Airline Business articles from September 2007

Airline Business archives from September 2007

Scrapped IT system costs WestJet.(Briefing)(Brief article)
September 21, 2007... Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet will take a $30.6 million pre-tax write-down on the cancellation of its contract for the ambitious aiRES reservation system after spending more than two years and $30 million on the project. AiRES is a flagship...

Colombia's route contest.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Byline: David Knibb Seattle American Airlines and Avianca are driving a major Colombia-US market capacity boost just as a new Colombian airline plans to join the competition. American, the dominant US carrier in the market with 30...

ExpressJet's experiment struggles.(Briefing)(ExpressJet Airlines Inc.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
September 21, 2007... ExpressJet's risky foray into independent branded flying in 50-seat regional jets may yet work despite widespread scepticism the US regional would simply repeat the disastrous history of Independence Air. Despite ugly initial load factors...

LAN faces challenges in Ecuador.(Briefing)(LanEcuador)(Brief article)
September 21, 2007... Ecuadorian airlines have launched a campaign against LanEcuador challenging the carrier's nationality. In separate proceedings before the undersecretary of air transport and Ecuador's council of civil aviation, a fiscal prosecutor and the...

Texas Pacific beats AirTran to Midwest.(Briefing)(Texas Pacific Group)(AirTran Airways Inc.)(Midwest Airlines Inc.)
September 21, 2007... Byline: David Field Washington Midwest Airlines, pursued by hostile suitor AirTran for over a year, has found shelter in the arms of private equity with backing from Northwest. Midwest's board announced in mid-August a final, binding...

Spirit launches airport search.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Spirit Airlines is seeking detailed proposals from cities that want its low-fare service. The airline say it will use the proposals to select up to 10 new routes from its Fort Lauderdale hub and up to three new US gateway airports. Spirit...

Virgin's American take off.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Byline: David Field Washington Virgin America finally took the skies from its San Francisco base in early August, more than three years after affiliates of Richard Branson's Virgin empire first proposed it. Most industry analysts note...

In brief.(Briefing)(Brief article)
September 21, 2007... Northwest resolves dispute Northwest Airlines and its pilots union signed a pact in early August to reduce the absenteeism that had forced the carrier to cancel thousands of flights at the end of June and again at the end of July. The Air...

In brief.(Briefing)(Copa Airlines Inc., Grupo Marsans plans to separate the two airlines)(Brief article)
September 21, 2007... Bolivia plans new flag carrier Bolivia's decision to launch a state-owned airline could cut short the re-launch plans of grounded LAB. US firm Swiss Transatlantic has agreed to buy 50.1% of LAB from its unions and to invest $80 million in...

Rendezvous with reality.(Analysis)(the futute of European Airlines)
September 21, 2007... Why are European airlines reticent to make long-term forecasts? asks Chris Tarry of CTAIRA, with analyses from Antonio Panariello of Flight Insight The recent European results season gives an opportunity to review the position and outlook...

Traffic growth slows.(Analysis)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Kerry Ezard In London and analysis by Antonio Panariello At Flight Insight Traffic across the globe grew at a slower pace year-over-year in the first half of 2007, with the Middle East the only region managing to register...

Protests over Dubai's Auckland bid.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Air New Zealand is trying to convince New Zealand's overseas investment commission to block a NZ$2.6 billion ($2 billion) bid by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise to buy a majority stake in Auckland Airport. DAE is too close to rival Emirates, ANZ...

Air India launches into growth phase.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Ionides Singapore Air India is busy drawing up aggressive expansion plans that should lead to the launch of many new international routes and a raft of new orders for more than 50 additional aircraft. Air India has...

Shake-up in Bangladeshi market.(Briefing)(Brief article)
September 21, 2007... Major change has come to Bangladesh's aviation market with the launch of a new privately owned operator and the start of a major restructuring at troubled state-owned carrier Biman Bangladesh. In July United Airways Bangladesh launched...

Japan and South Korea strike Open Skies accord.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... A highly liberal air services agreement has been negotiated between Japan and South Korea that is being dubbed by some as Japan's first Open Skies accord. Japan has long been accused of maintaining a restrictive air services regime and...

In brief.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... PAL's remarkable turnaround Philippine Airlines (PAL) is seeking to emerge from receivership by the end of 2007 after more than nine years of protection from creditors. The carrier was placed in receivership in mid-1998 after nearly...

