Airline Business articles from December 2007

Airline Business archives from December 2007

BA's South African dilemma.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Brendan Sobie London British Airways franchise Comair has secured Johannesburg-London but may have to create a new brand to operate it Should British Airways co-operate with or compete against the operator of its South African...

Air Mauritius returns to the black.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Gunter Endres Mauritius After five continuous years of losses, Air Mauritius has turned its fortunes around, thanks to a change in its strategic focus. In the six months to September 2007, the carrier turned the E13.5 million...

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... New airline in Egypt Egypt's Nile Air plans to launch operations in the second quarter of 2008 with services to eight destinations in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia-based Al-Tayyar Travel Group says it is the majority shareholder Nile Air but 30%...

Spin-off fever hits AMR.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: David Field Washington American has unveiled plans to sell Eagle as several US majors consider divestitures American Airlines parent AMR will sell off its massive regional unit Eagle some time in 2008, the first of a widely...

US carriers brace for downturn.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: David Field Washington Some US carriers are cutting jobs and capacity to offset rising fuel costs and an expected slowdown in demand Southwest Airlines has again cut its capacity growth for 2008, this time from 6% to between 4%...

JetBlue breaks more rules.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... JetBlue Airways has broken another low-fares taboo by signing up with most of the big online travel agencies so that they can sell the airline's tickets. The move follows the breaking in August 2006 of another low-fare rule as JetBlue...

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... Lynx launches Frontier Airlines in December finally won FAA approval to launch Lynx, its turboprop feeder unit. Lynx, which Frontier hoped to start last summer, is now operating from Denver to several secondary cities including Billings,...

Northwest eyes new India and China routes.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Northwest is looking to launch new services to China, India and possibly Vietnam in 2009 using its first batch of Boeing 787s. The carrier has 18 787s on order for delivery from February 2009 and will be the first US carrier to place the...

Northwest/KLM eye transatlantic expansion.(Briefing)(Northwest Airlines Corp. and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines )(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... What is next for the Northwest-KLM transatlantic joint venture? The two carriers expect to continue to open new gateways on the US side, including airports that do not have any transatlantic service. Northwest and KLM started this trend...

WestJet in interlining talks.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Talks by WestJet with Air France and Cathay Pacific are the latest signs that network airlines are willing to consider interlining with low-cost carriers. The Cathay talks have produced no timetable yet, but WestJet hopes to start...

SkyTeam completes slot shuffle.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Brendan Sobie London Northwest has joined alliance partners Continental and Delta in revealing plans to serve London Heathrow Northwest Airlines and KLM are expanding their highly profitable transatlantic joint venture to...

A year to remember.(Analysis)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Ionides Singapore **Analysis by Antonio Panariello of Flight Insight Asia-Pacific airlines are looking towards 2008 with cautious optimism after healthy financial performances in 2007 Fuel prices may have been hitting...

Analysis.(airline industry)
December 17, 2007... Have we passed the peak? The industry may have reached the top of this current cycle in 2007, writes Chris Tarry. Analysis from Antonio Panariello Chris Tarry CTAIRA For some time now I have suggested that 2008 may be the year of...

Briefing.(10 members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations to stick to an air services liberalisation )(Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam )
December 17, 2007... Nicholas Ionides Bangkok Asian Open Skies on track The introduction of ASEAN Open Skies could start at the end of 2008 Positive signs are emerging that the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will stick to an...

Cathay unravels Chinese puzzle.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Brendan Sobie London Cathay is starting to realise the benefits of its Dragonair purchase and is now eager to find new synergies with Air China Just over a year after completing its acquisition of Dragonair, Cathay Pacific...

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... MAS subsidiary to take on AirAsia Facing the prospect of competition from low-cost carriers on the lucrative Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route, Malaysia Airlines is preparing new subsidiary Firefly to face the challenge. MAS launched...

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... Nicholas Ionides Singapore KAL steps up low cost plan Carrier brings forward launch of low-cost unit after Tiger reveals plans for Korean affiliate More signs are emerging that South Korea is set to be Asia's next big low-cost...

