LOT Polish Airlines flies high despite Swissair's nosedive

Shares of Swissair's SAirGroup, the owner of 37% of PLL LOT, hit a six-year low yesterday, with Tuesday's price 23% lower than last Friday's (sale was suspended on Monday). SAirGroup's losses for the year 2000 amounted to almost $2 billion. LOT Polish Airlines and South African Airlines are the only profitable carriers in the Swissair Group. Analysts estimate that the group will need about CHF 5 billion to recover, with the money to come from such endeavors as sale of some of the airline's real estate, its network of Swissotel hotels, as well as some financially ailing carriers in the group. The massive slimming project of the Swissair Group will not, however, threaten LOT, according to Mario Corti, the new chairman of the group, who also denied that there are any plans to sell the Polish company. (Puls Biznesu, p.31, Rzeczpospolita, B3), M.T.