Airline Business articles from September 2002

Airline Business archives from September 2002

American cuts operations yet again.(American Airlines seeking cost cuts and reorganization)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... American Airlines aims to slash annual expenses by $1 billion - rejigging its key Dallas-Fort Worth hub operation, cutting 7,000 jobs and retiring 74 more aircraft than planned. The 9% capacity cut will be in place by November in what chief...

Milton credits Air Canada profits to no-frills strategy.(CEO Robert Milton)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Air Canada looks to be edging closer to being the first major airline to succeed at operating discount units. Chief executive Robert Milton thinks so, and points to Air Canada's second quarter C$30 million ($19 million) profit as proof. In...

Argentinian minds turn to merger plans.(airline mergers driven by ailing economy in Argentina)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... In tough times, airlines talk merger, and it is fast becoming a major issue among Argentina's beleaguered airlines. With a 245% devaluation of the peso this year, and a projected 75% fall in revenue, most carriers have cut domestic flights and...

Cintra's competitors flex muscles.(Mexico gives approval for small airlines to expand U.S. routes)(Government Activity)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Cintra's split up and sale has been postponed until next year, but two smaller Mexican rivals, Allegro and Azteca, are not wasting any time in asserting themselves against Cintra-owned Aeromexico and Mexicana. Mexico's approval for them to...

Majors in price war to boost traffic.(American Airlines and Northwest Airlines cut business air fares)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... In an attempt to stimulate high-yield traffic, American and Northwest Airlines began cutting domestic air fares normally purchased by business travellers by as much as 10% last month. The skirmish, though brief, is the majors' first...

Garvey urges FAA to more ATC action.(Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey on the need for air traffic control improvements)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Jane Garvey ended her five-year term as Federal Aviation Administrator much as she began it - dealing with menacing aviation gridlock, a delayed air traffic control (ATC) overhaul and an airline industry demanding change In interviews and...

In brief.(Southwest Airlines' pilots approve interim labour agreement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Delta wins engine work Delta Air Lines will perform maintenance on regional aircraft engines owned by two of its Delta Connection subsidiaries, Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) and Comair. The Delta TechOps unit values the CF34...

In brief.($2.3 billion Mexico City airport )(Government Activity)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Mexico reverses course Mexico has shelved plans for a $2.3 billion Mexico City airport at Texcoco following July's protests by poor local farmers. The government has not picked an alternate site, but will re-study several from an earlier...

In brief.(multiple briefs)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Handling costs thwart Frontier Frontier Airlines suspended its service between Boston Logan and its Denver hub, saying that ground handling costs there had increased since Logan construction forced it to move gates in May, and sign a...

United faces grim bankruptcy dilemma.(United Airlines)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... United Airlines says lack of access to capital may force it to file for bankruptcy protection this month unless it wins deep enough concessions from labour and suppliers to stem daily loses of about $1 million. The US's second largest...

MAS strips down to core business.(Malaysia Airlines reorganization)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has firmed up details of a sweeping restructuring which covers asset sales and separates loss-making domestic operations from international services in a move that will effectively turn it into a "virtual airline". ...

SAA lays groundwork for key strategic decisions.(South African Airways)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... As it gears up for key strategic decisions on alliance membership and a possible privatisation, South African Airways (SAA) is reviving its amibition to develop a hub network across sub-saharan Africa. To add to its own southern base in...

Three buyers ; eye Sichuan.(China Southern Airlines, Shandong Airlines and Shanghai Airlines are in talks to take joint control of Sichuan Airlines)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... China Southern Airlines, Shandong Airlines and Shanghai Airlines are in talks to take joint control of Sichuan Airlines. China Southern and Shandong are thought to be negotiating to buy 40% and 8% of Sichuan respectively, while Shanghai...

Air China plans to spin off freighter fleet into dedicated cargo carrier.(Expansion of Chinese cargo airline industry)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Air China is in talks with potential joint-venture partners to spin off its freighter operation through the establishment of a new all-cargo airline. Talks are taking place with Hong Kong-based conglomerate CITIC Pacific and the parent...

Cathay on long haul back to China.(Cathay Pacific Airways seeks more service to China)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... After more than a decade, Cathay Pacific Airways is seeking to resume services to mainland China in a move that will put it head-to-head with Hong Kong's second carrier Dragonair. Cathay flew to major Chinese destinations until 1990, when...

In brief.(All Nippon Airways, Qantas Airways buy new jets from Boeing)(International Pages)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Japan's new entrant SkynetAsia Airways has launched services as the fourth new airline in a deregulated Japanese market since 1998. The carrier is now operating five-times-daily Boeing 737-400 services between Miyazaki and Tokyo....

