HUNGARY'S privatisation agency plans to sell a further stake in flag carrier Malev this year, although the move could be delayed by uncertainties over the financial future of Alitalia, which already holds a one-third stake in the airline.
Alitalia acquired a 30% stake in Malev in 1992 in a $377 million deal. At the same time, another 5% was bought by Simest, an investment agency controlled by Italy's foreign trade ministry. Hungary's privatisation agency, APV, is now reportedly interested in selling off a further 10-30%.
Malev has been making modest profits, despite heavy investment in upgrading its ageing Soviet-built fleet, and in 1995 posted sales of $300 million.
In neighbouring Romania, long-standing promises of finding new investors for Tarom have failed to materialise, and the state-owned flag carrier is facing a further cutback in its fleet.
Since 1990, the Romanian carrier has brought the size of its fleet down from 76 aircraft (most of them Soviet-built) to 49 airliners. Although the airline now flies two Airbus A310s and five Boeing 737-300s, it plans to phase out ageing BAC One-Elevens and Boeing 707s by 1997. The airline lacks the funds to replace them with new acquisitions, however.
Tarom, which serves 42 destinations and carries around 1 million passengers a year, has been attempting to eliminate fare subsidies within Romania, which have made domestic operations uneconomic.
Source: Flight International
