FinMin welcomes EC's approval of ČSA's restructuring plan

Prague/Brussels, Sept 19 - The European Commission's decision to approve the plan of restructuring of Czech national air carrier Czech Airlines (CSA) involving a Kc2.5bn loan means that the EU has recognised the Czech Republic's arguments, Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek has said.

The Commission launched a deep investigation into the aid provided for CSA's restructuring in February last year. It has been examining whether the loan that CSA received from state-run company Osinek in 2009 might be illegal state aid.

"The Commission has arrived at the conclusion that the aid provided to CSA was in line with EU rules on state aid," Czech EU Commissioner Stefan Fuele told CTK yesterday.

The investigation has shown that the revised plan of restructuring is based on realistic expectations and should help CSA recover in a reasonable period of time without breaking economic competition and EU rules, Fuele said.

CSA is now a part of Cesky Aeroholding, a group comprising state-owned companies engaged in the air transport industry.

A long-term intention of the state as the CSA owner is to sell the company, Kalousek noted.

According to analyst Jan Prochazka of the Cyrrus company, the approval of CSA's restructuring by the European Commission is much better than the hitherto uncertainty over whether CSA will not have to return the Kc2.5bn loan.

To find a suitable strategic partner for CSA will, however, still be difficult, Patria Finance executive head Petr Kovac said.

The approval of CSA's restructuring plan was a necessary condition for the recovery process in CSA to continue. If the Commission did not approve it, it would be difficult for CSA to survive.

CSA pilots will not demand that their wages be raised next year but will oppose the management's plan to extend their working hours during the forthcoming talks about the future collective agreement, the pilots' trade union CZALPA said yesterday.

Collective bargaining is to start in CSA in October.

"Preservation of CSA is a priority for us. At this moment we do not want our wages to be raised but we want to maintain the current state," CZALPA head Stanislav Fiala said.

In the past, pilots voluntarily had their wages cut twice as a measure to help their employer save costs. Captains' salary has decreased by almost a half compared with its size four years ago, Fiala noted.

CZALPA will not, however, allow any further wage cuts, Fiala added.

CSA posted a pre-tax loss of Kc241m last year. In 2011 it made a gross profit worth Kc65m, which, however, included revenues from the sale of assets for almost Kc2.7bn.

Last year, CSA sold assets worth Kc876m.