Qantas reorganises to unlock value.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Ionides Singapore Australia's Qantas Airways is planning a major structural reorganisation that will see its main operations split into standalone businesses, in which minority stakes may later be sold off. Qantas is...

Kingfisher stake for sale.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... India's United Breweries is looking to sell a minority stake in its fast-growing but loss-making aviation business to raise funds for expansion. UB owns most of Indian full-service carrier Kingfisher Airlines and 26% of low-cost carrier...

The winner is...V Australia.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Byline: David Knibb Brisbane Virgin Blue is moving ahead with plans to enter the Australia-US market with its new V Australia unit preparing to launch late next year. Australia's second largest carrier aims to start selling tickets to...

Alitalia.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Prato jumps into the Alitalia hot seat Italy's finance ministry has appointed Fintecna head Maurizio Prato as the new president of Alitalia following the resignation of chairman Berardino Libonati, who stepped down after Italy's attempt to...

Frontier Airlines.(Forum)
September 21, 2007... Menke returns to Frontier Frontier Airlines has lured back Sean Menke, its former chief operating officer, to succeed Jeff Potter as chief executive and president. Potter, 47, is leaving the Denver-based airline to take over Exclusive...

In brief.(Forum)(Martinair Holland N.V., Spirit Airlines Inc. hires Martin Harrison, American Airlines Inc. promotes Mark Mitchell)(Brief article)
September 21, 2007... Dutch carrier Martinair has named Paul Gregorowitsch, the commercial director of KLM's passenger division, as its new president. He will succeed Arie Verberk, who will retire. Spirit Airlines hired Martin Harrison away from easyJet to...

Qantas Airways.(Forum)(Leigh Clifford appointed)(Brief article)
September 21, 2007... Qantas names new chairman Leigh Clifford will become the new chairman of Qantas Airways when Margaret Jackson retires at the annual general meeting in November. Clifford, a 59-year-old Australian, has spent his career in the mining...

WestJet.(Forum)
September 21, 2007... Durfy takes over from Beddoe at WestJet Sean Durfy becomes WestJet's chief executive officer in September, replacing veteran Clive Beddoe. Durfy has been the Calgary-based airline's president for the past year, and will now hold both...

Best of the Airline Business Blogs.(Forum)
September 21, 2007... Aer Lingus green-lighted for Atlantic aspirations Just as Ireland's own Aer Lingus is bracing for a pilots' strike, or what they call industrial action, it also gets some good news: Aer Lingus just became the first European carrier to win...

Brazil's bottleneck.(Comment)(investigation of TAM Airbus A320 crashes)
September 21, 2007... The fatal crash of a TAM Airbus A320 in mid-July has become the catalyst for Brazil to address its growing backlog of air transport ills, even though the inquiry into the crash may show that those ills did not cause it TAM's overrun of a...

Events diary.(Forum)(Calendar)
September 21, 2007... September 2007 3-6 Asian Aerospace Hong Kong Contact Clive Richardson e-mail clive.richardson@reedexpo.com Website www.asianaerospace.com 9-11 ALTA Aviation Law Americas Conference Miami, Florida ...

Air Berlin cleared to purchase LTU.(Briefing)(Lufttransport-Unternehmen Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung und Company KG)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Gunter Endres London After nearly five months of detailed examination the German competition authority in August finally gave the unconditional go-ahead for Air Berlin's acquisition of LTU. The president of German competition...

Carriers feel the strain in Spain.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Intense competition is starting to take its toll on Spanish low-cost carriers. Vueling unveiled plans to slow down its ambitious expansion programme after reporting in early August a [euro]34 million ($45 million) loss for the first half...

Air Slovakia expands following demise of competitor.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Lubomir Sedlak Prague Air Slovakia, under new private ownership, has expanded its fleet and added charter flights to fill the void left by Slovak Airlines. Air Slovakia special projects executive manager Robert Sitta says the...

In brief.(Briefing)(Brief article)
September 21, 2007... Belfast base for Aer Lingus Aer Lingus has unveiled plans to open a new base in Belfast this winter with eight routes. But in a move which has prompted a vehement protest in the Shannon region, the carrier will drop its four daily flights...

Bridgebuilding.(Features)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Report by David Knibb in Brisbane Low-cost carriers are leading the way in the integration of Australian and South-East Asian airline markets Australian and South-East Asian airlines are moving in on each other's markets. On...

