Lufthansa buys share in Jetblue

Lufthansa has agreed to buy a stake in US low-cost carrier Jetblue Airways and said it remains on the lookout for acquisitions in Europe.

The two companies confirmed last night that Lufthansa would buy a 19 per cent stake in Jetblue for about $300 million. The deal marks the first major investment by a European carrier in a US point-to-point airline.

However, Europe remains the most important region for future acquisitions by the German flag carrier, Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber said.

Last week, Lufthansa decided not to bid for loss-making Italian airline Alitalia. Mr Mayrhuber reiterated this week that Lufthansa is interested in Spain's Iberia but that the price is too high.

Lufthansa ranks second among European carriers by traffic, behind Air France-KLM.

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