ettore
28th Jul 2003, 06:50
AP[ SUNDAY, JULY 27, 2003 09:22:03 PM ]
LAUSANNE: Germany's Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines are set to strike a deal that will keep Switzerland's struggling national carrier in the air, a newspaper report said on Sunday.
The report in the Le Matin paper - which cited an unidentified «source close to Andre Dose», the Swiss airline's chief - said Lufthansa and Swiss would by the start of next month agree a share swap, giving each a stake in the other company.
Lufthansa would likely receive a minority stake in Swiss, with an option to take a majority shareholding later, the report in the Lausanne daily said. It did not say how much Lufthansa stock Swiss would get in the deal.
Swiss would also get a 500-million Swiss franc ($374 million) cash injection from Deutsche Bank, Lufthansa's financier, the report
said.
The airline has faced months of speculation over a deal with the German carrier. Swiss spokesman Dominique Werner declined to comment on the latest rumours.
Two weeks ago, Swiss also refused to comment on speculation that Lufthansa had made a takeover offer, but confirmed it was holding talks with various foreign carriers on «a possible cooperation». Lufthansa denied it had bid for Swiss.
Le Matin repeated earlier claims that Lufthansa has pledged to keep the Swiss fleet at 19 intercontinental planes, 18 medium and 30 short-haul planes. The German carrier had agreed that Zurich airport would remain a national hub, rather than a simple starting point for shuttle service to German airports.
As part of its fight for survival, Swiss earlier this month announced that it was eliminating a quarter of its destinations, including New Delhi, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro and a number of European routes.
Swiss, which was formed with the help of the Swiss government in March 2002 on the foundation of the collapsed carrier Swissair, lost 980 million francs (then $706 million) in its first year of business. Le Matin said it is now losing up to four million francs ($3 million) a day and is unlikely to survive the year.
Swiss has abandoned its plans of returning to profitability in 2003, blaming continuing economic instability, the SARS crisis and major changes in European air travel due to the increasing influence of low-cost carriers.
LAUSANNE: Germany's Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines are set to strike a deal that will keep Switzerland's struggling national carrier in the air, a newspaper report said on Sunday.
The report in the Le Matin paper - which cited an unidentified «source close to Andre Dose», the Swiss airline's chief - said Lufthansa and Swiss would by the start of next month agree a share swap, giving each a stake in the other company.
Lufthansa would likely receive a minority stake in Swiss, with an option to take a majority shareholding later, the report in the Lausanne daily said. It did not say how much Lufthansa stock Swiss would get in the deal.
Swiss would also get a 500-million Swiss franc ($374 million) cash injection from Deutsche Bank, Lufthansa's financier, the report
said.
The airline has faced months of speculation over a deal with the German carrier. Swiss spokesman Dominique Werner declined to comment on the latest rumours.
Two weeks ago, Swiss also refused to comment on speculation that Lufthansa had made a takeover offer, but confirmed it was holding talks with various foreign carriers on «a possible cooperation». Lufthansa denied it had bid for Swiss.
Le Matin repeated earlier claims that Lufthansa has pledged to keep the Swiss fleet at 19 intercontinental planes, 18 medium and 30 short-haul planes. The German carrier had agreed that Zurich airport would remain a national hub, rather than a simple starting point for shuttle service to German airports.
As part of its fight for survival, Swiss earlier this month announced that it was eliminating a quarter of its destinations, including New Delhi, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro and a number of European routes.
Swiss, which was formed with the help of the Swiss government in March 2002 on the foundation of the collapsed carrier Swissair, lost 980 million francs (then $706 million) in its first year of business. Le Matin said it is now losing up to four million francs ($3 million) a day and is unlikely to survive the year.
Swiss has abandoned its plans of returning to profitability in 2003, blaming continuing economic instability, the SARS crisis and major changes in European air travel due to the increasing influence of low-cost carriers.