SWISSAIR PRESIDENT Otto Loepfe says that preliminary talks have taken place over taking an increased stake in Austrian Airlines.
Loepfe says that he has already held discussions with Austria's new finance minister, Andreas Staribacher, but that he is still waiting for "a concrete reaction" from the Austrian Government, which holds a controlling 52% stake in its national carrier.
Swissair, which holds a 10% stake in its long-standing Austrian partner, has previously stated that it is looking to increase the holding to 25%.
If the deal goes ahead, it would mark another significant step in the Swiss airline's ambitions, to pull together a powerful European alliance, now including Sabena, in which it took a 49.7% stake earlier this year.
Austrian Airlines admits that it will hold discussions with Sabena to investigate co-operation between the two airlines, in the wake of Swissair's alliance with the Belgian carrier. "Swissair has a major holding in Sabena so it is logical for us to talk with them too," says Austrian Airlines.
Links between Austrian Airlines and Swissair are well established, with the two airlines serving each other in their home markets and sharing offices and ground-handling stations worldwide.
Austrian Airlines says that its teaming with Delta on the North Atlantic has been working well. The daily non-stop service between Vienna and New York, which Austrian operates with a Delta code-share, has been reaching 90% load factors over the summer.
Source: Flight International