Climate warms to Qantas stake in Air New Zealand.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A year after Air New Zealand (ANZ) had to be rescued, the make-up of Australasian aviation is again in flux as Qantas ponders buying a stake in the carrier. Qantas Airways is already holding talks with ANZ, and now that New Zealand's...

State of the nation.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Governments have done much to help their ailing carriers through the crisis. What the industry really needs from them is not state cash, but the freedom to consolidate. Surely we have been here before? A decade after the Gulf War crisis...

Finnair-American gain US antitrust.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Oneworld partners Finnair and American Airlines have been awarded antitrust immunity by Washington, and expect Brussels to follow suit shortly. Neither carrier will have to give up any slots to competitors as part of the deal. The two...

Eurocontrol reports delays reduced by nearly a third.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... There has been a significant improvement this summer in air traffic control delays as increases in air space capacity and a slight reduction in traffic levels take effect. Eurocontrol, responsible for managing Europe's airspace, reports a...

Eurowings and TUIjoin the low-cost crowd.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Germany's fledgling low-cost sector is set for further expansion later this year with two more carriers joining Virgin Express in establishing a base at Cologne-Bonn Airport. German regional Eurowings, in which Lufthansa has a 24.9% stake,...

MyTravel Lite takes flight.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Start-up MyTravel Lite has joined the scramble for position in the UK low-cost sector. The airline, based at Birmingham International Airport, is an offshoot of travel group MyTravel, formerly Airtours, and will fly two Airbus A320s leased from...

Keeping it.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... simple Rod Eddington has set about turning British Airways into a much leaner and simpler business capable of holding its own against low-cost competitors "I've always taken the low-fares carriers very seriously. We've got to learn...

Major.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... bottleneck Industry is being drafted in to help as the US government seems poised to admit that it will not, after all, be able to meet its year-end bag-screening deadlines As the usa stumbles toward self-imposed airport security...

family.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Asiana Five years of adversity created a real team spirit at South Korea's second carrier, Asiana Airlines. Now the economic tide is turning, and that same spirit is proving to be a source of strength Visitors to the Asiana Airlines...

Beyond comparison.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Airline Business gets it right when it says that comparing airport performance across the globe is a "notoriously tricky task" (Making the grade, June 2002, page 70. The article cites the Air Transport Research Society report Global Standards...

US-UK in last ditch mini-deal effort.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The UK government is making a final attempt to resurrect an open skies mini-deal with the US ahead of a key European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that is likely to pass the mandate for negotiating such deals to Brussels. The proposals...

Lore replaces Silva as struggling Varig seeks new financial structure.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Former banker Arnim Lore has replaced Ozires Silva as president of ailing Varig Brazilian Airlines at a critical time in the carrier's bid to restructure financially. Lore, the 62-year-old chief financial officer of Varig's Rio Sul...

for new.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Old tools Having failed to secure a federal loan guarantee in time, USAirways has fallen back on the traditional tool of filing for bankruptcy court protection. It could yet spur the industry transformation that has so far failed to take...

Pockets.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... of growth While traffic suffered everywhere last year, there have been winners as well as losers in the shape of the low-cost carriers and some continuing robust growth around the Asia-Pacific region. It is indisputable that the events...

A year.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... to forget This year's financial ranking of the top 150 airline groups simply confirms what everyone had already feared. The industry ended 2001 showing unprecedented losses and the figures best speak for themselves. The collective net loss...

Recovery.(Major U.S. airlines report $1.3 bn deficit in June quarter)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... postponed Expectations of an upturn in airline fortunes have been pushed back after the latest round of quarterly results from the US majors "There goes 2003," in the words of one Wall Street analyst, faced with another dismal...

No level playing field.(U.S. FAA, Department of Transportation should limit capacity of U.S. airlines)(Government Activity)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Latin American carriers are at a disadvantage to their US counterparts on services between the two regions. Bob Booth, chairman of the AvGroup, offers some suggestions on how to balance the scales. In the July issue of Airline Business,...

Fortress.(major air carriers and low-fare airlines' profit differences)(International Pages)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... defence The profit differences between the hub-and-spoke carriers and the low-fare airlines has some calling for the end of the hub. This would be a mistake The post-11 September period has witnessed a drastic contrast in the...

Executive appointments.(Delta Air Lines' new low-cost strategy)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Delta in new low-cost plan Delta Air Lines has turned to a seasoned industry veteran to lead its new low-cost strategy. John Selvaggio, 55, is to head "development of a product that meets customer demand for low-price service, and...