Hopes for OA’s fifth last chance
The government yesterday voiced guarded optimism that it will finally succeed in finding a buyer for loss-making Olympic Airlines, six weeks before tentative suitors for the state carrier are due to submit binding bids. Transport Minister Michalis Liapis told journalists after a meeting with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis that the non-binding offers submitted for OA on Friday allowed grounds for optimism, adding that «this is the last chance for Olympic.» Successive governments have said much the same during each of the last four privatization bids since 1999, none of which bore fruit. «I believe that it is possible to find a credible purchaser, in a deal that will benefit Olympic, the national economy and company employees,» Liapis said. «I believe this on the basis of the offers [tabled so far] too.» Yesterday, Germany’s DBA budget airline confirmed it had submitted a non-binding bid. Greece’s Aegean Airlines has also publicly acknowledged its interest, while another five firms are believed to have tabled offers. OA had operating losses of over 100 million euros last year.
