Air Berlin (AB, Berlin Tegel) has emerged as the strongest potential buyer for a majority stake in Poland's troubled flag carrier LOT Polish Airlines (LO, Warsaw Chopin), Polish paper, Puls Biznesu, has reported. British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) and Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) were also said to have shown an interest in starting talks. No further details on the outcome of discussions have been divulged. According to the article, Warsaw is now mulling the possibility of providing more public aid to the airline in the form of a EUR90million (PLN400million) loan, needed to help keep it afloat while a potential buyer is sought. Norwegian (DY, Oslo Gardermoen) was also rumoured at one stage to have been informally approached by the Poles regarding LOT's future.

Air Lituanica (Vilnius) is a new Lithuanian niche carrier that is planning to begin flights to Brussels National, Amsterdam and Berlin from July 1. Speaking at the Routes Europe conference, Chief Commercial Officer, Simonas Bartkus, said flights will begin once its first EMB-170 leased from Estonian Air (OV, Tallinn Ülemiste)) and ex-TRIP Linhas Aéreas (T4, Campinas Viracopos) EMB-175 (c/n 17000017) (from lessor ECC Leasing) are delivered, with plans to add Munich, Prague and Moscow Sheremetyevo thereafter. In the long term, Air Lituanica, using a fleet of 5 aircraft, plans to connecting Vilnius with points in western Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and the CIS with small jets on high frequency rotations and with a two-class product to attract corporate traffic. Potential plans may include using smaller aircraft orders to serve thin business routes, especially to Scandinavia, Lithuania’s biggest trading partner. Bartkus said the airline is keen to partner airlines not currently represented in Lithuania’s market, such as Air France (AF, Paris CDG), Air Berlin (AB, Berlin Tegel), CSA Czech Airlines (OK, Prague) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam) while Air Lituanica’s shareholders are likely to be open to the idea of investment from a bigger partner in the carrier in future.

Transavia Airlines (HV, Amsterdam) is planning to drop Dusseldorf Weeze from its scheduled network in order to concentrate on its Eindhoven and Rotterdam hubs. Current flights offered to Alicante and Malaga will operate until April 22. As such, the Dutch carrier’s departure means Ryanair (FR, Dublin Int'l) and Air Berlin (AB, Berlin Tegel) are the only scheduled airlines left with Transavia already abandoning its shortlived experiment with a German scheduled departure airport. Weeze is located very close to the Dutch border and Transavia will continue to operate charter flights on behalf of tour operators from the airport to both Burgas and Palma de Mallorca Son Sant Joan.

TUIfly (Germany) (X3, Hanover) is planning to station a B737-800 aircraft in Nuremberg during winter 2013/2014 with flights planned to Fuerteventura, Las Palmas and Tenerife Sur. New flights to Sal and Boa Vista Rabil Int'l in the Cape Verde Islands, off West Africa's coast, are also planned along with a once weekly Agadir flight. Air Berlin (AB, Berlin Tegel) currently uses Nuremberg as a hub for leisure services though plans to abandon it by the end of summer 2013.

Air Berlin (AB, Berlin Tegel) has converted its order for fifteen B787-8s into B787-9s, in line with that of its largest shareholder, Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l) who themselves have 41 of the larger Dreamliners on order. The move was confirmed by the Abu Dhabi-based carrier’s chairman and CEO, James Hogan in Washington, D.C. this last week. Air Berlin, for its part, will use the 787s as a replacement for its fleet of 13 A330-200s, though a delivery date has not yet been set owing to ongoing negotiations with Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare).