VIENNA—The Austrian government is seeking expressions of interest by August 24 from carriers interested in buying Austrian Airlines Group, according to an advertisement in Wednesday’s Financial Times.

The government Tuesday approved a plan to sell its 43-percent stake in the airline, the country’s largest carrier, provided 25 percent of the company is held by an Austrian investor.

The approval was granted at the government’s Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer said at a news briefing in Vienna Tuesday. The government wants to find a buyer by the end of the year, he said.

“The earlier we find a partner, the better,” Molterer told reporters, “and we need to find that partner.”

Molterer, Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and Transport Minister Werner Faymann had provisionally agreed on the sale last week after a meeting with Austrian Airlines chairman Peter Michaelis. Germany’s Deutsche Lufthansa AG said August 7 that it would like to hold talks about expanding an existing partnership with the Vienna-based carrier.

The company is predicting a full-year loss of as much as €90 million after fuel prices rose to a record this year and slowing economies reduced air travel.

Meanwhile, Flughafen Wien AG’s Vienna International Airport, Austria’s busiest, handled 3.8 percent more passengers last month as travel to eastern Europe and the Middle East increased.

The number of travelers using the airport rose to 1.93 million in July, the Schwechat, Austria-based company said Wednesday in an e-mailed statement. The amount of cargo handled fell 5 percent compared with a year earlier to 20,873 metric tons.

Vienna airport markets itself as a hub linking western Europe with destinations to the east. Travel to eastern Europe from the airport jumped 19 percent in the first six months, the company said Wednesday. Flughafen Wien on May 15 reiterated a target of boosting total passenger numbers by 8 percent this year.

Maximum takeoff weight, which helps determine airport fees, increased 3.6 percent last month and the number of takeoffs and landings rose 3.6 percent. (Bloomberg)

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Austria looks for stake buyers in flag carrier

VIENNA—The Austrian government is seeking expressions of interest by August 24 from carriers interested in buying Austrian Airlines Group, according to an advertisement in Wednesday’s Financial Times.