness to discuss mergers in the airline industry as carriers seek to cut costs, a magazine reported.
"The fragmented European industry can hardly survive long-term in its current form," Mayrhuber told German tourism and business travel magazine FVW in an interview published in its Thursday edition.
"We need a European solution for the global challenge -- and this can above all consist of faster consolidation in our industry," he said.
Every step in the process had to make economic sense as it was not possible to finance deals at too high prices in an industry with weak margins, the CEO added.
Many European airlines are battling to eke out profits in the face of soaring fuel costs and waning economies. Among the European carriers up for sale are Italy's Alitalia AZPIa.MI and Austrian Airlines.
The Italian government is trying to salvage a takeover of its loss-making flag carrier by an investor group from the country. "If they succeed in sorting things out, a 'new Alitalia' would have good chances," Mayrhuber told the magazine.
Lufthansa, which has said Alitalia is of interest provided the conditions are right, is also in talks about buying Scandinavian carrier SAS (SAS.ST), people with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters.
Lufthansa has also been shortlisted to buy a stake in Austrian Airlines (AUAV.VI), sources close to the deal have said, and recently agreed to buy a 45 percent stake in the parent of Brussels Airlines, with a plan to take full control later. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by David Holmes)
