July 4, 2004
Swiss International Air Lines has 50 pilots too many in the wake of network cuts and aims to resolve the over-employment issue without dismissals or other measures that would upset unions, the loss-making carrier said on Sunday.
"We will be looking for solutions in talks with the unions," said a spokesman for Swiss, confirming media reports which also suggested unpaid leave as one option.
There was no time frame for the measures, but the aim was to tackle the excess as soon as possible, he said. He declined to say how much the airline could save with 50 pilots fewer.
He said the carrier also has 70 captains too many and a number would in future have to fly as co-pilots to make up a shortage there.
The cash-strapped Swiss airline has cut costs, its route network, its fleet and services on European routes to boost its chances of survival, but its size relative to the small Swiss population continues to concern analysts and possible partners.
The head of Austrian Airlines was on Saturday quoted as saying Star Alliance members were not keen on Swiss switching to the airline grouping led by Germany's Lufthansa after failed efforts to join oneworld.
Vagn Soerensen, chief executive of Star Alliance member AUA, told a Swiss paper that Swiss would not contribute much to the alliance, noting that the Swiss firm was also still too big and lacked a clearly defined strategy.
With alliance membership seen as a key element to helping Swiss swing to profit, speculation flared instantly that the airline would turn to Lufthansa for help, especially with ex-Lufthansa manager Christoph Franz as its new chief executive.
The Swiss spokesman on Sunday reiterated Star Alliance membership was not a topic now and denied a report in Swiss paper Tribune de Geneve that said talks on Lufthansa taking a large stake in Swiss would start in the next few months.
The Swiss government, which has the single largest stake in Swiss, has said it is not averse to a deal with Lufthansa.
Most Swiss' shareholders have said they are not been keen to bail out the loss-making airline which has suffered from high fuel prices, the failure to clinch a cost-saving deal with a key supplier, and tough rivalry in the crowded airline industry.
(Reuters)