Air France-KLM eyes CSA bid

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) will launch a tentative bid for Czech Airlines (CSA) within weeks as European carriers regroup in the face of a downturn that so far shows no signs of easing, its chief executive said on Monday.

The move comes after it won a 25 percent stake in Italian carrier Alitalia and weeks before the Franco-Dutch firm starts up a key transatlantic joint venture with Delta (DAL.N), fed by traffic scooped up from its own network and partner airlines.

"We understand the Czech government is interested in finding a buyer for a significant part of (CSA). We don't have a lot of information but we are of course very attentive because CSA is a Skyteam partner," Air France-KLM CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said.

Asked whether Air France-KLM would submit an official expression of interest for the Czech privatization by a March 23 deadline, he said, "We will express something, yes."

Gourgeon was speaking at the Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit in New York in his first overseas interview since becoming head of Europe's largest airline group in January.

Air France-KLM had previously declined to say whether it might bid for CSA, saying only that it would study the dossier.

Both CSA and Alitalia are members of the Skyteam alliance led by Air France-KLM and Delta.

Gourgeon, who played decisive role in bringing together Air France and Dutch KLM in 2004, said he still saw untapped synergies from their loose merger, which left the airlines operating separate networks but combining back offices.

These would be mainly longer term gains rather than quick benefits and would center on IT systems, Gourgeon said. He still saw no value in combining the companies into one entity. They currently operate under a common Paris-listed holding company.