Airline Business articles from January 2006

Airline Business archives from January 2006

Aloha waves goodbye to Chapter 11.(Aloha Airlines Inc. with new management)
January 1, 2006... Aloha's exit comes just a year after rising debts, stiff competition and soaring fuel costs overtook it. The Hawaii-based carrier followed larger rival Hawaiian Airlines into reorganisation and, like Hawaiian, relied on new management to...

Canada and USA take another step to open skies.(airlines to be effected by the open skies agreements)
January 1, 2006... Canada and the USA reached an open skies pact in mid-November just months after agreeing to negotiations, but the deal does not allow full rights to fly services beyond or within national borders, nor does it address cross-border investment and...

Briefing.(AeroMexico stakes sold by government )
January 1, 2006... The Mexican government has sold its stake in Mexicana through state holding company Cintra, but needs more time to sell its Aeromexico shares. May is the new target date for the Mexican government to sell its controlling stake in...

Briefing.
January 1, 2006... Spain's Marsans group, which owns Aerolineas Argentinas, and Brazil's Synergy Aerospace are each branching out from their bases to form or acquire affiliate airlines in other parts of Latin America. Both are in the early stages of linking...

Sell-off plans for Jazz revived.(Air Canada to plans to offer 15%stake)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Air Canada's holding company has revived plans to offer a 15% stake in regional carrier Jazz after the Canadian government dropped plans for a new tax, which had caused the offering to be shelved last September. Jazz will be converted into...

United builds hub strength.(United Air Lines Inc.)
January 1, 2006... United Airlines is strengthening its hubs and reaffirming its service innovations as it prepares to leave bankruptcy in February [degrees] more than three years after seeking protection from its creditors. United chief executive Glenn...

Backers emerge for Virgin America plans.
January 1, 2006... Fred Reid, the veteran Delta Air Lines and Lufthansa executive who has spent nearly two years in investor roadshows seeking funding for Virgin's venture, emerged just before Christmas with enough funding in hand to grab the public eye. ...

Earnings stumble on oil slick.
January 1, 2006... As anticipated, the sustained increase in propellant prices took the most headlines in the September reporting period, when earnings fell across the region for the third quarter in a row. The spot price for Singapore jet kerosene rose 45% on...

JetStar moves onto the international stage.(Qantas Airways Ltd. launches international division)
January 1, 2006... Qantas has decided to launch an international division for JetStar, its low-cost domestic unit. The new overseas arm, slated to take off within a year, will be an Australian-based carrier serving international leisure routes. It will be...

Qantas under siege as rivals crowd in.
January 1, 2006... The Australian government is due to decide on an open skies accord that could allow SIA to operate fifth freedoms between Australia and the USA. This is the most important international route Qantas serves. On its second most important,...

Asian group warns against over-reaction...(Association of Asia Pacific Airlines)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... The November gathering, representing the AAPA's 49th Assembly of Presidents, took place in Hong Kong, where just over two years earlier the SARS outbreak badly affected the airline sector. SARS was not being discussed this time but the avian...

...and voices cargo fears too.(Association of Asia Pacific Airlines issues new guidlines)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) is warning of potentially more difficult times ahead [degrees] and if the level of freight activity is any guide there could be an economic slowdown coming. Director general Andrew Herdman...

Singapore hopes skies can open early.(Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
January 1, 2006... Singapore is seeking to jump-start air services liberalisation initiatives in Southeast Asia by urging its fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to accept multilateral "open skies" earlier than originally planned....

Debts mount at troubled Garuda.(Garuda Airlines)
January 1, 2006... Meetings were held with creditors in November and early December, and the airline says it has asked holders of its floating rate notes to establish an informal committee to represent them. It concedes the move is necessary as it will have...

Air Paradise suspended.(Air Paradise International to shut down)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... The October terrorist bombings in Bali and high fuel prices have brought down Air Paradise International, the leisure airline based on the Indonesian resort island. Air Paradise announced its shutdown with immediate effect on 23 November, when...

