Strategy – Page 1004
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Philippine Airlines reprieved by union deal
Grounded Philippine Airlines (PAL)has won a reprieve from a final shutdown, following a "yes" vote by ground staff to accept a government-brokered last-ditch deal to revive the ailing carrier financially . The 6,500-strong PAL Employees Association voted on 2 October by a two-to-one margin to accept the deal reached ...
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Fairchild Dornier admits doubts over Crossair 728JET order
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Fairchild Dornier has admitted that doubts are growing over Crossair's commitment to the new 728JET family of regional aircraft, as a result of recent configuration decisions which have gone against the Swiss airline's wishes. Crossair and Lufthansa CityLine each signed a letter of intent earlier this year to ...
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Fare wars sting Brazil
Deregulation and resulting fare wars continue to bite hard into profits at Brazil's four main airlines, with no sign that the worst is over. Varig is blaming the fare wars for its Real $197 million ($168 million) loss reported for the first half year. This is almost triple the figure ...
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Eagle eyes all-jet fleet
American Airlines regional subsidiary American Eagle is planning to become an all-jet operation - a declaration that will put pressure on other US regionals to follow suit. American Eagle confirmed at the UK's Farnborough air show in September that it is to buy 75 Embraer RJ-135 37-seat jets. The ...
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Air India may seek equity
The efforts are on to sell the Indian Government's majority shareholdings in Air India and Indian Airlines. In September, the Disinvestment Commission drafted a detailed plan to sell the 60% stake in Air India, and finance minister Yashwanth Sinha announced the disinvestment of 51% of Indian Airlines. The commission ...
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Cost cuts lift Qantas and Air New Zealand
Cost-cutting continues to underpin strong financial performances by Australasia's two main international carriers, Qantas and Air New Zealand, while the region's third biggest carrier, Ansett, prepares radical measures to fix its cost problems. Investors remain worried by Qantas' exposure to Asia, in spite of management efforts to reduce that ...
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The rouble plays Russian roulette
First it was the crisis in South East Asia. Now it is meltdown in Russia's financial system that is spreading panic in global markets. The lesson from Asia is that what may start with currency collapse swiftly and inevitably translates into damage for the real economy of production, output and ...
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Russia crisis hits home
A contraction in the Russian airline industry is now almost inevitable, after nearly a month of financial uncertainty left the rouble heavily devalued from its level of mid-August. The devaluation will almost certainly lead to a general economic downturn in Russia with passenger numbers and cargo traffic both dropping off ...
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Swiss face testing times
Swissair certainly has its plate full. While the carrier is making forays into neighbouring Italy competition from lower cost operators is growing at home. After a string of false starts, Swiss World Airways (SWA) has got off the ground at Geneva, following Swissair's decision 16 months ago to move ...
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Braathens raises Swedish stakes
The battle for dominance in Scandinavian skies has taken another twist, with Norway's Braathens taking over Swedish regional Malmo Aviation. The SKr600 million ($74 million) acquisition is the latest in a series of aggressive manoeuvres, redrawing the aviation map of Scandinavia. Braathens has already taken over Transwede (now Braathens Sweden), ...
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West beats Asia retreat
As western carriers continue their retreat from Asia, the region's airlines are starting to fill in some of the gaps. This capacity redeployment by the foreign majors has given Asian alliances a welcome boost. New schedules effective 25 October show a continuing shift of non-Asian capacity out of the ...
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Bank bailout clouds Cintra
The Mexican Government's hopes of selling its stake in Cintra, the holding company for Aeromexico and Mexicana, are snagged in a $62 billion bank bailout dispute that has become a hot political issue. The dispute centres on whether the government should own Cintra shares. When the government became a ...
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Pilots kill Delta pact with United
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have scaled back plans for a virtual merger after the withdrawal of support from Delta's pilots. The failure of this, the largest of the proposed US domestic mergers, raises doubts over the extent to which the other US carriers will pursue alliance plans. ...
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Hercules ends Fine merger
Fine Air and Southern Air Transport have scrubbed merger plans after failing to agree what to do with Southern's Lockheed L-1011 Hercules. The two US second-tier cargo carriers will go their separate ways, even though Miami-based Fine wants to expand its Latin American and Caribbean network. Fine was interested ...
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The price of peace
Airbus and Boeing kicked off the Farnborough air show with modest price rises, giving the first signs of a truce in the cut-throat battle for market share After years of undignified acrimony it seems that the feuding could finally be over. As the aerospace world gathered for the Farnborough air ...
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Mesa Group eyes CCAir
Mesa Air Group plans to purchase CCAir, the independent carrier that provides service as US Airways Express in the south-east USA. The acquisition is being touted by Mesa management as an "excellent fit" and is seen as part of the regional carrier's struggle back to stability after a difficult year. ...
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playing the Smartcard
A revolution is underway in the world of smart card and tag technology, which airports and airlines are only just beginning to exploit. Dr Peter Harrop argues for the gains to be made As the air transport industry makes its way towards the new millenium, it continues to wrestle with ...
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flexing Muscles
When airline executives dreamed up alliances, some might have imagined that regulatorary approval would be a tough nut to crack, but did they sufficiently weigh up the labour factor? Union cooperation in the formation and development of airline alliances is proving to be crucial. Already, cross-alliance union groups are emerging ...
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SELLING the BRAND
Following the lead of supermarkets and chain stores, major airlines are contemplating the offer of financial market products such as insurance policies and loans. So British Airways is going to offer its customers financial services too . . . When the company announced its intention in March, it joined ...
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Alliances: the next $tep
Can airline alliances take the next step and act like a single commercial business? Frank Berardino and Chris Frankel chart a possible route. Last month, in a report entitled "Keeping the score", USaviation consultancy GRAlaid out the first phase in a strategy for maximising the profits and benefits from an ...