Strategy – Page 1012
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No dumb deals
American Airlines' new chairman and chief executive officer, Don Carty, is keen to stress that it's business as usual since the smooth handover from the high-profile Robert Crandall to his heir apparent. But business as usual for American, of course, includes a slow struggle to put in place its proposed ...
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Euro challenger
The spotlight is on something new at British Airways - alliances. 'What was a sideshow is now centre stage,' states BA's director of alliances John Paterson. With the appointment of the former director of strategy in June to this newly created post British Airways is making this point crystal clear. ...
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Wall St frets over Boeing
With Boeing back on track to deliver 550 aircraft this year as planned, chairman Phil Condit is using the word 'turnaround', but some feel such confidence is premature. Boeing delivered 148 aircraft in the second quarter, prompting Condit to declare the production recovery programme a success. 'It's on the ...
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CLK charges unchanged
Despite the current focus on resolving the initial hiccups, the long-term success of Hong Kong's new Chek Lap Kok (CLK) airport lies in keeping charges down. Since its inauguration on 6 June, technical and logistical problems have caused long delays for passengers and freight forwarders. But while these ...
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Czechs reach stalemate
Czech Airlines has become a bit too profitable, according to the Czech government, which is refusing to provide the airline with a capital injection. In July, the government said it would not provide CSA with a 500 million koruna (US$15 million) cash injection to help cut the company's debt ...
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Airline News
Air France began codesharing with Delta Air Lines on 19 June between Paris/Charles de Gaulle and New York/John F Kennedy, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington/Dulles, Atlanta, Boston and Cincinnati and between Nice and New York. Air France began codesharing with Continental Airlines on 19 July ...
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Rocky relations
It's a brave new world out there for the global distribution systems. Competition - from traditional rivals to online new entrants - is swirling about them; government rules that regulate them are being rewritten; and in some cases their relationships with their two most important customers - airlines and travel ...
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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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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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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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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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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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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 ...