Fifteen years after a divorce settlement agreement with Air France, CSA look at again in the direction of Paris, not without some misgivings. The Czech airline, the Government decided to privatize 100 here in September, indeed hope that Air France-KLM will be among the candidates for the resumption. The Dutch group, which makes no secret of his interest in CSA, has until March 23 to send a letter of intent to Prague, to access the "data room" and to prepare a possible formal offer, here at the end of June. Member of the SkyTeam alliance and business partner of Air France on the axis Paris-Prague, CSA would be a complement to non-negligible network on the Eastern Europe for Air France-KLM, which is the main weak point. About CSA, although that recipient again in 2007 and 2008, its survival is through an affiliation to a large group, as acknowledged its CEO, Radomir Lasak. "We need a strategic partner." "In the current period, consolidation is a way to survive," he says. But the choice may be limited. For the time being, the only one claiming declared remains Aeroflot, which must still be a Czech or European partner. Good negotiator, Radomir Lasak does however not want for all exclusively rely on Air France-KLM. "Best for CSA would be a distant geographically, partner that would promote the development of our hub of Prague, big - it.". "Air France-KLM wants to primarily defend its European market," he added.
Sound finance

Behind the privatization of CSA lurks indeed airport from Prague, financially much more important. If the company and its 5.6 million customers are valued "between 5 and 6 billion CZK" (from 187 to 225 million euros), according to its CEO, the privatization of Prague-Ruzyne Airport and its 12.7 million passengers, which should not intervene before 2010, could yield some 100 billion kroner (3.7 billion). Hence the concern of the Czech authorities to select a purchaser for CSA, which would not devalue the Prague Airport. Gold Air France-KLM, while comforting, could harm if it limited CSA in the role of provider of traffic for its hub of Roissy-CDG. So Air France left only good memories in Prague. "If you ask former employees of CSA, there is sometimes a negative feeling, he says." But times have changed and, today, I see no obstacle to a partnership with KLM Air France, he adds immediately.
As the links already woven with Air France-KLM in the SkyTeam alliance, they appear to not determinative. "We have a commercial partnership with Air France, but it should evolve in more or less, said Radomir Lasak.". Our strength is also not our membership in the SkyTeam alliance. If we were to leave, this would be neither complicated nor expensive. In addition, CSA is a solid company financially probably the most solid of Eastern Europe and can survive without injection of capital. We have still made a profit in 2008 18.8 million for 877 million turnover, Editor's note and, if we expect, like most companies, losses for 2009, there is no reason that we do not return to profits in 2010.