Nuance sale aired as SAirGroup appoints chairman, ready to declare new strategy

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SAirGroup, parent of duty-free operator Nuance Group, announced today it had appointed Nestlé's chief financial officer, Mario Corti, as chairman and chief executive in an attempt to turn around its unprofitable Swissair airlines division and its airline holdings in Belgium, France and Germany.

Corti has also been named delegate of the board of directors of SAirGroup, immediately taking responsibility for the group. He will also replace the group's current chairman of the board, Eric Honegger, who will step down at the shareholders meeting on April 25.

Today's Wall Street Journal reported that SAirGroup is looking at selling some of its healthy subsidiaries which might include Nuance Group, Swissotel (hotels), and baggage handling. An SAirGroup spokesman said the group is investigating selling assets "far from the airline business," such as Swissotel, and that "the best" operations like Gate Gourmet and SRTechnics, which handles maintenance, aren't on the market.

SAirGroup management has promised to present details of the new plan on April 2 along with the company's 2000 financial results.