Swissair said it could not rule out membership in one of the global airline alliances at some point in the future, but said the current alliance scene was too unstable to join.

"One can never say never," Swissair chief executive Jeffrey Katz said about the chances of linking up with a worldwide alliance such as oneworld -- centred around British Airways and American Airlines -- or Star, headed by Lufthansa and United Airlines.

"But we've made clear to the big guys, who are all interested in us because we are a nice airline, that right now it's too unstable for us to join one of those big things and we'd lose an element of voice. So until it's clear what's happening and we absolutely need to be there, we're going to stay on our own," he said in an interview.

Amid a trend towards global alliances in the airline industry, Swissair has emphasised its intention to stay independent. The Swiss carrier has opted for leadership in its Qualiflyer Group -- a more modest alliance of medium and small regional European carriers, in most of which it owns a stake.

Some analysts have said Swissair would sooner or later have to join a major alliance or face marginalisation. But Swissair and its parent SAirGroup have consistently vowed Qualiflyer would survive.

Mr Katz said Qualiflyer now needed to expand in eastern Europe, particularly after long time ally Austrian Airlines -- traditionally strong in that region -- announced last week it was severing ties with the Swissair-led group to join Star.

Swissair has said it hoped to conclude talks on acquiring a minority stake in Polish carrier LOT by the end of the year. It has also said it was interested in a stake in Hungary's Malev. "Eastern Europe is a noticeable hole in our map, especially with Austrian leaving the fold," Mr Katz said, adding that LOT would offer an excellent gateway into eastern Europe, as well as some of the Baltics and parts of Scandinavia.

Asked whether Swissair was also interested in a stake in Lithuanian Airlines, which is slated to be privatised next year, Mr Katz said: "No." Mr Katz confirmed that Swissair still held its 4.6 per cent stake in its code-share partner Delta Air Lines, which in June chose Air France as its strategic European ally. Swissair has said it now wants to divest the stake.