BERLIN (Reuters) - The chief executive of Germany's Lufthansa <LHAG.DE> said there are still too many airlines in Europe and he expects the company to be involved in more consolidation in the industry that will eventually leave three global carriers in the continent.
"There are way too many players in Europe," Carsten Spohr told a meeting of the Centre for Aviation in Berlin on Tuesday, noting that six airlines had gone bankrupt in the last few months.
"It is obvious that consolidation will act further and we as Lufthansa want to be part of that," he said. "There will most likely be three major European network carriers or groups of carriers, plus one or two low cost guys."
Lufthansa has been at the forefront of a frenzy of M&A activity in the sector, snapping up Brussels Airlines and parts of insolvent Air Berlin last year to advance in the competitive budget market.
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; editing by Thomas Seythal)
