Star Alliance to bid for Thai Airways stake

Star Alliance to bid for Thai Airways stake

SINGAPORE (AP): A consortium of airlines representing Star
Alliance would most likely bid for a share of Thai Airways
International (H.TAI) once it is privatized, the Singapore
Airlines chief executive said Saturday.

At a media briefing with other Star Alliance chief executives
Singapore Airlines CEO Cheong Choong Kong said the details were
still to be worked out.

"We have not worked out the details yet simply because the
details of the Thai Airlines privatization and the offer for sale
of shares in Thai International have not been announced," he
said.

"Within Star Alliance we have not worked out the details, but
it is likely to be a consortium of airlines."

Singapore Airlines said last week it had joined the
international airlines grouping.

About 10 percent of Thai Airways International will be open
for bidding as the airline looks for a strategic partner.

Singapore Airlines will send a delegation to Thailand Monday,
but Cheong tried to play down the meeting's significance.

"Too much is made of this meeting with Thai International," he
said. "We have meetings with airlines all the time."

Cheong and his Lufthansa counterpart Karl-Frederich Rausch
both discussed the possibility of moving into China eventually.

"We want to have a partner in this huge country," Rausch told
reporters. "We'll begin with bilaterals before we go into China."
"I'm very optimistic about the airline industry in Asia,
particularly in China, it's huge market in terms of potential,"
SIA's Cheong said.

"We think the rates of growth will be higher in Asia than in
any other part of the world because the economies are growing
fast and the recession is over."

Besides SIA, Thai Airways, and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the
other members of the Alliance are United Airlines, All Nippon
Airways, Scandinavian Airlines System, Air Canada, Varig
Brazilian Airlines, Ansett Australia, Austrian Airlines Group and
Air New Zealand.