Germany's Air Berlin intends to acquire 14 Airbus A320s from Alitalia. The aircraft are used, "but still young," said an Air Berlin spokesman, who did not provide any information on price. The German company, which is part of the Etihad network, intends to sell the 14 aircraft to an aircraft leasing company and then lease them back.
With this initiative, on which the German press had already anticipated rumors, Air Berlin intends to reorganize its fleet, which will include only Airbus, to reduce costs and increase productivity. The plan therefore calls for the company to ground all of its Boeing aircraft by 2016. Air Berlin and Alitalia are already linked by a code-sharing agreement and Etihad also participates in the capital of both: it is in fact present in the German airline with 29% and in Alitalia with 49%. The sale of the Airbuses is part of the industrial plan of the new Alitalia, illustrated a few days ago in Rome by the top management of the company.
