EXTRA Lauda places bid for Air Berlin subsidiary Niki while others decline

Vienna (dpa) - Former Formula One champion and entrepreneur Niki Lauda has placed a bid for the Niki airline, Air Berlin‘s insolvent subsidiary, his spokeswoman said in Vienna.Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair and the German freight company Zeitfracht announced that they would not place bids of their own, despite signalling earlier that they were interested in the Austria-based carrier.However, Zeitfracht and German aircraft service firm Nayak said they would like to cooperate with Niki‘s potential buyers.Niki Lauda founded the airline under his name in 2003 but sold it to now-insolvent Air Berlin in 2011.dpa al oe rmo