Labour issues preoccupy Qantas.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: David Knibb Brisbane It is labour negotiating season at Qantas Airways with several major agreements up for renewal. Qantas has reached deals, subject to ratification, with two of its major unions, but negotiations continue...

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... First private carrier for Vietnam Vietnam's government has approved the establishment of the country's first privately owned carrier, setting an important precedent in a market that is forecast to continue growing rapidly in the coming...

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... Cambodia regains national airline Cambodia's government is seeking to establish a new national airline in partnership with two Indonesian companies, six years after flag carrier Royal Air Cambodge collapsed. The carrier will be 51%-owned...

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... Tiger and Qantas in handling spat The launch of Tiger Australia in late November was marred only by a baggage handling dispute at Alice Springs. Tiger claims that Qantas used its control over ground handling to block Tiger's entry at the...

High fuel prices spell trouble ahead.(Analysis)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Alison tucker London**Analysis by Antonio Panariello of Flight Insight Almost every major European carrier posted profits in the third quarter, but how long can the buoyant mood last? Continuing robust economic growth saw...

Executive appointments.(Forum)
December 17, 2007... US Airways has extended the contract of chief executive Doug Parker by three years to December 2011. His career spans senior roles at American, Northwest and America West Airlines. Hong Kong Express has named Ronnie Choi, a highly...

investor influence.(Comment)
December 17, 2007... "The good news for the airline business is that there seems to be no shortage of investors eager to take part in this dynamic industry" There can be short-, medium- and long-term investors in any business, but how much influence should any...

Alitalia's long takeover journey.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Mark Pilling London As the year came to a close, takeover bids for two of Europe's largest flag carriers reached important milestones After nearly a decade of stop-start efforts to privatise its flag carrier, the Italian...

Austrian's eastward push.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Brendan Sobie Vienna A year after initiating a major restructuring, Austrian's new strategy is starting to pay off Austrian Airlines is planning a major expansion of its Eastern European and Middle Eastern networks as it...

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... Kerry Ezard London Third runway: let battle commence Proposals for a third runway at congested London Heathrow have been made public, but will face strong opposition The UK government in November formally kicked off the debate over...

Slovakia's SkyEurope has a wobble.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Slovakian low-cost carrier SkyEurope Airlines has been forced to sell two Boeing 737-700s before they were due for delivery, and admits it failed to comply with financial conditions attached to half of the 737-700s it has on lease from GECAS....

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... In brief Privatisation comes to Czech Republic The Czech government has appointed Deloitte Advisory to analyse possible privatisation scenarios for CSA Czech Airlines and has selected Credit Suisse to advise it on the planned...

Seen to be green.(Features)
December 17, 2007... Byline: ReportKerry Ezard In London "Our policy is that weare part of the problem and would like to be part of the solution" Pierre Caussade Senior vice-president of quality, environment and sustainable development, Air France ...

Uniting force.(Features)
December 17, 2007... Byline: ReportMark Pilling In ParisPhotographyEtienne de Malglaive Air France-KLM chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta is well-placed to help write the next chapter of the industry's consolidation story He may be Europe's longest-serving...

Mexican revolution.(Features)(Company overview)
December 17, 2007... Byline: ReportKerry Ezard In cancun "Consolidating the two legacies, Aeromexico and Mexicana, would have been good for everyone" GastA[sup.3]n AzcA rraga Chairman, Mexicana "The changes in the market will be so big that we...

Best of the airline business blogs.(Forum)
December 17, 2007... To read the full entry for these blogs and to take part in the online debate, go to flightglobal.com/abblogs Paying to guess new routes Posted December 13, 2008 at 1:46 PM By David Field Does it pay to guess? Should you...

Events Diary.(Forum)(Calendar)
December 17, 2007... January 2008 22-24 Asia-Pacific Low-cost Airline Congress Singapore Contact Haslinda Haniffa Tel +65 6322 2702 Website terrapinn.com February 2008 10-12 IATA Legal Symposium Buenos Aires, Argentina See...

Forum.
December 17, 2007... David field Washington Location, location, location Plattsburgh Airport in upstate New York is taking advantage of state and federal funds and its location close to the US-Canadian border to attract passengers from Canada who are...

