Business: Good week - Bad week

Good week

ESTONIAN AIR Estonia's government has agreed in principle to acquire most of the 49% share in its flag carrier held by SAS Group. The deal gives the government 90% of the airline and leaves 10% with SAS, which last year wrote off SKr163 million ($22 million) of goodwill in its stake. The government will inject SKr205 million into the carrier through a new rights issue. SAS will convert SKr20 million in loans into equity, keeping a stake to "show good faith".

 

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Bad week

© Airbus

GULF AIR The Bahraini carrier has cut its workforce by about a fifth to 4,300 since initiating a turnaround programme last August and so far avoided compulsory redundancies, but chief executive Samer Majali reckons the total can be cut to below 4,000. Majali says morale has been a problem for staff, who have faced a "very unstable situation", but a painful restructuring will make the carrier more attractive to major alliances, and membership could be close.

 

 

Source: Flight International