Czech Airlines, the national carrier currently in the midst of a privatization process, has posted a first-quarter loss owing to an "unprecedented" drop in passengers, dpa quoted the company as saying today. The airline reported a loss before tax of 1.318 billion koruny (67.9 million dollars) in the first three months of 2009, compared to 844 million koruny (43.5 million dollars) in the same period the previous year. The poor result in the first quarter, which is normally a weak season for airlines, were caused by a 12-per-cent year-on-year drop in the number of passengers, the company said. The carrier said it expected its loss before tax to reach 361 million koruny (18.5 million dollars) in 2009 as the global economic crisis has deepened the industry's woes. The airline is however eyeing a return to the black in 2010 when it anticipates earning 157 million koruny (8 million dollars) before tax. The Czech government plans to pick a buyer for its 91.5-per-cent stake in the airline in the autumn. The contenders who made it to the second, final round of the tender are the French-Dutch airline Air France-KLM and a Czech consortium of investment firm Unimex Group and low-cost carrier Travel Service.
