BERLIN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The sale of Air Berlin was delayed again on Friday, with the bidding window for the engineering unit of the insolvent German airline being extended by two weeks, local media reported.
It was the second time the deadline for registering interest in Air Berlin's engineering unit was postponed. The division employs around 1,500 staff based mainly at airports in Berlin, Duesseldorf and Munich.
The sale of the commercial airline and mother corporation Air Berlin is yet to be concluded as well, creating uncertainty for prospective buyers of the firm's engineering unit over whether existing maintenance contracts will be kept. So far, three parties have registered interest in the division according to Air Berlin's insolvency administrator Frank Kebekus.
A spokesperson said that Air Berlin was hoping to give potential investors in the engineering unit "clearer picture" of the airline's future by extending the bidding window again on Friday.
Air Berlin has more than 8,000 employees in total and was Germany's second largest airline before declaring bankruptcy in August. The carrier subsequently received an emergency credit facility of 150 million euros (175 million U.S. dollars) from the German government to ensure its continued operation and successful sale.
The insolvent firm is currently negotiating the sale of its business to rival airlines Lufthansa and Easyjet.
Company representatives have voiced hope of finalizing the acquisition until Oct. 12, with Lufthansa reportedly taking over 93 planes, and Easyjet buying between 27 and 30 planes from Air Berlin's remaining fleet.
