Austrian Airlines chief urges government to expedite privatization

Peter Michaelis, Austrian Airlines’ chairperson, has called on the Central European country’s government to stop delaying a final decision to privatize the airline and to put it on the market as soon as possible, so that the carrier can avoid potentially painful decisions on cutbacks. Michaelis also suggested that Austria should sell off its entire 43 percent stake in the national airline, rather than just a portion of its shares.

Even though the government has yet to formally decide how to proceed with the privatization of Austrian Airlines, the carrier’s board of directors is already considering future partners and according to a Forbes report, most of the executives seem to prefer a partnership or deal with Lufthansa, Germany’s far larger national airline. There are, however, other realistic options on the table as well, and these include a partnership with Aeroflot Russian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, or even Air France-KLM.

Lufthansa has now also indicated that it would consider a possible bid for Austrian Airlines, but it would postpone this until Austria’s government actually takes a firm decision on how it wishes to proceed with privatization. Some analysts in Austria, however, have been concerned that if the flag carrier were controlled by Lufthansa, its bases in Central Europe may be scaled back, especially where its services overlap with those of the German carrier. Yet Austria has little choice but to sell its shares, since the carrier is currently generating a loss and hopes that a Saudi sheik might invest in the company have not come to fruition.

www.aua.com