Airline Business articles from May 2007

Airline Business archives from May 2007

United invests in Aloha.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... United Airlines in early May moved to strengthen its transpacific network by acquiring a minority stake in Hawaiian carrier Aloha Airlines. The two carriers also agreed to expand their codesharing pact to include Aloha's flights between...

WestJet takes on Air Canada.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... WestJet is invading traditional Air Canada territory with the aim of lifting its domestic market share from 35% to 37% this year and reaching 45% by 2010. With CanJet, Harmony Airlines, and Jetsgo gone from scheduled service, Air Canada...

Delta emerges with overseas focus.(Briefing)(Website overview)
May 21, 2007... Byline: David Field Washington Delta Air Lines came roaring out of bankruptcy court protection boasting a new design and look, a new website, a new stock market ticker and assurances that it would not grow too quickly. After 19 months...

Mexico's low-cost carriers in charge.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Byline: David Knibb Seattle Mexico's six low-cost carriers have already captured over half of all domestic traffic, although none of them are even two years old. AerolA-neas Mesoamericanas (ALMA), Avolar, Mexicana subsidiary Click,...

Labour discontent mars Northwest exit.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... "Northwest will not have a successful future if its employees are angry and demoralised" Air Line Pilots Association Northwest Airlines is poised to leave bankruptcy court protection in June, although its plans for executive...

TAM and TAP to codeshare.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... TAM in late April inked a codeshare agreement with Star Alliance member TAP Portugal, giving Star a much-needed presence in Brazil. Star has been without an airline member in Latin America since Varig's withdrawal early this year. The...

JetBlue feels the heat.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Byline: David Field Washington JetBlue Airways unveiled in May a major and surprising boardroom shake-up to address its slackening operational and financial performance. Founder David Neeleman has ceded day-to-day management to his...

In brief.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Airports win LAX battle A law judge at the US Department of Transportation has concluded that Los Angeles International Airport "unjustly discriminated" in imposing higher fees on 29 domestic and international airlines. In a tentative...

Competitive plays in New Zealand.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Air New Zealand (ANZ) chief executive Rob Fyfe says he is adopting a "wait-and-see" approach to the recent announcement of a potential low-cost entrant in the domestic market. Proposed start-up Kiwijet in late April unveiled plans to launch...

China Airlines votes for SkyTeam.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Taiwan's China Airlines is seeking to join the SkyTeam alliance in a move that could make it the group's third Asian member. CAL executives revealed in May during a frequent-flyer programme signing ceremony with Northwest Airlines that an...

Investors eye China Eastern.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Ionides Singapore China Eastern Airlines is looking closer at bringing in a foreign airline as a minority shareholder. The Shanghai-based carrier has for some time been in talks with potential investors in the hope...

Jet throws down gauntlet to Kingfisher.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Ionides Singapore India's Jet Airways is planning to revamp its newly acquired Air Sahara domestic subsidiary and expand its international operation. Air Sahara, currently a full-service airline, will soon be renamed...

MAS to resume regional services.(Briefing)(Malaysia Airline System Bhd.)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... Less than a year after handing over regional domestic routes in East Malaysia to a new carrier, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is set to take back the services as part of a deal with its government owner. In August last year MAS handed over the...

APA calls it quits after Qantas bid fails.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Byline: David Knibb Brisbane The private equity bid to take over Qantas Airways has failed and the group behind it has decided against making another offer for the airline. The consortium known as Airline Partners Australia, led by...

Carriers drop free seating.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Asian low-cost carriers AirAsia and Tiger Airways have dropped their free-seating policies in favour of priority boarding and advance seat selection. Singapore's Tiger recently completed a switch to pre-allocated seating for all flights....

No freight rift at Virgin Blue.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Virgin Blue claims a contract between its majority owner Toll Holdings and New Zealand's Airwork to transport Australian air cargo on domestic routes is not a sign of trouble between Virgin Blue and its owner. Local reports said that...

In brief.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Qantas buys Pacific Airlines Australia's Qantas Airways has signed an agreement to buy 30% of Vietnam's Pacific Airlines after securing approval from the Vietnamese government. Pacific is Vietnam's second-largest airline after state-owned...

