CSA Bids To Lure A Partner

PRAGUE -- The Czech government plans to sell a 19.1 percent stake in the debt-ridden national airline Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie a.s., or CSA, probably to a partner in the United States or in the Far East, the transport minister said. "It was unequivocally stated and approved at the shareholders' meeting that the partner should be non-European ... either in the western hemisphere or in the Far East," Dr. Jan Strasky told a news conference. Strasky did not specify any foreign partners with whom the Czech government was holding talks, but Czech newspaper reports have said that U.S. Delta Airlines, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines were interested in the stake. Last Friday, the ailing Czech carrier held a shareholders' meeting when complaints were voiced that management had not properly explained CSA's financial troubles. CSA reported a loss of 1.5 billion crowns ($51.6 million) in 1993 after a 200-million-crown loss in 1992. Strasky said the airline management would have a year to evaluate potential foreign partners. "We're not deciding today," he said.