Austria's conservative Vice Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer on Saturday set a year-end deadline for troubled national carrier Austrian Airlines' future to be settled.
"The second half of the year will be the right time. 2008 should be the year of the decision," Molterer, also finance minister in Austria's coalition government, told national radio.
Molterer said he has asked the managements of a public holding company and the airline itself to report on structural options over the summer, examining options including independence or a strategic alliance.
The Austrian state controls 42.75 percent of the company, in difficulty following Austrian-Saudi investor Mohamed Al Jaber's decision to pull back from a 150 million euro (235 million dollar) cash injection in exchange for 20 percent equity.
Despite re-structuring, the air carrier lost more than 60 million euros over the first four months of 2008, after posting a symbolic profit of three million euros for 2007 -- a first following four loss-making years.
According to a poll published this week, 70 percent of Austrians are opposed to a government bail-out, fearing a similar scenario to the one which has engulfed Alitalia, which has repeatedly turned to the Italian state for aid or, most recently, a commercial loan.
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