FRANKFURT Reuters -- Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are trying to obtain take-off and landing slots at London's Heathrow Airport, Britain's Telegraph newspaper reported on Saturday.
The two airlines are in talks with the administrators of Flybe, which ceased trading last week, and went into insolvency for the second time in three years, with all flights cancelled and 276 workers being made redundant, according to the Telegraph.
The newspaper said administrators from Interpath Advisory may have just days to agree to a rescue that would avoid the business being wound up, citing sources in London's financial community.
The report said that Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are interested in Flybe's seven pairs of take-off and landing slots at Heathrow and five pairs at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.
One source said that the suitors would need to take on many of the bankrupt airline's liabilities as well as potentially lucrative assets.
If a buyer for Flybe can't be found, it's likely that the slots will be returned to a central pool run by the airports coordinator.