NICOSIA, Aug 3 (AFP) - Cyprus Airways said on Tuesday it will sell or lease two of its Airbus 320s at the end of the summer as the debt-ridden airline seeks to cut routes and jobs to survive.
"As part of the restructuring plan of the company which concerns the flight network and composition of the fleet, it has been decided that two aircraft type A320 will be withdrawn at the end of October 2004," the national airline said in a statement to the Cyprus Stock Exchange.
"The aircraft will be put up for sale or offered for lease according to the interest shown," the brief statement ended.
The state-owned listed company is holding consultations with the government and union leaders to achieve broad consensus on a streamlining package to help put the airline back in the black by 2006.
In 2003, the company posted a record net loss of 20.9 million Cyprus pounds (43.9 milliion US dollars), overturning a net profit of 10 million Cyprus pounds the previous year.
Cyprus Airways has a combined fleet of 19 aircraft, including its charter wing Eurocypria and Athens-based Hellas Jet established last year to take advantage of an anticipated increase in passenger flow during the Olympics in the Greek capital.
Hellas Jet has so far cost the airline 10 million pounds without showing a profit.
The airline has some 2,000 staff and some reports have said as many as 600 jobs -- including management posts -- could go in the restructuring drive.
Rapid expansion of the fleet, in 2002-2003, at a time of tougher competition in deregulated skies is seen as one of the key reasons for the airline's problems.
Communications Minister Haris Thrasou said on Tuesday that Cyprus Airways would only last until the end of the year if it continued to operate under its current regime.