News from FlightGlobal – Page 2265
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News
Airline revolution gathers pace
When we launched Airline Business magazine 13 years ago, Carl Icahn had just taken over TWA; People Express was looking at acquisitions; Japan Airlines was losing its international monopoly; British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines were about to be privatised; Britain and France had signed a new air services ...
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A one-horse race
Though dulled by drink, the American business class passenger was able to stab a finger towards the aircraft window as it taxied into Frankfurt airport. 'Emirates. That's a good little airline,' he slurred, pointing at a parked Airbus 310. Therein lies the Dubai flag carrier's problem. Despite its well-deserved reputation ...
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Indonesians ally together
The domestic Indonesian aviation market will receive a much-needed shot in the arm if proposals for an alliance between five struggling airlines go ahead. Garuda Indonesia, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, Bouraq Indonesia Airlines, Mandala Airlines and Sempati Air are the prospective members of the alliance. The grouping could provide a ...
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Island assets offloaded
Qantas Airways and Ansett Airlines have both sold most of their remaining interests in island resorts, thereby signalling a return to core operations. 'It's a classic case of sticking to your knitting,' explains James Strong, managing director of Qantas. 'I've never been convinced that Qantas could do as good ...
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Rising confidence
Isao Kaneko became president of Japan Airlines the same day its shareholders approved a US$894 million write-off against capital reserves - the largest in Japan's corporate history. Kaneko succeeded Akira Kondo, who resigned as president to take responsibility for the unprecedented loss. It hardly seemed the occasion for the new ...
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Narita slots scramble
Where there's a will, there's a way. Despite a nine year freeze on more takeoffs and landings at Tokyo/Narita airport, Japan's Ministry of Transport (MOT) seems to have found a way to accommodate more prime time flights by US carriers. But then, faced with the obligation to make the new ...
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Indians halt fleet plans
The decision by the G8 nations to impose economic sanctions after India's detonation of nuclear devices, and the downgrading of its sovereign debt by a credit rating agency, have cast clouds over the fleet expansion plans of several Indian carriers. As part of the sanctions, the US has directed its ...
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Poles delay LOT sale
The Polish government says it wants to postpone the sale of state carrier LOT Polish Airlines until next year, following delays in foreign ownership laws. LOT is now likely to look for a foreign strategic partner after the appointment of an advisory team to aid in the airline's privatisation. ...
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Love rivalry in courtroom
Continental Express will be unable to implement its new regional jet service out of Dallas/Love Field fully until 1999 at the earliest, because of a legal wrangle that has developed with the city's main airport, Dallas-Fort Worth. The court case could set an important precedent. In the latest controversy ...
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Nigeria hits rock bottom
Efforts to revitalise Nigeria's national carrier, Nigeria Airways, seem to have hit the rocks, due to its heavy debt burden, government apathy in providing financial help, and a lack of serviceable aircraft. The government is saddled with fashioning a credible political transition and creating a conducive economic environment. There ...
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A Herculean task
Never trust Greeks bringing gifts, so the saying goes. It is to be hoped that doesn't apply to Greeks receiving gifts. Where is Hercules when he's needed? Unless he or the ancient gods intervene and provide a timely miracle, Greek flag carrier Olympic will require another sizeable gift from ...
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Oz raises the alliance ante
Australia's antitrust agency has approved the alliance between Ansett, Air New Zealand, and Singapore Airlines, paving the way for the three carriers to turn up the heat on the Qantas-British Airways strategic alliance. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) tentatively approved the tripartite agreement despite its concern that ...
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Pilots rage against PAL
The acrimonious pilots dispute at Philippine Airlines (PAL) is about to spill over into the Filipino Supreme Court as the legal mudslinging between sacked pilots and the airline hots up. The Airline Pilots Association of the Philippines (ALPAP) is suing PAL, accusing it of an illegal lockout. More than ...
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Asians clean up house
In hard times, heads roll. Sometimes leaders step aside voluntarily, as in the case of Japan Airlines' president Akira Kondo and chairman Susumu Yamaji. But purges at China Airlines (CAL) and Garuda Indonesia are part of major housecleaning efforts. In a dramatic move to distance China Airlines from its ...
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Losses: What losses?
The airline industry is renowned, with few exceptions, for its poor returns. Indeed, airlines as a group actually destroyed value between 1992 and 1997, achieving a feeble 6 per cent return on invested capital - at least three percentage points below the 9 to 10 per cent cost of capital ...
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SAA chief plans repairs
South African Airways' new US chief executive is promising a complete overhaul and believes alliances and privatisation will have to wait until the airline is in better shape. Coleman Andrews, former CEO of World Airways, has been given a four-year contract with a mandate to restore the South African ...
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Policy stirs Tata's hopes
With the announcement of a new aviation policy by the right-wing Indian government, the civil aviation ministry has reopened the Tata Airlines file. Tata proposes that foreign institutional investors pay Rs 2.78 billion (US$65.5 million) for a 40 per cent equity stake in the airline, leaving Tata Industries with ...
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Japan's economy faces overhaul
Japan is facing a crisis of historical proportions. The dramatic fall in the value of the yen and the long-term decline in the value of the companies which make up the Nikkei stock market index are simply symptoms of far-reaching changes taking place in the way in which the country ...
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Startups look to citizen McCain
Last year it was the ticket tax; this year it's the Department of Transportation. The US majors have a new enemy in their gunsights and the atmosphere on Capitol Hill is bellicose once again. In 1997 the carriers that united in a campaign to abolish the 10 per cent ...
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Burbank completes 707 hushkit work and expects STC soon
Burbank Aeronautical (BAC) has completed flight tests of its Stage 3 Boeing 707 hushkit and expects to receive a supplemental type certificate (STC) by late August. Work has now begun on a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-50/61 kit. The STC will be obtained by Quiet Skies, a company established by Burbank ...