Current Account noted with interest an interview in the Financial Times this week where the boss of Sabena, Christoph Muller, made no secret of the horrendous problems of an airline half-owned by the Belgian government and half by the Swiss carrier Swissair.

Aer Lingus's problems are modest compared to the nightmare facing Sabena (which was once unkindly christened by travellers Such A Bloody Experience Never Again). Having once travelled from Brussels to west Africa with Sabena, Current Account finds it difficult to disagree with that unkind description of Sabena's services.

But that was some time ago, so what is Sabena like now and how much of an impact has Ryanair's challenge had on its business?

Ryanair has launched a merciless assault on Sabena from its new Chareleroi base, to which the Belgians have found it difficult to respond, apart from complaining to Belgian advertising regulators about Ryanair's controversial "piss-taking" advertisement.

Such has been the combination of the impact of Ryanair and the airline's other problems, that Mr Muller is planning wholesale changes to Sabena's business, including massive job losses and a shift in emphasis to being a hub carrier offering services to smaller second-tier airports. "We have to get modest," he said.

Aer Lingus and Sabena are almost mirror-images of each other. Both compete with Ryanair, both operate with bloated workforces where rigid work practices are the norm and both are prevented by the EU from getting their shareholders (the Belgian and Irish governments) to pump in any more money.

Mr Muller did say he didn't believe EU laws meant that if a state airline could not be privatised, the consequence would be bankruptcy. But if the Belgian government tries to find some loophole to allow it put more money into Sabena, then the first to cry foul and threaten legal action will be Ryanair.

Aer Lingus - without a trade buyer or a flotation in sight - will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on what happens at Sabena over the coming weeks.