Czech Airlines Made CZK500 Mln Profit In 2008

CSA Czech Airlines posted a 2008 pre-tax profit of CZK500 million koruny (USD$23.6 million), and said on Thursday it was ready to respond flexibly to economic developments.

"Czech Airlines is working with three variants of a plan, which differ depending on the number of passengers," Vice President for Finance Lubos Cerny said.

Fuel and exchange rate hedging helped avoid the worst of last year's upward spike in oil prices and the crown's weakening versus the dollar, the company said.

The Czech government has launched a tender to sell its 91.5 percent stake in the company, with the sale later this year expected by analysts to fetch up to CZK5 billion (USD$236 million).

Air France-KLM and Aeroflot have both said they were interested.