German Niki administrator mulls legal action against Austrian rival

FRANKFURT, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The German insolvency administrator of holiday airline Niki is considering legal action against the decision of an Austrian court to launch rival insolvency proceedings in the neighbouring country, he said on Friday.

An Austrian court, at the urging of a passenger rights group, had decided earlier that the insolvency had to be handled mainly in Austria, a move that could unravel the agreed sale to British Airways owner IAG.

"The opening of this case contradicts European insolvency regulation," Lucas Floether said in a statement.

"In the foreground, however, is the fact that the sales contract that has already been concluded achieves legal status for the Niki operations and saves as many jobs as possible. Questions of competence are wholly secondary."

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Ludwig Burger)