CAL buys into Chinese carrier.(China Airlines Company Ltd. to acquire Yangtze River Express )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... China Airlines (CAL) has secured approval to become the first Taiwanese airline to buy into a Chinese carrier. Taiwan's Investment Commission has approved CAL's planned purchase of 25% of cargo carrier Yangtze River Express for $40 million...

Forum.(Ray Webster resigns from easyJet Airline Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Webster steps down After 10 years at the controls of one of Europe's low-cost pioneers, Ray Webster has stepped down as chief executive of easyJet. He has been succeeded by Andrew Harrison, deliberately selected for his experience outside...

Forum.(Jetstar Asia appoints Neil Thompson)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... New head at JetStar Asia Singapore-based Jetstar Asia has installed its third top manager since it was established. Jetstar Asia, in which Australia's Qantas Airways is the biggest single shareholder, named Neil Thompson as acting...

Forum.(South African Airways appoints Adrian Hamilton-Manns)(Niki appoints Otmar Lenz)(United Air Lines Inc. appoints Bill Norman )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Bruce Ashby, formerly of US Airways, has brought in Adrian Hamilton-Manns, executive vice-president commercial at South African Airways, as his commercial director at Indian low-cost start-up IndiGo. Austrian low-cost carrier Niki has...

Forum.
January 1, 2006... Turnbull bows out Hong Kong's aviation community is abuzz with rumours over why David Turnbull, chairman of Cathay Pacific Airways and its main shareholder, Swire Pacific, has resigned. Cathay said Turnbull had "decided to leave the...

Forum.(Varig S.A. appoints Marcelo Bottini )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Bottini takes over at Varig Marcelo Bottini is the new president of Varig after another turnover of senior management at the troubled Brazilian airline. He replaced Omar Carneiro da Cunha as president one month before the deadline for...

Forum.
January 1, 2006... Harford leaves Virgin Nigeria has a new chief executive after Simon Harford, who saw the carrier through its launch phase last year, left the airline, citing "personal reasons". Harford's replacement is Conrad Clifford, a former...

Opportunity knocks.(open skies agreements for transatlantic flights)
January 1, 2006... Nothing is ever simple when it comes to EU-US Open Skies. It is hardly surprising then that behind the recent headlines proclaiming a long-awaited breakthrough in negotiations to broker a new liberalised transatlantic air services regime there...

Events diary.
January 1, 2006... February 2006 12-14 IATA Legal Symposium 2006 Hong Kong Contact Wayne Chaif Tel +1 514 390 6711 website www.iata.org 21-22 2nd FFP Conference Bangkok, Thailand Contact Christopher Staab Tel +1 305 586 1520 website www.ffpconference.coms 21-24...

Distribution debate.(airlines looking for profitable tickets distribution)
January 1, 2006... Hardly a week goes by without meeting an airline chief executive who finds it easy to moan about the cost of distributing his product in the marketplace. This is because, despite the impact of selling tickets direct to travellers via the...

BA swings its management axe.(British Airways PLC's Willie Walsh )
January 1, 2006... Analysts say this is a clear sign that new chief executive Willie Walsh will not be shy in wielding the axe in other parts of the business. "This has got to be the way to read it," says Chris Avery, London-based analyst at JP Morgan. "He...

EC soothes emissions trading worries.(Peter Gammeltoft at International Air Cargo Association on European Commission's policy)
January 1, 2006... Peter Gammeltoft, head of the EC's clean air and transport unit, said in early December that "efficiency is a parameter to be rewarded". Airlines with modern fleets have been worried that a system based on grandfather rights would penalise...

Briefing.
January 1, 2006... DVT boost for airlines The UK's judicial authorities have ruled that airline passengers cannot take legal action against airlines if they suffer from deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The move follows a long-running legal battle to determine whether...

BAA Stansted plans attacked.
January 1, 2006... Airport operator BAA's cost forecasts for a second runway and new facilities at London Stansted have come under fire from airlines, which have described the plans as misleading and called for BAA's spending plans to be "reined in". The...

