Czech Government Merges CSA Czech Airlines And Prague Airport
By Sean Carney
Published November 24, 2010
PRAGUE -(Dow Jones)- The Czech government has merged state-run CSA Czech Airlines and the Prague Airport into one entity to bring financial stability to the companies, the finance ministry said Wednesday.
"The basis of the project is the consolidation of state-owned companies in the area of air travel into [one] stable subject with a strong capital position, called Cesky Aeroholding AS," said the ministry, which is the government agency responsible for these and other state-owned companies.
CSA Czech Airlines has been running operational losses for the last few years, with occasional profits coming only after the sale of the airline's planes, hangars, and cargo business.
The airline has been managed by Prague Airport since last year. The airport is also state-run and routinely shows solid profits due to its expanded capacity with a new terminal devoted to intra-European flights to and from the borderless Schengen zone.
The government aims to have the holding--with the greatest financial contribution from the airport--fund itself, without requiring bailouts.
Go to http://blogs.wsj.com/new-europe for the new Dow Jones blog on Central and Eastern Europe, covering business, politics, society and more, written by our correspondents across the region.
Copyright © 2010 Dow Jones Newswires
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/...ent-merges-csa-czech-airlines-prague-airport/
By Sean Carney
Published November 24, 2010
PRAGUE -(Dow Jones)- The Czech government has merged state-run CSA Czech Airlines and the Prague Airport into one entity to bring financial stability to the companies, the finance ministry said Wednesday.
"The basis of the project is the consolidation of state-owned companies in the area of air travel into [one] stable subject with a strong capital position, called Cesky Aeroholding AS," said the ministry, which is the government agency responsible for these and other state-owned companies.
CSA Czech Airlines has been running operational losses for the last few years, with occasional profits coming only after the sale of the airline's planes, hangars, and cargo business.
The airline has been managed by Prague Airport since last year. The airport is also state-run and routinely shows solid profits due to its expanded capacity with a new terminal devoted to intra-European flights to and from the borderless Schengen zone.
The government aims to have the holding--with the greatest financial contribution from the airport--fund itself, without requiring bailouts.
Go to http://blogs.wsj.com/new-europe for the new Dow Jones blog on Central and Eastern Europe, covering business, politics, society and more, written by our correspondents across the region.
Copyright © 2010 Dow Jones Newswires
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/...ent-merges-csa-czech-airlines-prague-airport/
