Czech Airlines understands and respects the reasons underlying Air France-KLM’s decision. For Czech Airlines – as for other airlines – the only priority for 2009 is to flexibly respond to the market crisis.
Czech Airlines trusts that Air France-KLM, as well as Czech Airlines itself, will manage their downsizing processes. Czech Airlines shares the opinion of Air France-KLM, which it reached on the basis of a profound knowledge of the financial condition and current situation at Czech Airlines, i.e., that Czech Airlines can restore its profitability without outside assistance. Czech Airlines is prepared to continue cooperating with Air France-KLM in the SkyTeam Alliance.
Czech Airlines’ management has always declared that all decisions concerning the privatisation are solely matters for the shareholder. The primary task of the Czech Airlines management is to manage the Airline and ensure its long-term existence and prosperity, regardless of who owns the Airline, whether it is the government or a private company. For that reason, the management has successfully implemented the OK 2006-2008 three-year plan for turning around Czech Airlines, and prepared the revitalised and profitable corporation for privatisation, which was launched before the outbreak of the crisis.
Since the end of last year, in response to the current developments on the air carriage market that have been caused by the global crisis, it has adopted and implemented a number of measures to overcome the effects of the crisis. These are standard steps that are being taken by other companies, as well, and not only in aviation. The 2009 Action Plan is being successfully implemented, and the shareholders as well as the parties involved in the privatisation process are being informed regularly, as to its further acceleration. The plan involves a set of drastic downsizing and restructuring measures, which include personnel; measures that are essential for surviving the crisis year of 2009 and for launching Czech Airlines’ growth in 2010 and beyond.