Briefing.(Turkish Airlines Inc.)
January 1, 2006... Colin Baker London The carrier will expand its fleet by 25% to more than 100 aircraft over the next three years, and 23 new routes will be added in 2006. This will take the total number of destinations served by THY from 79 to 102. The...

Briefing.(Luchtvaartmaatschappij Transavia Holland B.V. plans to operate out of France)(Ryanair Ltd. offers discounts)(Finnair Oy to purchase airbuses)
January 1, 2006... Transavia looks at France Dutch low-cost/leisure carrier Transavia is studying the possibility of operating out of France. The airline, which is part of the Air France-KLM group through its ownership by the Dutch flag carrier, sees...

Surcharges bring revenue joy.
January 1, 2006... European carriers maintained strong unit revenue growth in the September quarter as consumers continued to show willingness to pay the fuel surcharges imposed by mainline carriers, even though these airlines are protected to various degrees by...

Chinese challenge.(Hong Kong aviation scene in doldrums)
January 1, 2006... Focus Hong Kong Until quite recently Hong Kong's aviation scene was a depressing one. Badly hit by the SARS outbreak in 2003, some said it would never fully recover, particularly with the mainland Chinese market forecast to grow so...

Forum.(International Air Transport Association)
January 1, 2006... I read your recent article (Doubts emerge over IATA's e-freight plan, Airline Business, December 2005, p14) with interest. I would like to add the following information. One big reason IATA continues to go on talking about air cargo...

tall.(airline business grows in africa)
January 1, 2006... The proud Masai of East Africa's Rift Valley are renowned for their semi-nomadic lifestyle. Like his kinsmen, Titus Tukero Naikuni, group managing director and chief executive of Kenya Airways, hates standing still and has not stopped moving...

Briefing.
January 1, 2006... Star selects GNEs The Star Alliance has signed up two of the emerging breed of so-called GNEs (GDS new entrants) to provide alternative distribution systems. G2 SwitchWorks and ITA Software will be its first alternative content access...

Star raises prospect of airport boycotts.(International Air Transport Association, Star Alliance rasises objection on airport fees)
January 1, 2006... Milton told a meeting of Star Alliance chief executives in Montreal that the grouping would consider co-ordinated action to persuade or compel airports to moderate spending and rein in capital and infrastructure budgets. As host of the...

San Antonio bound.
January 1, 2006... A glance at a US airline network map today, compared with a few years ago, would show two interesting changes: hubs are slightly fewer in number, but the nature of the spokes has changed. They have often become longer, and some, especially...

Let's talk.(airlines implementing new technology for sales)
January 1, 2006... In-flight internet access has been available for some 18 months now and, despite the fears of fairytale character Henny Penny, the sky has not fallen in. Connexion by Boeing, offering passengers high-speed in-flight internet access, entered...

Common vision.(airlines implements new technology for sales)
January 1, 2006... Check-in Services Services Fly from Vancouver airport and instead of a line of check-in desks, you see 30 common-user self-service (CUSS) kiosks, a line of bag tag machines and five common-user bag drops. Is this how all airports...

A class apart.
January 1, 2006... Business-class cabins now look as inviting as first class used to. What can carriers do to make first-class even more exclusive? As business class on many international airlines has become more like the first-class offering of old, some...

High stakes.(airlines in competition low the costs of tickets)
January 1, 2006... Even within the rarefied strata of super-premium airline services, the battle remains the same. Will passengers pay a full price for a unique product or is price the decider here as well? Nowhere is this battle being waged more tactically than...

Forum.
January 1, 2006... India's airport struggle Robey Lal, IATA's new manager in India and a former board member of the Airports Authority of India, explains how years of underinvestment are hampering the country's air transport market It has been years...

Shifting sands.
January 1, 2006... Abdulkalek Saleh Al-Kadi, chairman of Yemen Airways and current president of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO), is blunt about the prospects for greater market freedom for the region's carriers. "We cannot have open skies [degrees] it...

Freight freedoms.
January 1, 2006... Deregulation of the US airline industry originally bypassed passenger services and began instead with all-cargo services. As so often happens, this trend has been mirrored internationally, as a study of air services agreements (ASAs) by...