A team of British Airways consultants ended Sunday a visit to Amman to investigate the possibility of buying a stake in Jordan's flag carrier Royal Jordanian (RJ), the latter's chief executive Nader Zahabi told AFP.
Zahabi said the experts from the Speedwings consultancy had visited the various departments of RJ collecting data with a view to British Airways becoming a "strategic partner" of the Jordanian government.
Amman has taken various steps in recent months to pave the way for a sell-off of RJ. In July at the government's request the Jordanian parliament abrogated a law defining the company as a public enterprise.
Financial restructuring has brought RJ's debts down to 150 million dollars last year from an estimated one billion earlier in the decade.
The aim is to sell 49 percent of RJ to a major foreign airline or other investors, keeping the rest in private Jordanian hands.
RJ has a fleet of nine Airbus A310 aircraft, of which five are leased, three A320s, including two leased, and two cargo planes. The airline serves 45 destinations. — (AFP)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
