=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/04/29/f= inancial1204EDT0108.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, April 29, 2003 (AP) Airline chief demands help from Swiss government and banks (04-29) 09:04 PDT ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- The head of struggling Swiss International Air Lines on Tuesday demanded lower taxes, insurance premiums and airport charges and more support from the government and banks if Switzerland wants to maintain a national airline. "We need immediate measures. The management of Swiss is doing everything it can to get through the crisis, but that alone isn't enough," Andre Dose said in an interview with the mass circulation daily Blick. Dose's comments came as Swiss announced it was canceling 48 flights between Thursday and Monday because of lower demand due a national holiday. It already has scrapped or reduced flights to several European destinations over the next few months, reduced its order for new aircraft and cut more than 1,000 jobs. Swiss formally came into being in March 2002, bringing together the remnants of the former national carrier, Swissair, which collapsed in October 2001, and its profitable former subsidiary Crossair, a regional carrier. Dose said he wanted the cabinet to provide a "letter of comfort" that would allow Swiss to obtain the additional credits it needs from Switzerland's two major banks, UBS and Credit Suisse. He said Swiss would like to be relieved this year of about 100 million Swiss francs ($73 million) in airport fees, taxes and air traffic control charges in the hope of achieving profitability next year. "Switzerland needs an airline. It needs to have international connection= s, for the sake of the economy and for jobs. If Swiss did not exist, Switzerland's economic position would be worse than today," Dose said. Dose said the SARS outbreak in East Asia is costing the airline 30 milli= on to 40 million francs ($22-29 million) per month, but that it still has enough liquidity to get to the end of the year. Swiss lost 980 million Swiss francs ($706 million) in 2002 and acknowledged it would fail to reach its goal of returning to profitability in 2003. The company also said it would cut 20 planes from its fleet of 132 and halved its order for new aircraft to replace its aging regional fleet. It said more job cuts were likely after it shed 1,000 staff already last year. Earlier this month the company denied media rumors that it is in discussions with Lufthansa over a possible takeover. The German carrier also denied the claims. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP