Czech Airlines posts loss

The state-run national carrier Czech Airlines (ČSA) posted a loss of 1.83 billion crowns in the first half of 2009, the internet news website iDnes.cz reported, citing from a report which the company will make public at a press conference on Wednesday. The loss is more than 0.5 billion higher than anticipated. For the full year, ČSA expects a loss of around 2 billion crowns. The loss is being attributed to a fall in passenger numbers by one-tenth and an overall decline in plane ticket prices resulting from fierce competition. ČSA did not want to comment of the results. The airline is undergoing privatization, the state having offered its entire 91.5 percent stake in the airline. Two companies had reached the second stage of privatization but last week Air France-KLM, Europe’s biggest airline, withdrew its bid leaving just one Czech bidder –Unimex Group in the running. A final decision is expected by September 30.