All news – Page 7151
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Startups slot into Japan
Japan's incumbent carriers are bracing for their first tussle with new competition in four decades, though analysts doubt that air travellers' expectations of dramatically reduced fares will be met. The incumbents are also facing a battle for the 40 new slots that will be created at Tokyo/Haneda when ...
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Competition rules, ok?
The buy/sell slot rules in the US are premised on the simple proposition that the market is better at determining the efficient use of a scarce resource than is an administrative or bureaucratic entity. Competition rules, however, are a different matter and properly the province of governments. To ...
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96 at a glance
January The European Commission clears Lufthansa's comprehensive commercial alliance with SAS, with conditions. Acomplaint by UK regional CityFlyer Express prompts the European Commission to order Belgian carrier VLM to pay interest on a $670,000 unsecured loan from the Flemish government. AI(R)partners Aérospatiale, Alenia and ...
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Top of the curve
In some airline boardrooms, the champagne corks are finally popping. After years in the doldrums, the airline business appears to be on course to report record profits for the second year running. Still, in this business even the best news tends to come with a few caveats, and this initial ...
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Alitalia in for a rough ride
The European Commission has asked Alitalia to reassess its proposed restructuring plan and even then looks set to rule that the carrier's planned injection is state aid. It will also be looking at Alitalia's linkup with Air France, while both carriers suffer further industrial unrest. The revelation that ...
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BA-AA rivals round on DOT
The posturing surrounding the proposed American Airlines-British Airways alliance has moved across the Atlantic with the US Department of Transportation coming under growing pressure from rivals to act. In the most extreme case, the outspoken chairman and chief executive of Continental Airlines, Gordon Bethune, is threatening to ask ...
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Bangkok hub plan snubbed
Bangkok's plan to become the leading hub in south-east Asia lies in ruins and Thai Airways' alliance strategy is under threat after the new government decided to shelve the building of the new US$5.2 billion airport. The announcement in February by Thai prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh further clouded ...
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Weber pens strike plea
Chairman Jürgen Weber is attempting to stir up an internal debate at Lufthansa in a bid to persuade the pilot-dominated DAG union to pull back from strike action. In an unprecedented move Weber sent a letter to all Lufthansa employees in late January outlining the threats to Lufthansa ...
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Growth at a premium
When Salomon Brothers Hong Kong released a report on Malaysia Airlines in late December, it left little doubt that the airline was no gilt-edged investment opportunity. Recommending a 'hold' on the carrier's shares, which put in a weak performance during the carrier's latest financial year, the report's title says it ...
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Latin five set to liberalise
South America's five Mercosur nations are taking a significant if limited step towards open skies in the southern cone. The presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay have inked an accord that would give airlines from those countries the right to launch third and fourth freedom services ...
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It's all in the name
Martin Shugrue is being self-effacing these days. 'Hey, if it was just me calling up people and telling them about Air Marty Start-up Airlines, that would not get us anywhere,' he admits. What is attracting attention within the industry, he maintains, is the fact that his new airline is called ...
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Safety but at what cost?
The industry has given its unqualified support to the report by the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, despite the ambiguity over how its costly recommendations will be funded. But then it's not exactly good for business to criticise the findings of an inquiry in to ...
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Disquiet on the state aid front
The debate over continuing state support to Europe's airlines refuses to roll over and die, just like the concept of the national flag carrier, which lies at its heart. With four cases on Brussels' books, 1997 may yet prove to be a landmark year. The European Commission's scrutiny of ...
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Tax returns to fill coffers
The US ticket tax looks likely to return, but its reappearance could be short-lived as the user fee option gains support following a concerted campaign by the major carriers. At presstime, the Department of Transportation was urging Congress to approve the bill to reinstate the 10 per cent ...
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US cracks softest nuts
Hard on the heels of a landmark open skies pact between the US and Singapore, neighbouring Malaysia is poised to sign a similar deal - giving Washington a significant boost in cracking the tough nut of protectionism that exists in Asia-Pacific. The US hopes the breakthroughs will have ...
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Union strife to bite in US?
The dispute between American Airlines' management and its pilots appears to have set the tone for a year of discontent across the US that could help to fuel more strife elsewhere. At presstime, American's management and the Allied Pilots Association remained locked in stalemate just hours away from ...
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Viasa future looks bleak
Iberia and the Venezuelan government were playing a game of brinksmanship at presstime after flag carrier Viasa ran out of cash and ceased operations on 23 January. Both sides are believed to be willing to let the airline fold but, according to one source close to the negotiations, ...
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AA's China tie
American Airlines has signed an MoU with China Eastern Airlines envisaging codesharing on the Chinese carrier's services from Beijing and Shanghai to Los Angeles and its planned flights to San Francisco. China Eastern will also put its code on American domestic flights from the west coast. ...
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Macau change
Li Ke Li, the CAAC's deputy director for international affairs, has been appointed chief executive officer of Air Macau. He replaces Ng Kian-wah, who has returned to Singapore Airlines. CNAC, which controls Air Macau, pushed for the appointment of Li, who has never managed an airline before. ...
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Freight frighteners
After persistently failing to ensure on-time delivery of its product to Japan by air, a major European pharmaceutical company was forced to take a multi-million dollar stake in a local Japanese drug company to ensure consistency of supply in a last desperate bid to retain a foothold in this lucrative ...