Following the news that Air Berlin has filed for insolvency, Ryanair has expressed interest in potentially purchasing the German airline.
According to The Irish Independent, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary stated, "We would be very happy to bid for the whole of Air Berlin, which is generally a short-haul, domestic, intra-EU carrier. But we don't know how much restructuring it will take, how much money is it losing, why is it losing so much money in a market where we make money."
O'Leary said that Ryanair would require information on Air Berlin's leases, employment contracts and terms with airports to determine how much restructuring would be necessary. He also conveyed his enthusiasm about Ryanair playing a key role in changes currently occurring in the European airline industry and said he would potentially be interested in taking over the insolvent Alitalia as well.
O'Leary went on to predict that Ryanair, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, IAG and possibly easyJet will be the only airline groups operating in Europe within the next half-decade.
