Green light for Olympic tender

Government launches procedure to find a buyer for troubled airline; Qatar Airways interested

Reuters, Kathimerini

Greece’s privatizations committee yesterday gave the green light for the launch of a tender to find buyers for three new companies to replace ailing flag-carrier Olympic Airlines (OA).

The government recently announced it would break up the troubled airline, ending years of wrangling with Brussels over illegal state aid, with a view to fully privatizing it.

“Competitive procedures to choose private investors to buy the three companies – flying, ground handling and aircraft maintenance – will start,” the privatizations committee said in a statement.

“The procedures will proceed as planned.”

The new airline will retain Olympic’s name and trademark – the five Olympic rings that symbolize the five continents.

The ministers of finance, development, transport and labor make up the privatizations committee.

The European Commission has approved the Greek government’s plan to break Olympic into divisions covering flights, ground handling and maintenance, which would be sold to investors by 2009.

The Commission has also ordered Olympic to repay 850 million euros in illegal state aid it received between 2005-2007, but Greek officials say most of this is unlikely to be returned.

According to sources, Qatar Airways is eyeing the acquisition of the entire OA setup in order to expand further into the world airline market.

Qatar is interested in OA because a buyout would help it to gain a better footing in the European and American markets.

The use of OA’s airport slots is the main attraction for the Arab company, which covers more than 80 destinations and by 2015 will have a total of 110 aircraft.

Qatar has been awaiting developments on the OA front for two years now.