Airline Business articles from February 2006

Airline Business archives from February 2006

Briefing.(Northwest Airlines Corp. negotiations with Air Line Pilots Association)
February 1, 2006... Facing similar strike vows by a flight attendants union, the airline could find itself in the unwanted position of writing bankruptcy law, which does not contain a clear position on the right to strike against a company in Chapter 11...

TAM tussles with Varig's dominance.(airlines)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Varig still controls 79% of all international traffic carried by Brazilian airlines, but rival TAM is making inroads. Already serving a number of South American cities, TAM extended its reach last year by boosting its Paris frequencies to...

Air Canada tweaks model.(stives to be loyal to its passengers)
February 1, 2006... Air Canada is redefining itself as a "loyalty" carrier as it jettisons more of the attributes of a legacy airline. Montie Brewer, Air Canada's chief executive, is convinced that low-cost carriers have forever transformed the industry and...

Briefing.(Continental Airlines Inc. withdrawn aircrafts from ExpressJet Airlines Inc.)
February 1, 2006... Continental reduces its diet of ExpressJet feed The continuous cost-savings quest being pursued by carriers has upset a cosy regional/major relationship: ExpressJet, the Houston-based regional spun off from Continental Airlines, faces the...

US airports lament final Independence day.(Independence Air Inc. stopped its services)
February 1, 2006... Some smaller cities and Washington Dulles airport are the main losers of Independence Air's decision to cease services in early January. The shutdown of the airline in early January was almost anticlimactic after the cash-haemorrhaging...

Briefing.(United Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines Inc. employee bonus plans)
February 1, 2006... At United, a management compensation plan to reward top executives in the first years after the carrier's bankruptcy exit has led to strenuous objections that threatened to slow the airline's departure from reorganisation. Similarly, at...

Behind the order book.(ailines contracts with aircraft companies )(aircrafts orders)
February 1, 2006... With the full figures now known, there can be no doubt the number of orders won by Airbus and Boeing in 2005 surpassed expectations. The total [degrees] 2,057 net orders [degrees] was the highest on record. But, as ever, order volumes alone do...

Hapag-Lloyd Flug.(former employee Christoph Muller appointed by TUI UK)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Muller to head TUI airlines Leisure group TUI has appointed former Sabena chief executive Christoph Muller as chairman of Hapag-Lloyd Flug, with the aim of making him head of the flight division at group level, a role previously filled by...

ANZ decides to outsource.
February 1, 2006... Air New Zealand (ANZ) has decided, after required consultation with its unions, to send heavy maintenance on its widebody engines overseas. In February it will decide whether to do the same with airframe maintenance. Outsourcing the engine...

Sydney loses oversight battle.(case against Sydney Airports Corp. by airlines for monopoly misuse)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Airlines have won a protracted lawsuit against Sydney airport that revives likely oversight of airport fees by Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Australia's competition tribunal has ruled that Sydney airport misused...

Pacific islands struggle on.(Polynesian Blue Airlines cut the services to Niue)(Air New Zealand Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... On two of these islands the cutbacks have been by foreign carriers on which they depend. Niue, in the central South Pacific, is suffering because Polynesian Blue, the joint venture between Virgin Blue and Samoa's Polynesian Airlines, decided...

LAN.(Ignacio Cueto appointed for LAN Airlines)(Armando Valdivieso)(Cristian Ureta)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Cueto brothers work together at LAN Ignacio Cueto, brother to executive vice-president Enrique Cueto, is moving up in LAN Airlines as part of a major reshuffle of senior and middle management. Ignacio is taking over as the airline's...

SN Brussels/Virgin Express.(Virgin Express Holdings PLC merger with SN Brussels Airlines)(Neil Burrows)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Burrows to lead merger of Belgian carriers Eight months after SN Brussels and Virgin Express came under the common ownership of SN Airholding, the group has turned to Virgin Express head Neil Burrows to take the merger of the two carriers...

Forum.(Jaroslav Tvrdik leaving Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie)(JetStar Asia appointed Peter Gregg and Alan Joyce)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... CSA Czech Airlines president and chairman Jaroslav Tvrdik is to step down from his role to focus on a political career. JetStar Asia has come under closer Qantas control with the appointment of two senior Qantas executives to its board....

Shenzhen Airlines.(Li Kun appointed as an executive vice-president)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Li takes over at Shenzhen A senior China Southern Airlines executive has caused a stir in the Chinese airline sector by defecting to a privately owned airline [degrees] the first time such a thing has happened. Li Kun, most recently...