Delta Air Lines.(Forum)
May 21, 2007... Delta's plans succession Delta Air Lines chief executive Jerry Grinstein is expected to step down shortly as the carrier, newly emerged from bankruptcy reorganisation, looks toward a successor. Delta's board of directors has scheduled...

JetBlue Airways.(Forum)
May 21, 2007... JetBlue's confidence trick In a move instigated at board level and designed to restore confidence in the still young carrier, JetBlue Airways has promoted David Barger to be its chief executive officer and president, with founder David...

Forum.
May 21, 2007... In brief US low-fares carrier Sun Country Airlines has named its former president and chief executive, T Jay Salmen, as interim chief executive, following the resignation of Shaun Nugent for "personal reasons". Salmen previously led the...

Qantas Airways.(Forum)
May 21, 2007... Jackson exits Qantas Just 10 days after a private equity takeover bid for Qantas Airways collapsed, the carrier's chairman, Margaret Jackson, who supported the bid, announced she will step down in May. There had been intense...

Terminal force.(Comment)
May 21, 2007... London Heathrow and Dubai International Airport share more than fantastic new terminals, they are gearing up to be fierce competitors for the title of the world's future connection capital The day passengers around the world have been...

Events diary.(Forum)
May 21, 2007... June 2007 2-5 IATA Schedules Conference Dresden, Germany Contact J Catala Tel +1 514 874 0202 Website www.iata.org 3-5 IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit Vancouver, Canada See...

Icelandair strikes again.(Briefing)(Travel Service)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... Icelandair Group has agreed to buy Czech leisure airline Travel Service, a move that marks its second foray into Eastern Europe. The fast-growing group has agreed a deal that would see it purchase half of Travel Service by the end of June,...

Alitalia rivals plan more expansion.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Kerry Ezard Nantes As the long-awaited Alitalia privatisation process reaches its final stages, fellow Italian carriers Air One and Myair have been busy expanding. Edgardo Badiali, chief executive of Bergamo-based low-cost carrier...

KLM targets Martinair.(KLM Royal Dutch Airlines)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Colin Baker Edinburgh KLM is considering launching another attempt to buy the 50% of Martinair it doesn't already own. KLM says its "main interest" in Martinair is its cargo operation and that if the deal goes through it may...

Norwegian buys FlyNordic.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Colin Baker Edinburgh Budget carrier Norwegian has significantly increased its Scandinavian footprint with the acquisition of Finnair low-cost subsidiary FlyNordic. The deal will see Finnair obtain a 5% stake in Norwegian, with...

Wizz Air plans public offering.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Colin Baker Edinburgh East European budget carrier Wizz Air is planning an initial public offering (IPO), raising the stakes in its battle with SkyEurope for low-cost dominance in the fast-growing region. DVB Bank, one of Wizz...

In brief.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... British Airways eyes Iberia British Airways revealed in late April it had approached private equity firms about jointly making a takeover bid for Iberia. BA already owns about 10% of Iberia and says it will not make a bid for its oneworld...

In brief.(Briefing)(BAA sells Budapest Airport stakes)(Turkish Airlines plans acquisitions)(Air Finland plans services in USA)
May 21, 2007... Budapest Airport sold BAA sold in early May its majority share of Budapest Airport's operator to a consortium led by Germany's Hochtief AirPort. The consortium, which has purchased BAA's near-75% share in the airport for [euro]1.9...

Air France ponders rail service.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Air France-KLM is believed to be considering a high-speed rail service to compete against train operator Eurostar. French national rail operator SNCF says the airline is interested in launching services when Europe's rail industry is...

Attention seeker.(Features)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Nicholas Ionides in Singapore**Photography by Kevin Phillips Singapore's Tiger Airways and its chief Tony Davis have been grabbing the media spotlight in South-East Asia as they gear up to export their pure low-cost...

Premium rate.(Features)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Gillian Jenner in London Airlines spent less on managing risk in 2006, according to the Airline Risk Management Survey commissioned by Airline Business and airline insurance broker Aon, but new insurance challenges are...

