Airline Business articles from September 2008

Airline Business archives from September 2008

Terminals open as traffic dwindles.(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... Byline: David Field Washington US carriers will see four new airport terminals open this autumn in the midst of the worst airline downturn in recent history Coinciding as they do, the multi-billion dollar openings and the airline...

Frontier battles to stay afloat.(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... Frontier Airlines is finding its bankruptcy reorganisation more complex than it had hoped and, despite a recent cash infusion, asked its bankruptcy judge to let it break its Teamsters labour contract so that it can move some maintenance work...

Troubled Midwest wins new backing.(Briefing)(Midwest Airlines Inc.)
September 22, 2008... Byline: David Field Washington Midwest has exhausted an investment by Northwest and is losing the co-operation of its unions as it slashes further Milwaukee-based Midwest, famed for its baked-on-board chocolate chip cookies, has...

Game over for Mexican boom?(Briefing)(Interjet merged with Volaris)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Brendan sobie washington It looks like Interjet and Volaris are about to emerge as the two big winners in Mexico's overcrowded low-cost sector Mexican low-cost carriers Interjet and Volaris are plotting aggressive expansion as...

Analysis.
September 22, 2008... Turmoil in the markets Market meltdown could have a prolonged ripple effect, writes Chris Tarry. Analysis from Antonio Panariello of Flight Insight Chris Tarry CTAIRA At the time of writing we have just witnessed a number of...

The going gets tough in Europe.(Analysis)
September 22, 2008... Byline: mark pilling London**Analysis by Antonio Panariello of Flight Insight European carriers of all shapes and sizes felt the acute pain of the huge rise in fuel costs in the second quarter Almost without exception the word most...

Cathay dives into the red.(Analysis)(Financial report)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Nicholas Ionides Singapore **Analysis by Antonio Panariello of Flight Insight Cathay Pacific surprised the markets with its first-half loss as high fuel prices and falling demand took their toll Asia-Pacific airline earnings...

China Eastern makes new merger moves.(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... The saga regarding the future ownership of China Eastern Airlines, China's third largest carrier, continues to play out, as government officials are looking at the viability of merging it with fellow Shanghai-based carrier Shanghai Airlines,...

Indonesia's Merpati bailed out yet again.(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... Indonesia's second state-owned carrier, Merpati Nusantara, is getting another government bailout to help it carry out a restructuring that will lead to the departure of half of the airline's employees. Minister for state enterprises Sofyan...

Briefing.
September 22, 2008... Nicholas Ionides Singapore Tiger finds it hard to roam in Korea Singapore's Tiger Aviation is determined to launch new low-cost services across Asia despite facing fierce opposition Singapore-based low-cost airline group Tiger...

The brakes go on in Vietnam.(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Nicholas Ionides Singapore Vietnam's air travel market is starting to slow and carriers are revising their plans after a period of fast growth Growing pains have come to the Vietnamese market, which has long been seen as one...

Executive appointments.(Forum)
September 22, 2008... In brief Continental has added chief operating officer responsibilities to president Jeff Smisek, with chief executive Larry Kellner assuming responsibility for marketing and technology. Current executive vice-president operations Mark...

digging up weeds.(Comment)
September 22, 2008... "There are stronger players which see very high fuel prices as a way of weeding out weaker competitors" While no one wants a return to $150-a-barrel oil, the strong are relishing what a combination of high fuel prices and falling demand...

Austrian's dash to find a partner.(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Victoria Moores and Mark Pilling London Air-France-KLM, Lufthansa and Russia's S7 airlines are all in the running to acquire a stake in troubled Austrian Airlines Star Alliance member Austrian Airlines Group is pursuing its...

Malta looks for a break.(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Mark Pilling London In the past two years the Maltese market has boomed, fuelled by a resurgent Air Malta and the arrival of low-cost carriers Often overshadowed by faster growing and larger Mediterranean hotspots like Greece,...

Briefing.
September 22, 2008... Consolidation spurs Ryanair ambitions The recent rush of airline merger and acquisition activity in the region is prompting Ryanair to step up its campaign to capture rival Irish carrier Aer Lingus. "We think the likelihood of Ryanair...

Briefing.
September 22, 2008... kerry ezard london Europe's new order emerges Air France-KLM, British Airways and Lufthansa are emerging as Europe's three dominant players through consolidation Consolidation is changing the landscape of the European airline...

Airport IT Trends 2008.(Features)
September 22, 2008... Byline: ReportGillian Jenner In London "Airports are looking to differentiate themselves and IT is the key enabler" Catherine Mayer Vice-president airport services, SITA It has taken a long time, but advances in making the...

Cargo caution.(Features)
September 22, 2008... Byline: ReportPeter Conway In London "We are optimistic not because of demand, but because the supply of capacity is reducing" Robert van de Weg Senior vice-presidentsales and marketing, Cargolux "With the oil price receding...