Garuda crisis deepens after defaults.(Garuda Airlines)
February 1, 2006... Nicholas Ionides Singapore The state-owned carrier has admitted to being in severe financial difficulty, which it says has forced it to hold back on making debt payments in order to preserve badly needed cash. It was widely expected that...

Jagson schedules arrival at India party.(Jagson Airlines )
February 1, 2006... Last year saw remarkable growth in the sector after so many years of the industry being held back by restrictive government policies. Five new scheduled carriers were launched in 2005 and hundreds of aircraft were ordered from Airbus and...

Carriers renew fleets.(Air India and Indian Airlines planning to place orders for aircrafts)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Neither airline had ordered new aircraft in well over a decade, despite being close to deals so many times. Over the years their frequently amended plans have had to be deferred because of government interference and for other political...

Indian pay rates climb.(Air India Express )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... The shortage of pilots in India is becoming more of a problem, forcing Air India Express to give its cockpit crew sizeable pay rises to prevent them from defecting to other carriers. Air India Express was launched last year by Air India as...

KAL pilots strike ends.(Korean Air Lines Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... South Korea's government used rarely enacted emergency powers in December to end a pilots' strike at flag carrier Korean Air (KAL). Unionised KAL pilots launched their indefinite strike after negotiations with management on pay issues...

MAS may sell assets to raise cash.(Malaysia Airline System Bhd.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Financial woes at Malaysia Airlines (MAS) have prompted the carrier's new managing director to consider selling remaining assets to raise cash. The state-owned carrier told the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange that "in view of the losses...

More of the same.(industry sales and revenue)
February 1, 2006... As the bean-counters begin to get a clear picture of the final revenue and traffic numbers for last year, many carriers are preparing to rewrite the record books. The industry has reached the peak of the cycle in traffic growth terms [degrees]...

EasyJet prepares for battle.(FL Group to acquire Easyjet Airline PLC)
February 1, 2006... With a takeover bid by the Icelandic FL Group a distinct possibility, UK low-cost carrier easyJet has strengthened its financial advisory team with the appointment of London-based bank Goldman Sachs. It will also retain Credit Suisse First...

New Paris terminal for Air France.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Air France is to have its own regional terminal at its Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) hub, striking a deal with airport operator Aeroports de Paris (ADP) that will see it rent the new facility for a period of 19 years. Air France will pay...

BA sets deadline for regional revival.(British Airways CitiExpress)
February 1, 2006... This was the blunt message to BA CitiExpress managing director David Evans from Walsh, who took over the helm at BA in October. "If we don't return to profitability by 2007-8, we won't be around [degrees] it is as simple as that," says Evans....

Delay fears mount as traffic soars.
February 1, 2006... While the number of flights in 2005 grew at an annual rate of 4.5%, with 700 million passengers carried, Croatia, Slovakia and Poland saw growth rates of 18%, 17% and 16%, respectively. Eurocontrol says that average delays across all...

Airlines lose passenger rights case.
February 1, 2006... The decision was widely expected, given a similar decision by the court's advocate general late last year. IATA and the European Low Fares Airlines Association had argued that the new regulations, which came into force in February last year,...

Briefing.(Air Berlin plans for an initial public offering)(Air One orders A320s, Turkish Airlines Inc. plans to begin flights)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Air Berlin looks at IPO German low-cost carrier Air Berlin is considering an initial public offering, with the aim of raising between [euro]600 million ($730 million) and [euro]700 million. The carrier, Europe's third force in the low-cost...

Briefing.(Wales route fund)(traffic at the Eurostar (U.K.) Ltd. )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Wales creates route fund Wales is setting up a route development fund, following in the footsteps of Scotland and Northern Ireland. An Air Wales service from Cardiff to Brussels will be the first beneficiary of the [pounds sterling]4...

Delayedtake-off.(Suvarnabhumi airport construction)
February 1, 2006... As public relations events go, the one just outside Bangkok on 29 September 2005 at which the first aircraft touched down at the new Suvarnabhumi airport was a big one. It almost looked like a new airport was being opened, with senior...

Onoffensivethe.(Southwest Airlines Co. executive Gary Kelly )
February 1, 2006... Talk about Southwest Airlines and the conversation ends up focusing on Herb Kelleher. That is how strongly the trailblazing discount carrier and its equally legendary co-founder and long-time leader are identified, linked by Kelleher's famous,...

