Found on the web:
BASEL, April 13 (AFP) – The troubled airline Swiss has reportedly been in
secret talks since March negotiating a buyout by the German company Lufthansa,
the Swiss economic weekly SonntagsZeitung said Sunday.
The talks have not been officially confirmed, according to the paper which
said it had got its information from three different independent sources.
Swiss, which rose from the ashes of bankrupt Swissair, has apparently won
the government’s approval for the move which would involve a massive
restructuring of the company.
Lufthansa’s takeover would be conditioned on a cut in the Swiss company’s
long-haul flights, the paper said.
The German bank Deutsche Bank is reportedly also involved in the
negotiations which have come across several hurdles. Apparently Swiss also
offered itself to British Airways, but was turned down.
The negotiations have been triggered by the company’s “catastrophic”
finanical situation which has been worsened by the war in Iraq and the deadly
atypical pneumonia sweeping the globe, the paper said.
Swiss, which made a net loss of 980 million Swiss francs (726 million
dollars, 668 million euros) in 2002, has already started a restructuring
process, cutting flights and shedding 1,000 jobs aiming to reduce its losses
now amounting to some two million Swiss francs a day.
Last week Swiss Finance Minister Kaspar Villiger ruled out any fresh
injection of state funds into the company.
The Swiss government is currently the largest single shareholder, having
invested about one billion Swiss francs (685 million euros, 603 million
dollars) along with regional authorities to set up Swiss one year ago.
By: theplane - 21st April 2003 at 13:48
I didn’t take it as offensive…i agree with you in that i would’ve thought they would get a referendum or something like that….but it seems that now the focus is going into why the gov’t is pissing away money in a private company…. so maybe they’ll get a referndum out on a new state-owned airline?
and i do agree that the german laws are a bit harsh….but oh well….i live right in front of GVA, and if the harsh german laws make it easier for me to get to see the swiss fleet close up, then theyre a welcome set of laws:)
By: MSR777 - 21st April 2003 at 12:46
Welcome to the forum theplane. No offence intended reference a referendum, I thought that something of that magnitude would get one in Switzerland.
By: Saab 2000 - 21st April 2003 at 09:31
The German regulations with regards to Swiss aircraft using their airspace is ridiculous. It is total discrimination.
By: theplane - 21st April 2003 at 00:34
Thanx for the welcome…i had kind of popped in before, but never really got down to registering…
but no, they wont even get a referendum for that…it’s the usual “pay up from your taxes” approach
By: MSR777 - 21st April 2003 at 00:22
Knowing the Swiss I guess it would have to go to a national referendum anyhow.
By: A330Crazy - 21st April 2003 at 00:19
Welcome to the boards mate. 🙂
By: theplane - 21st April 2003 at 00:17
SWISS has already said that his was a rumour…I’m not sure if it is well known, but Swissair’s problems started in about 1995 with the development of Zuich as their main intercontinental hub (before it was shared between Geneva and Zurich), since they wasted a lot of money on setting up an intercontinental base in Geneva which they then proceeded to throw away. Higher landing fees and much higher environmental restrictions on the part of the German authorities and the Zurich canton have resulted in Swissair (and then SWISS) having a lot more problems. Now it seems that the Swiss government will once again throw a few hundred million francs at SWISS to keep them alive…
the only tough decision SWISS faces at the moment is whether to send its long-haul fleet to Geneva or Basel after the German authorities have refused to allow SWISS planes to use their airspace (at certain times) from July 10th…
By: Saab 2000 - 20th April 2003 at 20:05
I wouldn’t be that enthusiastic about their management. They are not logical thinkers.
By: A330Crazy - 20th April 2003 at 17:42
Swiss International Air Lines does not have a liquidity problem and its chief executive is doing a good job, Chairman Pieter Bouw said in an interview published in Saturday’s Finanz und Wirtschaft. “We have no liquidity problem,” Bouw told the newspaper.
He also voiced his support for Chief Executive Andre Dose. “He is doing a very good job,” he said, when asked about the CEO. Swiss lost almost a billion Swiss francs last year. Bouw said he was not looking for a government guarantee and the solution was to increase income, cut costs and look for new forms of cooperation with other airlines.
“We talk with many airlines. The flying business is a global industry,” he said, declining to name any companies with which Swiss has talked. Swiss has denied speculation that it was in talks with Lufthansa or British Airways. “I have not said foreign airlines should take a stake in Swiss,” Bouw said. Swiss said last month it would cut its share capital and halve its order for new regional planes as it seeks to avoid Swissair’s fate.
By: greekdude1 - 16th April 2003 at 05:41
Would they be completely swallowed up, or would they still retain their identity, name, color scheme, etc.?
By: Saab 2000 - 15th April 2003 at 12:06
Why would LH want Swiss? They have enough problems of their own at the moment without buying into an unprofitable airline. I couldn’t understand cutting long haul flights and eliminating the Zurich hub, Switzerland obviously can support its own airline if it were to retain a smaller fleet of aircraft and destinations.
By: KabirT - 15th April 2003 at 11:25
IMO…i dont see that happening.
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April 15, 2003 at 11:11 am