* To transfer up to 24 slots at both Frankfurt and Munich
* This translates into six slots per aircraft and day
* Supervisory board must approve agreement
(Recasts with official confirmation)
By Holger Hansen, Christoph Steitz and Ilona Wissenbach
BERLIN/FRANKFURT, May 30 (Reuters) - Lufthansa's
management board accepted a more favourable set of demands made
by the European Commission in exchange for approval of a 9
billion euro ($10 billion) government bailout, the carrier said
on Saturday, paving the way for its rescue.
The agreement comes after Lufthansa's supervisory board on
Wednesday rejected an initial deal with Brussels including
conditions that were significantly more painful.
Lufthansa and the rest of the airline sector have been hard
hit by what is expected to be a protracted travel slump due to
the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the latest agreement, Lufthansa said it will be
obliged to transfer up to 24 takeoff and landing slots for up to
four aircraft to one rival each at the Frankfurt and Munich
airports.
This translates into three take-off and three landing rights
per aircraft and day, it said, confirming what sources had
earlier told Reuters.
"For one and a half years, this option is only available to
new competitors at the Frankfurt and Munich airports," Lufthansa
said, initially excluding budget carrier Ryanair. "If no
new competitor makes use of this option, it will be extended to
existing competitors at the respective airports."
The previous deal had included the forfeiture of 72 slots
used by 12 of 300 jets based at the Frankfurt and Munich
airports, a source familiar with the matter said.
INTERMEDIATE STEP
The slots, to be allocated in a bidding process, can be
taken over only by a European peer that has not received any
substantial state aid amid the pandemic, Lufthansa said.
The group's supervisory board needs to approve the deal,
Lufthansa said, adding it would convene an extraordinary general
meeting in the near term to also obtain shareholder approval for
the bailout.
The largest German corporate rescue since the coronavirus
crisis struck will see the government get a 20% stake in
Lufthansa, which could rise to 25% plus one share in the event
of a takeover attempt. A deal would also give the government two
seats on Lufthansa's supervisory board.
Rivals such as Franco-Dutch group Air France-KLM
and U.S. carriers American Airlines, United Airlines
and Delta Air Lines are all seeking state aid
due to the economic effects of the pandemic.
The German government, which has set up a 100 billion euro
fund to take stakes in companies hit by the pandemic, said it
plans to sell the Lufthansa stake by the end of 2023.
"The German government, Lufthansa and the European
Commission have reached an important intermediate step in the
aid negotiations," Germany's Economy Ministry said in a
statement.
It said that talks with the Commission over state aid
continued.
($1 = 0.9011 euros)
(Additional reporting by Christian Kraemer; Editing by Sabine
Wollrab, Sandra Maler, Jonathan Oatis and Will Dunham)