German flag-carrier Lufthansa has made an offer to buy parts of stricken Italian carrier Alitalia.
The aviation giant is joined by easyJet of the UK, which has also put forward its own proposals.
Lufthansa said it hoped to establish a New Alitalia, but was only interested in parts of the existing business.
The Germany airline opted not to make an offer for the whole of Alitalia, but has stated interest in parts of the global network traffic and European and domestic point-to-point business.
“The offer includes a concept for a newly structured Alitalia with a focused business model which could develop long-term economic prospects,” a statement explained.
easyJet said it had submitted an expression of interest but also only wanted “certain assets of a restructured Alitalia”.
Both are keen to exploit the competition in European aviation, which has seen both Monarch and airberlin collapse in recent weeks.
Lufthansa agreed a €210 million deal for parts of airberlin last week, with easyJet also in talks to buy parts of the failed carrier.
On Friday, the Italian government postponed the deadline for making a final decision over the Alitalia to April 2018.
The government also announced a further €300 million in loans to keep the carrier flying.