July 4, 2004
Star Alliance members are not keen on Swiss switching to the airline grouping led by Germany's Lufthansa after failed efforts to join oneworld, the head of Austrian Airlines said.
Vagn Soerensen, chief executive of Star Alliance member Austrian Airlines, told Tribune de Geneve newspaper that Swiss International Air Lines would not contribute much to the alliance, noting that the Swiss firm was also still too big.
"Other European members of our alliance are not more enthusiastic (than Austrian Airlines are) about the idea of seeing Swiss come in," he said in an interview published on Saturday. He added Swiss lacked a clearly defined strategy.
In June, Swiss had ditched plans to join the oneworld alliance of airlines led by British Airways.
But with alliance membership seen as a key element to helping Swiss swing to profit, speculation flared instantly that the airline would turn to Lufthansa for help, especially with ex-Lufthansa manager Christoph Franz as its new chief executive.
Both Swiss and Lufthansa insist they are not in talks. Swiss has said that it would first try to break even before talks with any partner.
Apart from directly joining Star Alliance, the Swiss carrier could also join the alliance via Lufthansa in the case that the German carrier bought the Swiss government's controlling stake in Swiss -- a move to which Berne has said it is not averse.
Citing various different sources, Tribune de Geneve said that talks on Lufthansa taking a large stake in Swiss would start in the next few months.
The cash-strapped Swiss airline has cut costs, its route network, its fleet and services on European routes to boost its chances of survival, but has so far not clinched a deal with bankers on a roughly 400 million Swiss franc (USD$324 million) credit line.
Most Swiss' shareholders have said they are not been keen to bail out the loss-making airline which has suffered from high fuel prices, the failure to clinch a cost-saving deal with a key supplier, and tough rivalry in the crowded airline industry.
(Reuters)