Aircraft

Lufthansa appears to be drawing close to a decision to acquire nine Airbus A330-300s on behalf of its subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines, a plan which is expected to go before the board in the next two months.

The order is understood to be part of a batch of 14 of the type, with the five other aircraft comprising the outstanding order for five A330-300s that Lufthansa placed last year.

Evidence that Lufthansa was preparing to acquire A330-300s for Swiss emerged recently when a fleet order table appeared briefly on Lufthansa's internet site, before being withdrawn.

Among the airline's orders it listed a batch of 14 A330-300s, stating that five were for Lufthansa while the other nine were "on behalf of Swiss via Lufthansa", and indicating that approval for this agreement was planned for September.

Lufthansa declines to comment on the matter, and Swiss International Air Lines insists that it cannot speak about fleet issues being governed by the German carrier.

But a source familiar with the situation states that the "numbers are essentially correct" and that the subject could be placed on the agenda of a board meeting around September or October.

Swiss has 11 Airbus A330-200s in its long-haul fleet, including an ex-Lufthansa pair, but the carrier does not operate the A330-300. Two of its A330s will be removed as it brings in additional A340s next year.