Qatar Airways considers buying Lufthansa stake

Qatar Airways is considering taking a stake in Germany’s Lufthansa, its chief executive Akbar al-Baker was quoted as saying by German news agency dpa.

“If there is an opportunity to invest in Lufthansa, we would like to do it,” Akbar Al-Baker told dpa in Doha on Sunday on the sidelines of a visit of the premier of regional state Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, to Qatar.

Initially, Qatar Airways would also look into a partnership with Lufthansa, Al-Baker was quoted as saying.

“Germany is a very important country for us, both in terms of air transport services and in terms of development of tourism,” he said.

Qatar Airways did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shares in Lufthansa were up 2% at 0736 GMT on Monday.