=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/2003/08/29/f= inancial1043EDT0072.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, August 29, 2003 (AP) Government submits draft bill to revamp Olympic Airways (08-29) 07:43 PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- The government submitted draft legislation Friday to streamline the debt-ridden national carrier Olympic Airways. The revamped company, which will be known as Olympic Airlines, will merge the carrier's three distinct divisions -- Olympic Airways, Olympic Aviation and Macedonian Airlines -- into one. Transport Minister Christos Verelis said the new company would employ 1,850 people and reduce labor costs by 45 percent compared to the current company, which has nearly 5,000 employees. Its ground operations and technical services will be spun off. The new company will retain its international and domestic network. The government hopes to have a new, debt-free state carrier in time for the 2004 Olympics. In March, Olympic Airways was chosen as the official airline for the 2004 Olympic Games. Its debts amounted to an estimated euro120 million ($138 million) in 200= 1. The draft bill must first be debated in committee before it is approved = by the 300-member unicameral parliament. "By establishing the new company we secure its viability," Verelis said. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP