Networks – Page 1124

  • News

    Japan replaces KLM codeshare

    1999-08-01T08:45:00Z

    Japan Airlines is to replace a codeshare with KLM with one for the same routes and frequencies with Iberia in a move that further extends its ties with the oneworld alliance. The switch, from the start of the winter timetable on 1 November, covers services between Amsterdam and Madrid and ...

  • News

    Bankrupt Sempati

    1999-08-01T08:30:00Z

    Indonesia's grounded Sempati Air has been officially declared bankrupt with debts of 1.6 trillion rupiah ($240 million). The carrier, once the country's largest private operator, suspended services in mid-1998. Source: Airline Business

  • News

    Delaying the inevitable

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Europe's latest crisis in air traffic control looks unlikely to be its last unless the region faces up to the need for long-term solutions. Air traffic control (ATC) authorities have been forced to resort to crisis management. At the route of the problem is the patchwork nature of the ...

  • News

    Ground handling goes acquisition crazy

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Tom Gill LONDON SAirGroup's move to buy Dynair, a major US ground handler, accelerates the market's rapid consolidation. SAirGroup's Swissport International, which claims to have become the world's largest ground handler as a result of the acquisition, also absorbed Amsterdam Schiphol-based Dutchport and the operations of France's Air Littoral ...

  • News

    Cintra plan for public float draws fire

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    David Knibb SEATTLE Mexico's Cintra group, which owns both Aeromexico and Mexicana, has caused a furore by announcing plans for an initial public offering (IPO) this autumn. Pilots claim that the government-linked holding company is using its ownership of both carriers to favour Aeromexico. Meanwhile, the Mexican federal competition ...

  • News

    Start-ups move in after AeroPeru rescue deal fails

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Continental Airlines' decision not to invest in AeroPeru is being viewed as the death knell for the Peruvian flag carrier. The likely winners will be two start-ups - each with foreign ties - together with AeroContinente, Peru's other international carrier. AeroPeru has been grounded since March and its ...

  • News

    Copa reveals new image

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Brian Homewood RIO DE JANEIRO Copa Airlines of Panama has unveiled a new company image, the result of an alliance with Continental Airlines. The new look is shown on a Boeing 737-700, one of 12 scheduled for delivery over the next few years to replace existing aircraft. Copa Airlines ...

  • News

    Sydney's second airport moves closer

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    David Knibb BRISBANE A decision could come as early as August on whether to build Sydney's second airport after the project was cleared by an environmental report. The Badgery's Creek project, which has been stalled for years by long debates, made a breakthrough in July when a second audit of ...

  • News

    Cool head in a hot seat

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    The glass must always look half full to Fernando Pinto. The first thing that Varig's president and chief executive officer wants to point out is that his airline is in a better position today than it was three years ago. It would be easy to overlook this piece of ...

  • News

    Virgin truce puts Irish operation on hold

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Simon Montlake ATI LONDON Virgin boss Richard Branson has brokered a truce between disgruntled pilots and managers at Virgin Express, the Brussels-based low-cost carrier. But the agreement, signed by Branson and staff representatives, has only put off the day of reckoning for Virgin Express Ireland, the new subsidiary at ...

  • News

    EasyJet gives tickets away

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    London Luton-based easyJet has taken low-cost travel into new territory with its decision not to charge for some of its flights. In response to Swissair's successful block on the application for a route licence between Geneva and Barcelona, the carrier will fly passengers free. These services would be classed as ...

  • News

    Arkia move sparks Arab backlash

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Peter Bennett VIENNA Israeli group Arkia says it will invest up to $100 million in loss-making flag carrier Balkan Bulgarian after it won the rights to buy a majority stake. But problems with some of Balkan's Arab routes have set in, with some countries objecting to dealing with an Israeli-owned ...

  • News

    EasyJet goes for Gatwick

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    EasyJet will begin flying out of London Gatwick to Geneva this autumn in a move that departs substantially from its use of lower-cost airports such as London Luton and Liverpool. The no-frills airline has also applied for slots at Heathrow, but says that its fares will remain "affordable". Source: ...

  • News

    New dawn for Sun Air?

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Roger Makings JOHANNESBURG South African Airways (SAA) is poised to move in on its ailing domestic competitor, Sun Air, after securing an exclusive three-month agreement with shareholders to work out a commercial relationship. Sun Air, in desperate need of a cash injection following the eight-month price war on South ...

  • News

    Japan's start-ups lose ground

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    David Knibb BRISBANE Skymark Airlines and Hokkaido International Airlines (Air Do), Japan's domestic start-ups, are taking a beating as a result of fare cuts by Japan's major airlines. In a full-blown fare war leading into Japan's summer season, falling ticket prices are bringing down the newcomers' load factors. Skymark ...

  • News

    Indian fare war erupts

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    India's airlines have slashed their fares by 20-25%, taking them to their lowest level in four years and setting the scene for a long and bitter war. Besides discounts, a wide range of gifts are on offer, from free holidays to complimentary stays in hotels and free travel for spouses. ...

  • News

    Qualiflying seamless service

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    With its new joint sales initiatives, the Qualiflyer grouping could be stealing a march in the alliance stakes. The promise of seamless customer service from the global alliances may seem a little distant, but progress appears to be under way. At the forefront has been a series of announcements from ...

  • News

    Playing your cards right

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Jackie Gallacher LONDON Frequent flier co-operation is reaching new levels of sophistication within the global alliances, threatening to leave others out in the cold. Not so long ago, an alliance based only on links between frequent-flier programmes (FFP) would have seemed hopelessly optimistic. Yet the real force of the global ...

  • News

    Playing it safe at KAL

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Nicholas Ionides SEOUL A big management shake-up at Korean Air has produced a new president and chief executive, Shim Yi-taek. His main task is to improve KAL's safety. Each day at noon, thousands of Korean Air (KAL) employees working at the carrier's Kimpo Airport headquarters building in Seoul make ...

  • News

    Netting a bargain

    1999-08-01T00:00:00Z

    Now in their third year, sales of discount fares via the Internet appear to be a rousing success for US carriers. Is this a glimpse of the future? American Airlines started it all three years ago. Other US majors were quick to follow. Now, Internet discount fares are beginning ...