‘Olympic will draw investors’
There will be expressions of interest toward acquiring Olympic Airlines, affirmed Transport Minister Costis Hatzidakis in an interview with Kathimerini. Without mentioning any further details, Hatzidakis explained that all three firms created from the breakup of Olympic (the flight operator, the ground-handling services and the maintenance arms) have already received some interest in their privatization. «My impression is that, according to the data we have at hand, there will be interest in all three companies,» said the minister. He added that this week the Inner Cabinet will approve the realization of the tender for the sale of 49 percent of the three companies. «The scheduled completion of the tender is the end of December. There is, therefore, ample time for interest to be expressed and for all proposals to be weighed,» said Hatzidakis. The company to operate the flight schedule will trim its destinations by a third, with the government proposing a business plan, but the investor who purchases the company will form his own plan according to his priorities, stated Hatzidakis, stressing that the government’s aim is for passengers to be affected as little as possible by the changes at the airline. «Passengers who wish to fly with Olympic should continue to book their tickets as normal. For the transitional phase, as of January, there will be special adjustments that will not affect the passengers themselves – these are issues between the company and travel agents.» He added that there will be a special bureau to serve the employees who wishing to transfer from Olympic to another state company or utility. That bureau will be set up by the end of the year.