Forum.
February 1, 2006... Highlights Events diary March 2006 5-7 Network 2006 San Antonio, USA See page 58 7-9 20th Aircraft Finance Conference Geneva, Switzerland Contact Aden Watkins Tel +44 207 915 5198 website www.icbi-uk.com 8-10 International Travel Catering...

Forum.(Ray Webster views)(aviation services)
February 1, 2006... Consumer champion Ray Webster, who left easyJet in December after 10 years running the UK-based carrier, says the consumer is the winner in Europe's low-cost revolution, but warns the industry is being held back by vested interests ...

Forum.(Cintra privatisation plans)(Network 2006)
February 1, 2006... Mexican wave The Alamo is a reminder of San Antonio's Mexican heritage. Today it is part of Texas, but the city's Mexican links are still strong, both in terms of culture and commerce. It is fitting that in March San Antonio will offer...

In brief.(Austrian Airlines operating flights to Iraq)(Middle East Airlines and SkyTeam partnership)(Airbus S.A.S and Boeing net orders for aircraft)
February 1, 2006... Airbus wins order battle Airbus secured net orders for 1,055 aircraft in 2005, exceeding the 1,002 net orders gained by rival Boeing during the year. The European manufacturer is claiming a 57% share of deliveries during the year. It delivered...

Indian carriers in merger talks.(JetAir and Air Sahara)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Jet Airways is in talks that could lead to the acquisition of rival carrier Air Sahara in a deal that would represent the first consolidation in the fast-changing Indian market. Jet, India's largest privately owned airline, has confirmed to...

US blow for SkyTeam.(antitrust immunity)(Department of Transportation)
February 1, 2006... The US Department of Transportation (DoT) said it would not grant the pricing power freedoms to Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, which had sought it jointly with the Air France/KLM group along with Alitalia and CSA Czech Airlines. The...

Top 50 leasing survey.(aircraft leasing services)
February 1, 2006... AERCAP8 Avioport Building Evert Van De Beekstraat 312 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam, NL-1118CX, Netherlands Tel: +31-20-655-9655Fax: +31-20-655-9100 Website: www.debisairfinance.com Fleet (units): 245Value ($ million): 3,069...

Liquidreturns.(airlines )(leveraged leases)
February 1, 2006... It seems hard to believe that it was just a few years ago that airlines were struggling to find willing investors. Following on from the recovery in lease rates and residual values seen in 2004, airlines and aircraft are back in favour with the...

Fullrecovery.(aircraft leasing and rental services)
February 1, 2006... Last year was good for the aircraft leasing industry [degrees] very good indeed. "Outside the USA, this is the best market anyone has ever seen," says Henry Hubschman, president of GECAS. This is in sharp contrast with the downturn between...

Finance & leasing.
February 1, 2006... The leasing market stormed back to its peak in 2005, encouraging lessors to begin ordering aircraft heavily once again. Investors are also viewing airlines more favourably. Our annual leasing survey, compiled by sister fleet data service...

LOT Polish Airlines.(Marek Grabarek is dismissed)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... All change again at LOT LOT Polish Airlines is looking for a new chief executive following the dismissal of Marek Grabarek, president of its advisory board, along with board members Piotr Dubno and Wladyslaw Metelski. Supervisory board...

Lufthansa extends empire.(Deutsche Lufthansa AG acquires Eurowings Luftverkehrs AG)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Lufthansa will acquire the majority voting rights in the German regional, although its shareholding will remain at 49%. An agreement with the majority shareholder of Eurowings Albrecht Knauf, who holds the other 51% of shares in the carrier,...

Airport action.(International Air Transport Association )
February 1, 2006... The airline assault on airport charges, instigated by IATA and recently taken up by Star Alliance members Air Canada, United Airlines and others, is finding some fertile new ground [degrees] Latin American airline executives are raising the...

Bilateral barriers.(Southern Africa's regulations on air travel)
February 1, 2006... Southern Africa's economic growth and job creation could be significantly higher if governments were to lift their limits on airline flights between their countries. This is the conclusion of a headline report by Anton Richman and Chris Lyle,...

Northernraiders.(Avion Group Inc., FL Group and Fons Eignarhaldsfelag entered into airlines)
February 1, 2006... Hardly a month seemed to pass last year without some form of airline trading activity involving Icelanders. Buying, selling and investing in airlines, and other aviation businesses, has become something of an obsession for the island's...