Who will buy it is another matter(246 words)

Published: 7/18/2001

The Slovak government plans to sell its 34 percent stake in the troubled national airline Slovenske Aerolinie (SA) in the next few months, according to Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Miklos with the undertaking if the sale is not achieved by the autumn the government will look at other options. The move by the government comes after its change of heart about putting the carrier into bankruptcy. The carrier restarted flights in August of 1999 from Bratilava to Kovice having been grounded by the government in March of 1999 and has since that point operated with three Tu-154Ms leased from the Ministry of Transport, although earlier confiscated by the ministry from SA for illegal activities, on scheduled routes to Kovice and Moscow. The company however, earns most of its revenue from charter flights representing 78% of the 103,000 passengers carried in 2000. The company declared a loss of $1.7m in 200 on revenues of only $2.5m. Who might buy the government's stake in the airline is less clear. The troubled record of Slovakian air transport out with protracted problems of SA with the closure of the private carrier Tatra Air after a dispute with the government over importation duty on aircraft does not look encouraging to the incoming investor. Also the close proximity of major hubs to the country's major cites in Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic, combined with connections from Bratislava must make any prospective investor wary of both the risk and potential returns.

Article ID: 2654