UPDATE 1-Greece lists firms interested in Olympic group
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ATHENS, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Greece said on Wednesday Qatar Airways, Iberia (IBLA.MC), Chrysler Aviation, SkyOne, and Swissport FER.MC were among companies that had expressed an interest buying the state-run Olympic Airlines group.
"The prospective investors that expressed interest for the company's flight operations and fulfil conditions for participating in the next phase are 13," Greece's Transport Ministry said in a statement.
Greece's conservative government in September split the loss-making airline into three parts and launched a tender to sell them off as part of its privatisation plans.
Qatar state carrier, U.S. charter companies SkyOne and Chrysler Aviation, budget airlines Sky Europe and Italian MyAir, Kuwait's Fouad Al Ghanim Group, and new group Athens Airways are interested in Olympic's flight operations, it said.
Goldair, Swissport, Hellenic Cargo, Fouad Al Ghanim Group, Athens Air, and Greek builder Ellaktor expressed an interest in Olympic's ground handling operations, while Iberia, Athens Air and the Kuwaiti group are interested in Olympic's technical maintenance operations.
Not all groups that expressed interest were named.
Greece aims to conclude the tender by the end of 2008, ending years of failed attempts to privatise Olympic.
The plan has been approved by the European Commission, which agreed to suspend action over illegal state subsidies if the sale went ahead.
Olympic Airlines carried 6.2 million passengers in 2007 to 36 cities and islands in Greece and 37 destinations in Europe, Asia, North America and Africa. It has losses of over 2 million euros a day. (Reporting by George Hatzidakis; Editing by Hans Peters