Pilotingchange.(Features)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Nicholas Ionides in Beijing**Photography by David McIntyre China's aviation minister, Yang Yuanyuan, has orchestrated radical reforms in the country's aviation market. In this exclusive interview he discusses his vision...

Package deals.(Features)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Gunter Endres in London After years of manoeuvring the past 12 months have seen a profound shake up among Europe's large leisure players. The end result is the formation of two huge tour operators. Together they have an...

Saving Alitalia.(Forum)
September 21, 2007... If Alitalia is to have a chance of survival, the Italian government must learn lessons from its past mistakes and accept that some harsh commercial decisions will have to be taken, says Rigas Doganis, aviation consultant and former Olympic...

Price-fixing fines start to flow.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Mark Pilling London British Airways and Korean Air are just the first of a series of carriers likely to be fined for their part in the price-fixing of passenger and cargo flights. Korean Air has agreed to some $300 million in...

In brief.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... World Airline Ranking Airline Business omitted Ethiopian Airlines and Mexicana from the Top 150 world airline group ranking (August 2007, p64-68). The operating and net result figures for five carriers - South Africa's Comair, TAROM, Blue...

Virgin invests in AirAsia long-haul.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Ionides Kuala Lumpur Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia's planned long-haul sister airline has received a financial boost ahead of its launch, with the purchase of a 20% stake by the UK's Virgin Group. Sir Richard...

One step forward.(Insight)
September 21, 2007... Byline: David Field Washington**Analyses by Antonio Panariello US airlines have turned in an admirable set of second-quarter results but there is trouble ahead. The question is, which will give way first - fuel costs or passenger patience...

The race to replace Connexion.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... The race to provide a replacement high-speed connectivity service to fill the void left by Connexion by Boeing is heating up, with Panasonic Avionics securing a commitment to equip an undisclosed carrier's aircraft with its new in-flight...

Etihad banks on smaller types.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Fast-growing Etihad Airways will place into service its first narrowbody aircraft in September in an effort to bolster its regional network. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier, which currently only operates an all-widebody fleet consisting of 23...

Gulf Air under scrutiny.(Briefing)(Gulf Air Company GSC)
September 21, 2007... Byline: David Kaminski-Morrow London Bahrain is pressing for more transparency at Gulf Air as the airline battles to recapitalise and restructure its loss-making operations following the resignation of chief executive Andre Dose. The...

In brief.(Briefing)
September 21, 2007... Bmi adds Cairo UK carrier bmi plans to launch services to Cairo in late October and codeshare with EgyptAir on the route. The new route is part of bmi's plan to improve services to the Middle East following its acquisition earlier this...

Airline alliance survey.(Special Report)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Data compiled by Antonio Panariello The Airline Business Alliance Survey provides a snapshot of the current state of co-operation deals between the world's main carriers. The next four pages list the codeshare partners for full...

next step.(Special Report)(challenges for alliances)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Report by David Field in Washington The challenges ahead for alliances are regulatory rather than geographical as they seek wide antitrust immunity for their transatlantic networks Barriers have fallen, skies have opened, and...

Sizematters.(Special Report)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Kerry Ezard in London Some smaller carriers are lagging behind in the migration to interline e-ticketing. Are they at a disadvantage compared with larger airlines or do they just need to fight harder to keep their...

Never say never.(Special Report)
September 21, 2007... Byline: Report by Brendan Sobie in LONDON Low-cost carriers are starting to warm to the idea of codeshares just as their technology providers are making it easier for them to link with others For over 30 years Southwest Airlines swore...

Special Report.(Brief article)
September 21, 2007... Alliances shift focus to antitrust immunityPage 46 Airline Alliance Survey 2007Page 54 Low-cost carriers enter the world of codesharesPage 63 Interline e-ticketing hits small airlines hardPage 68 Alliances Having plugged...

The new leaders.(Special Report)
September 21, 2007... The influence of the three alliances is greater than commonly recognised, says Geoffrey Weston, senior vice-president of Seabury Group and former vice-president network planning and alliances and vice-president cargo at Royal Jordanian Airlines...

Border incursions.(Forum)(Mexican carriers launch new routes across the border)
September 21, 2007... US carriers have been swarming south to Mexico in the past couple of years. This challenge, added to competitive pressures at home from low-cost players, is increasingly causing Mexican carriers to look north, reports Mark Pilling The...