Swiss European Air Lines' business jet division Swiss PrivateAviation is going through a consultation process which will likely lead to its closure, and parent company Lufthansa is understood to be on the verge of entering into a new co-operation agreement with NetJets.
Swiss PrivateAviation operates services on behalf of Lufthansa Private Jet, but a Swiss spokeswoman says that Lufthansa "has decided to further expand Lufthansa Private Jet in a way that we couldn't do".
As a result of this, combined with "very difficult" market conditions, Swiss PrivateAviation is currently undergoing consultations which the spokeswoman describes as "a normal process when you see that you can't go on with a business".
A decision on whether the unit will close down will be announced in late January or early February", she adds.
A Lufthansa spokesman confirms that the German carrier "will look into further expanding the operating model of Lufthansa Private Jet", but he declines to comment on speculation that it is close to signing a deal with NetJets.
Lufthansa previously had an agreement with NetJets to provide Private Jet flights but the arrangement ended in 2007 when the carrier opted to switch to its own fleet instead.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news