German airline DBA to close operations next month
Thursday, 30 October 2008, 19:30 IST
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Berlin: German airline DBA, which pioneered competition in the country, is to cease operations at the end of next month, its owner, Air Berlin, said Thursday. The move will complete DBA's absorption into Air Berlin, which operates 124 planes and is Germany's second-biggest carrier after Lufthansa. The management and ground staff of DBA have already been wound up, with functions taken over by the parent. When open-skies policies came to the European Union, British Airways established the line as Deutsche BA in 1992 to challenge flag carrier Lufthansa, which had been the sole major airline flying German domestic routes. But it was not a success and was sold 11 years later for a token price to Hans Rudolf Woehrl, a businessman. Renamed DBA, it was taken over in 2006 by Air Berlin and operated as a division of that airline. Air Berlin said the 120 DBA cockpit crew and 175 cabin crew would be offered a choice of new contracts with the parent company or labour buyouts. DBA owns nine jets, of which three elderly Boeing 737-300 jets are to be disposed of at the end at the end of November.
Source: IANS
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