CSA Czech Airlines has posted a healthy pre-tax profit of EUR 17.2 million for 2008. It is ready, it says, to respond flexibly to the current economic conditions. "Czech Airlines is working with three variants of a plan, which differ depending on the number of passengers," said Lubos Cerny, the airline’s vice president for finance. CSA has benefited from fuel and exchange rate hedging, helping it to avoid the worst of the last year’s high oil prices and the Czech currency weakening against the dollar and the euro. The airline is expected to be privatized later this year and the Czech government has launched a tender to sell its 91.5 percent stake in the company. Both Air France-KLM and Aeroflot have expresed interest in the sale.

 

Stand By News, 2009-03-19