It now seems that the German carrier, Lufthansa, is setting its sights on finding an early solution to its problems. This comes in the form of Lufthansa aiming for an agreement with SAS to take over the 20 percent stake it still holds in bmi. Lufthansa is hoping the take over will bee possible by the end of the year.

This plan comes at a good time, since the funds have been running low for the Scandinavian carrier SAS, and they are thinking to sell its holdings in bmi anyway. One of the Lufthansa management board members, Stefan Lauer, said that he wanted this situation taken care of by the end of this year. He did not, however, say that the airline was ready to buy the stakes just yet.

Lauer went on to say that he assumes that there will be a solution to the bmi situation by the end of the year. He added that much is being written, and he did not intend to comment on it. However, he did say that they are restructuring bmi.

Lufthansa already took control of bmi as of earlier this year when they paid the outgoing chairman, Sir Michael Bishop, almost £223 million for his control of the company. However, taking over the Scandinavian carrier, which has 12 percent of the slots at London Heathrow Airport, will Lufthansa to open its books to prospective buyers.

One airline, British Airways, already owns 40 percent of the slots at the airport and could be interested in buying it. However, British Airways has declined to comment on these speculations. Willie Walsh said that it’s possible that the sale of the slots was too tempting to ignore.