Corti faces uphill struggle to turn SAirGroup around

swissinfo.ch

The Swiss press has reacted positively to Mario Corti's pledge to revive the ailing SAirGroup. Newspaper commentators were giving their verdict on the future of the company, after it announced losses of nearly SFr3 billion ($1.73 billion) for 2000.

The general media consensus was that as new chairman and chief executive of the SAirGroup, Corti made a good impression at Monday’s news conference where he outlined the serious financial situation facing the company.

The Geneva newspaper “Le Temps” asks whether Corti is up to saving the group. It says he should be given the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

“He still lacks a vision, a strategy to get the machine working again. Mario Corti needs courage to take decisions that will affect the future of the group. At the moment, he needs time,” is the paper’s view.

Zurich’s “Tages-Anzeiger” newspaper also asks if Mario Corti is the man to pull Swissair out of the “mess”. Its verdict is that Corti’s presentation on Monday was convincing.

“He outlined the serious financial situation of the SAirGroup in a matter of fact way… He was clear in presenting how he wanted to lead the beleaguered airline into a better future.”

However, the paper warned that Corti has no “magic formula” for a quick solution, but that “his appearance sent a much more important message across: Swissair has a boss again”.

It would be foolish, the paper adds, to make a personality cult out of “Super Mario” because he has, as yet, achieved nothing. “But he’s laid the groundwork for a credible and calculable management. That is music to the ears of staff, customers and shareholders.”

There is general agreement that the SAirGroup will pull out of some of its shareholdings in foreign airlines.

The Financial Times of London focused on SAirGroup’s plans for its foreign holdings. Under the headline: “SAir ready to axe loss makers”, it mentioned that Corti had decided to put up for sale Air Littoral of France, and suggested that SAirGroup might also sever its links with two other French airlines, AOM and Air Liberté, as well as Belgium’s Sabena.

The FT said the SAirGroup was “in danger of going into such a steep dive that the engines cut out.” Corti, it added, was now “trying to yank back the joystick”.

Most papers pointed out, though, that the SAirGroup has contractual obligations and can expect a bitter fight with the foreign unions involved.

Looking ahead, the papers’ view is that SAirGroup needs to free itself from its foreign commitments and seek to join a larger airline alliance.

The “Basler Zeitung” says the company must find a way of limiting its exposure to Sabena.

“The SAirGroup has pledged to increase its stake in Sabena to 85 per cent once the bilateral treaties with the European Union come into force,” it comments. “This has to be avoided at all costs.”

The “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” newspaper makes the point that Swissair still needs partners to defend the Zurich hub and its long-haul network successfully. Like other papers, it suggests that SAirGroup would be well advised to join an alliance, such as the British Airways-led “oneworld”.

In its editorial, the tabloid “Blick” highlights Corti’s intention to drop the name SAirGroup and revert back to Swissair. “The new chief is bringing us emotionally closer to a company with which we Swiss are still proud,” it says.

swissinfo with agencies