dba is a low-cost airline based in Germany. It was originally known as Deutsche BA as a British Airways subsidiary until its sale in 2003.
The airline was formed in 1992 as a partnership between BA and 3 German banks, by the time it was sold by BA in June 2003 it was Germany's second largest domestic airline.
Rod Eddington replaced Bob Ayling as British Airways Chief Executive in May 2000, starting major reviews of the airline's operations. First indications that BA was reviewing its German arm were in 2001 at which time Deutsche BA had amassed losses of over £15m. On May 3 2002 easyJet announced that it was pursuing a purchase of former BA subsidiary Go, followed by an announcement on May 8 that it had signed an exclusive agreement with British Airways giving it the option to purchase Deutsche BA. easyJet had until March 31 2003, or with an extension until July 3 2003, to purchase the airline. During this time Deutsche BA would remain fully under BA control however easyJet had several commitments:
- Send three managers to the the German operation
- Contribute £3m for capital expenditure
- Pay BA £366,000 per month until it exercised its option
In March 2003 easyJet announced it had abandoned its plans to acquire Deutsche BA, blaming the economic climate and employment laws in Germany.
In June 2003 BA announced plans to sell Deutsche BA to Intro Verwaltungsgesellschaft for a token sum of 1 Euro. In addition BA would invest £25m into the airline and guarantee its fleet of 16 Boeing 737s for a year. In return BA was to receive 25% of any profits or proceeds from a sale until June 2006.