Atlantic.(airlines)(Industry overview)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Brendan Sobie in London Capacity on the North Atlantic is up for the fourth consecutive year, driven by new services to some unlikely destinations crossing Carriers have no trouble these days finding new...

Taking the next step.(EU-US open skies agreement)
May 21, 2007... The USA is eager to pursue more breakthroughs during the second stage of Open Skies negotiations with the European Union, US deputy assistant secretary of state for transportation affairs John Byerly told the International Aviation Club in...

Air space angst.(Features)(Single European Sky project)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Peter Conway in London The Single European Sky project seems to have been around for ever. Is it making any headway? "The Single European Sky project needs the commission to be more eloquent, to give it a sense of...

Worldspan takeover faces scrutiny.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Travelport's planned takeover of the Worldspan global distribution system faces intensified regulatory review by European competition authorities. The European Commission said in early May that it had "identified serious concerns" the deal...

In brief.(Briefing)(British Airways admits foul play)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... BA admits foul play British Airways has admitted that its competition compliance policy was breached, and has set aside [pounds sterling]350 million ($700 million) to cover any potential claims resulting from the ongoing UK Office of Fair...

Heathrow slot scramble begins.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Brendan Sobie London The EU-US Open Skies agreement has started a scrum for increasingly valuable slots at London Heathrow. European Union and US officials signed the first stage of the Open Skies accord at the end of April, a...

Breathing.(Insight)
May 21, 2007... Byline: David field and mark Pilling in fort Lauderdale, Florida This year's Airline Distribution conference showed that network carriers have made large inroads into their distribution costs but much work remains for smaller carriers and...

Emirates makes Latin leap.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Brendan Sobie DUBAI Emirates is looking to South America, the only continent besides Antarctica it currently does not fly to, as it continues to chalk up double-digit growth figures and healthy profits. "South America is a new...

In brief.(Briefing)
May 21, 2007... Oman drops Gulf Air The Omani government decided in May to withdraw from Gulf Air, leaving the Bahraini government as the only shareholder. Gulf Air says it will cut back services at Muscat Airport over the next six months, leaving Bahrain...

Signs of softness.(Analysis)
May 21, 2007... There are the first hints of a slowdown in Europe's short-haul market, writes Chris Tarry of CTAIRA. Analyses by Antonio Panariello of Flight Insight Warnings have been sounded by easyJet and Ryanair, among others, and have resulted in...

Latin networking.(air transportation executives gather for Network Latin America route-planning event)
May 21, 2007... From 2-4 December executives from airlines, airports, tourism and government bodies will gather in Monterrey, Mexico for the inaugural Network Latin America route-planning event When Airline Business brings its first Network Latin America...

Table toppers.(Special Report)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Mark Pilling in London Analyses by Antonio Panariello Preliminary figures from Airports Council International show global passenger traffic held up well in 2006. The best performers not unexpectedly came from China and...

Heathrowreborn.(Special Report)(Heathrow Airport)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Kerry Ezard in London Over the past year London Heathrow has been a magnet for criticism. Can the airport's transformation plan help it restore its battered reputation and compete with rival gateways? "T5 is very much...

Special Report.
May 21, 2007... UAE airports outline bold growth plans Page 40 London Heathrow's transformationPage 48 Should security costs be state-funded?Page 52 Top 100 Airport rankingPage 57 Airports In this report, we focus on the fantastic...

Daring to dream.(Special Report)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Brendan Sobie in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah In the United Arab Emirates, four airports within a 150km radius are spending nearly $50 billion to build terminals able to handle over 200 million extra passengers per year....

Relief effort.(Special Report)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Richard Rowe in Edinburgh Ever since the September 2001 terror attacks, the aviation industry has lobbied hard for governments to provide financial relief for implementing new security requirements. Has it done any good?...

Analysis.
May 21, 2007... Report by David FIELD in WASHINGTON Is the growth party over? The US majors reported better than expected results in the first quarter but the outlook for the rest of the year is grim. Summer looks less and less like a holiday for...