Learning curve.(Features)
September 22, 2008... Byline: ReportKerry Ezard In London "The carbon economy is a new economy for aviation and we have to learn about the markets" Pierre Albano Manager of carbon credits andrenewable energy, Air France-KLM Airlines are having to...

full steam ahead.(Features)
September 22, 2008... Byline: ReportKerry Ezard In Abu DhabiPhotographyTom GordonBillypix.com "We are new so we're not bound by years of 'this is the way you have to do it'.We have a very entrepreneurial spirit" In the five years since it was launched, Abu...

Features.
September 22, 2008... "The diversity of our customer base is what is giving Monarch its resilience" Tim Jeans Managing director, Monarch Airlines The euphoria of last year's consolidation of the European charter market with the Thomas Cook/MyTravel,...

Steve Ridgway on AA/BAWillie Walsh on AA/BA.(Forum)
September 22, 2008... "BA is now asking regulators to help it effectively merge with AA so it can beat off the downturn" Steve Ridgway Chief executive, Virgin Atlantic "There's nothing to stop it making its own application. You don't have to stay a...

is loyalty a luxury?(Forum)
September 22, 2008... "Customer loyalty is not an area where short-term cost savings should be the main focus" ravindra bhagwanani Managing director, Global Flight Even in times of harsh cost pressure, airlines are well advised to continue to invest in...

WAF set for Paris debut.(Forum)
September 22, 2008... Mark Pilling London After 16 years in the south of France, the World Air Transport Forum is coming to Paris to mark the 17th time this major industry event has taken place. An audience of over 300 airline and aviation specialists is...

Forum.
September 22, 2008... Brendan Sobie Washington Leaning towards the Caribbean With high fuel prices forcing US carriers to drastically slash their domestic capacity, some are now looking towards the higher-yield routes linking the USA with destinations in...

Where have all the banks gone?(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Olivier Bonnassies Hong Kong As the crisis in the world's financial markets unfolds, funds are starting to dry up and are coming from fewer sources The market is set to go through a radical change as the number of active banks...

Ready for the winter meltdown.(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... The mid-year predictions that the beginning of the winter season would prove a period of reckoning for the airline industry appear to be coming true. Although oil prices dipped below $100 a barrel in late August, the pressure on the...

Briefing.
September 22, 2008... In brief olympic successor gets the go ahead Greece hopes to select a new private investor to operate its planned successor carrier to Olympic Airlines by the end of this year and to conclude the privatisation by spring 2009. Under the...

Airlines battle with screen scrapers.(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... Byline: David Field Washington Carriers are starting to fight back against travel sales sites that scrape their fare data and display it themselves The airline fight to control distribution and the cost of getting a ticket into a...

the mexican merger debate.(Insight)
September 22, 2008... Byline: David Knibb Seattle The question over whether to merge Mexico's two main carriers, Aeromexico and Mexicana, has been asked for years, but signs are emerging that the door could now be opening to allow it to become a reality ...

The big ambitions of Abu Dhabi.(Briefing)
September 22, 2008... Byline: kerry ezard abu dhabi Abu Dhabi Airports Company sets its sights beyond the expansion of its key asset and towards world domination Abu Dhabi Airports Company has big plans, not only for expanding the domestic airports it...

Regional rewire.(Special Report)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Reportvictoria moores In London As consolidation takes hold among the European network carriers, the effect on the regionals that knit together Europe's thinner routes has yet to be determined As Europe's regional carriers...

no easy task.(Special Report)
September 22, 2008... Byline: Report ByDavid FieldIn washington Squeezed by their major partners and by rising costs, US regional airlines have tried investing in new ventures at home and abroad with mixed results, but are determined to continue diversifying ...

Briefing.
September 22, 2008... In brief UAL hedges Losses United Airlines is on track to lose $544 million on contracts in the futures market it used to hedge against rising fuel prices this quarter. It had recorded $72 million in actual losses and $472 million...

Forum.
September 22, 2008... Events Diary october 2008 12-14 Routes 2008 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel +44 161 234 2730 Website routesonline.com 21-23 41st AACO AGM Tunis, Tunisia Email info@aaco.org Website aaco.org 29-31 World...

SPECIAL REPORT Regionals.(Special Report)
September 22, 2008... 52 No easy task US regionals are having to diversify to survive 58 Regional rewire The effect of consolidation on Europe's regional carriers 64 Regional rankings 2007 Annual Airline Business ranking of regional airlines Regional...

Special Report.
September 22, 2008... Data Compiled by Lloyd Dunning-Mitchell and Simon Mills of ATI**Analysis by Antonio Panariello Flight Insight Regional airline ranking 2007 Our Top 100 Regional Airline Ranking covers analysis of the largest carriers by region

Special Report.
September 22, 2008... REGIONAL AIRLINE rankings Notes and definitions The Top 100 Regional Airline Ranking and analysis is based on the leading 100 regional carriers ranked by passenger numbers carried in 2007. Financial rankings are found on page 73. ...