Lufthansa is reported to have said it has "made a lot of progress" with the sale of the airline, but that there are "several options and variants" available to achieve the best result for the carrier, at a press conference held in Frankfurt yesterday.

Lufthansa reported an operating loss of €154m for BMI for the nine months to September 2011.

The airline said the group's "strong presence" in the Middle East and North Africa caused BMI’s business to suffer "particularly badly from the effects of the political turmoil in the region".

British Airways parent company International Airline Group (IAG) has previously made "no secrets" about its interest in buying bmi. Virgin Atlantic has also expressed interest in the carrier.

Lufthansa announced a 9.6% increase in overall revenue to €22,138m for the nine months to September 2011, up from €20,193m for the same period last year.

Talking about the future strategic direction of Deutsche Lufthansa AG group, Christopher Franz, chairman and chief executive, said: "We want to stay the number one in Europe for the long term, so we are building on our strengths and also reviewing many options, including unpopular ones.

"We are looking for profitable growth and to secure the future of our Company with a financial structure that enables us to invest in our business segments, in our fleet, in products for our customers and in our staff."