FRANKFURT: Lufthansa Group has bought a €65 million, 45 per cent stake in SN Airholding, parent company of Brussels Airlines, with a view to buying the rest of the company - at a cost of no more than €250 million - by 2011.
Brussels Airlines will operate as an independent company, and will still be based in the Belgian capital. As well as the German flag-carrier, Lufthansa Group also encompasses Switzerland's national airline SWISS International, Italian carrier Air Dolomiti, Dortmund-based Germanwings and Nuremberg's Eurowings.
The company has a 30 per cent stake in Britain's bmi, and has reportedly considered buying into both Austrian Airlines and SAS Scandinavian.