hotels and travel agencies where you can only pay with digital money. lifton's a saw an opportunity in the demise of its one time rival with air balloons bust the flagship carrier could now take on new routes as well as the aircraft and employees to service them. it originally proposed a takeover that included two air berlin subsidiaries yet that plan sparked e.u. concerns over competition. lufthansa responded last week with a more modest proposal dropping the purchase of austrian fighter nicky altogether and instead of the original eighty one aircraft it wanted to buy it would now buy just sixty. a green light from brussels raises other questions first among them who will buy airline nicky which remains insolvent there are already a number of interested buyers including the original owner former austrian racing