Newsmakers of 2007.(Forum)
December 17, 2007... It was a year with plenty of surprises, such as the US-Europe Open Skies breakthrough, while merger and acquisition activity reached fever pitch. The predicted downturn never materialised and many made healthy profits despite fuel prices rising...

Pan-Arab liberalisation.(Forum)
December 17, 2007... "It is time now for the Arab world to open up and adopt liberal air transport policies" Abdul Wahab Teffaha Secretary general, AACO To continue their rapid growth Arab carriers need a more open regulatory environment with more...

Peak of cycle was 2007.(Briefing)(International Air Transport Association projects industry profits will go down in 2008 )
December 17, 2007... Byline: Brendan Sobie Geneva IATA now projects industry profits will go down in 2008 as the credit crunch starts to bite Many of the world's carriers turned their highest profits of the decade in 2007 but the celebration has been muted...

IATA forces out audit failures.(Briefing)(International Air Transport Association)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... IATA is kicking out several carriers for failing to meet its 31 December 2007 deadline for completing IATA operational safety audits (IOSA) and will likely kick out even more at the beginning of 2009 for failing to pass the audit. The IOSA...

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... In brief star gets air india Star Alliance in mid-December officially accepted Air India's application to join the grouping. Air India, which has been in talks with Star for several months, expects to become Star's first member in...

Cargo confession race.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: DAvid Knibb Brisbane**Mark Pilling Paris Qantas's guilty plea puts pressure on other airlines in the air cargo price-fixing probe Criminal proceedings, launched by US and European competition authorities nearly two years ago,...

ACTS PUTS RECORD STRAIGHT.(Forum)(Company overview)
December 17, 2007... Dear Editor I read your special report on maintenance in the October issue of Airline Business (p60). While the article was engaging, the details of our company in the table were not up to date. Our company was formerly called Air...

Etihad targets India.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Mark Pilling London Fast-growing Abu Dhabi-based carrier is hoping for breakthrough in UAE-India talks Greater access to more Indian cities, in addition to service to Egypt and Nigeria, are the immediate network development...

Emirates leads from the front.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: David KNibb Sydney As Emirates outlines its expansion plans for Australia it is beginning to think about a future public offering Emirates is planning more aggressive expansion, including a 50% boost in capacity to Australia,...

Saudi market opens up further.(Briefing)(Saudi Arabian Airlines Corp. starting to face new competition)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Brendan Sobie London Saudi Arabian Airlines is starting to face new competition on regional international routes as the country's two budget carriers look to expand outside the highly competitive domestic market. Dammam-based...

Briefing.
December 17, 2007... M1 buys 19% stake in royal jordanian Royal Jordanian has generated JD164.5 million ($232 million) from its initial public offering. M1, which is controlled by the Lebanese Mikati family, has emerged as the largest single new investor in the...

Building Latin networks.(Forum)
December 17, 2007... Byline: Mark Pilling Monterrey From 2-4 December, Airline Business held its first ever industry event in Latin America as airline and airport executives met at Network Latin America in Mexico to discuss new route opportunities The...

Remote Control.(Briefing)
December 17, 2007... Byline: ReportDavid Field In Washington New technology is enabling passengers to take more control of the airport check-in process. How will technology shape the check-in of the future? The battle for customer satisfaction is moving...

Open channels.(Special Report)
December 17, 2007... Byline: ReportMary kirby In philadelphia It looks as if 2008 will be the year that airlines finally begin to roll out in-flight mobile phone, blackberry, SMS and high speed internet services In-flight connectivity providers are nothing...

Special Report.(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... 38 Open channels It looks like 2008 will see the roll out of in-flight connectivity services 42 A cut above Are premium economy cabins becoming more widespread? 45 Remote control How will new technology shape the future check-in...

A cut above.(Special Report)
December 17, 2007... Byline: ReportPeter Conway In London Is premium economy class on its way to widespread acceptance or will it remain a niche product? Should Air France introduce a premium economy class? The carrier has rejected the idea in the...