LTUTouristik, a conglomerate of tour operators belonging to the LTU Group, has issued a legal challenge to the establishment of Britannia Airways' new German subsidiary.
LTU has taken out an injunction in a Hamburg court against Britannia's Munich-based partner, tour operator Frosch Touristik International (FTI), after the company published a brochure describing Britannia as a "German airline" despite the fact that the UK charter airline has not yet received an operator's licence for its new subsidiary.
LTU says it pointed out to the court that since Britannia is owned by Canadian company Thomson, it may not qualify to operate a subsidiary airline in Germany. The decision whether to grant Britannia a licence to operate rests with the German aviation authority.
FTI has withdrawn the brochure from circulation, and issued a reprinted, reworded version. According to Britannia, the affair has amounted to a "blip" in its German sales campaign.
Source: Flight International