Lufthansa has held talks for majority stake in Alitalia - board member

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German airlines group Lufthansa has held talks to take a majority stake in ailing Italian carrier Alitalia and would be interested in a full takeover in the long run, Lufthansa board member Harry Hohmeister said on Monday.

Alitalia, which was put under special administration in 2017, would remain operationally independent within the Lufthansa group, with its own brand, he said.

Italy's daily Il Corriere della Sera reported on Sunday that Italian state railway Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) was set to choose on Tuesday its partner for a restructuring of Alitalia, with U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines in pole position.

(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; writing by Maria Sheahan; editing by Thomas Seythal)