All news – Page 6855
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India airlines in doldrums
T Ballantyne/R Prasad India's hard pressed domestics are facing a double challenge to their shaky balance sheets: the renewed threat of a Tata Industries local startup and massive hikes in airport landing charges. The Tata group had earlier plans for a joint venture with Singapore Airlines, backed by ...
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Born free?
While government regulations were the downfall of most of India's first batch of startups, it appears that a second cycle - involving new players as well as the return of some old contenders - is underway. Like large tracts of Asia, cloaked in the fog from forest fires, India's ...
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Arranged marriage
Indian Airlines is destined to wed Air-India, but first the government must accept some responsibility for its financial troubles. Its proposed 'dowry' would be made up of compensation for the enforced grounding of its entire A320 fleet back in 1990, a subordinated loan, and the injection of new capital. By ...
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Tamed by politics
Report by Tom Ballantyne It seems that every time a new Indian aviation policy ship gently eases itself into port, an election storm rears its head and dashes it onto the rocks. As India's two state-owned airlines, Air-India and Indian Airlines, prepared for the New Year after a ...
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Don't bank on Japan
Richard Whitaker Japanese banks have withdrawn from aircraft financing due to Asia's economic crisis and the forthcoming demise of the Japanese leveraged lease may deter them from returning. Japanese institutions have accounted for some one-third of aircraft financing. In late 1997, however, most of them ceased approving new ...
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Going Dutch on Italian job
Doug Cameron Alitalia can breathe a sigh of relief after securing KLM as a European partner, as KLMlooks forward to its network being boosted. Alitalia rejected Swissair and Air France as possible partners and signed a memorandum of understanding for a broad-based alliance with KLMon 18 December. For ...
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Red ink rains over Korea
Tom Ballantyne South Korea's airlines are scrambling to downsize and slash costs as the region staggers from the blow of Asia's worsening economic crisis. Flag carrier Korean Airlines faces more than US$900 million in foreign exchange losses after the local currency, the won, dived 40 per cent against ...
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US lusts after Latins
Karen Walker US majors are looking southwards as American Airlines receives its long-awaited go-ahead for a codeshare with the Taca group and jockeys with its competitors for other prized Latin American alliances and routes. After 18 months, and a storm of protest from other US and central American ...
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Hungary for private eyes
Peter Bennett The Hungarian privatisation agency, APV, means to privatise its flag carrier Malev by 2000 but a strategic foreign partner is not yet in sight. Malev's sell-off is set to be a complicated one with a 40 per cent state-owned stake floated in an initial public offering ...
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Eleven men to go at MEA
Lois Jones Struggling Lebanese flag carrier Middle East Airlines has named a new seven-man board of directors, after the former board was ousted amid corruption allegations. MEA's outgoing 11-man board has been replaced by one headed by Mohammed Hout, the director of real estate affairs at Banque du ...
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Mesa is no longer united
Karen Walker A parting of the ways between codeshare partners United Airlines and Mesa Air Group is posing questionmarks over Mesa's future and possible new partners for United. Regional independent Mesa, which operates as America West Express, United Express, US Airways Express, WestAir and Mesa Airlines, has been ...
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Mexican gulf breaks down
Karen Walker Mexico's chief regional airlines mean to work closer together with the possible aim of becoming a single operation while retaining individual names, shunning concerns about monopolistic behaviour among Mexican airlines. Mexico's major airlines, Aeromexico and Mexicana, and the regionals Aerocaribe, Aerocozumel and Aerolitoral, are affiliates of ...
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Taiwan demob
Taiwan's parliament has passed a law allowing police to board aircraft to break up demonstrations by travellers. Airline customers in Taiwan regularly stage cabin protests on both domestic and international flights when they are delayed, demanding free tickets or cash compensation for the inconvenience. Source: Airline Business
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US-Japan hope
US-Japan open skies talks were due to resume in Washington D.C. on 20 January. US officials were hopeful of drafting a framework agreement but the issue of slots at Tokyo's Narita Airport still loomed large. A US Senate hearing on the lack of a bilateral with Japan was due to ...
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Greek dance for chairmen
Doug Cameron The lure of leading Olympic Airways out of trouble is proving too strong for some to resist; the Greek flag carrier will have been through two new chairmen before the end of January. Unsatisfied with the many applicants for the chief executive's post, Olympic has combined ...
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Angst up in the Andes
Peru is trying hard to attract foreign capital by opening its skies, but its policies are not uncontested and Peru's military may have plans of its own. David Knibb reports from Lima. Deregulation Peruvian-style is not for the faint of heart. Seventeen local airlines have failed in eight years and ...
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Lufthansa say in SAA?
Roger Makings Lufthansa is set to enter the fray for a stake in South African Airways' partial privatisation, due to be finalised by October this year. Lufthansa had consistently denied that it was interested in buying into SAA, saying acquisitions were 'not its style - we prefer to ...
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SIA shares its profits
Tom Ballantyne Asia's big profit-maker Singapore Airlines is to end its dual stock exchange listing by merging its local and foreign shares, providing the move doesn't impact Singapore's air service agreements. Mathew Samuel, the airline's legal and administration director, confirms that SIA is 'actively considering whether or not ...
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Cheap thrills with no frills
Lois Jones Low-cost startups are beginning to looking extremely vulnerable as more majors launch low-cost subsidiaries, ignoring the argument that the independent players should instead be left to satisfy the demand for low fares in underserved markets. By Lois Jones. To your corners, please. To the left of the ring ...
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Thai hold is loosened
Tom Ballantyne Thailand's government is moving towards domestic and international open skies this year, starting with a move to end a virtual monopoly held by flag carrier Thai Airways International on major domestic routes. Thai transport and communication minister Suthep Thueksuban has proposed a new aviation policy, allowing ...