Strategy – Page 1015

  • News

    Russia decides on import tariffs for aircraft

    1998-07-08T00:00:00Z

    The Russian Government is reported to have cemented proposals for tighter rules over tax exemptions for airliner imports. The final wording represents a compromise formula under which a Russian airline can claim exemption, provided it spends three times more on domestic-built aircraft than it would save on the tax discount. ...

  • News

    BA delays narrowbody decision

    1998-07-08T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES British Airways has delayed a decision on whether to choose Airbus Industrie or Boeing to supply its new short haul fleet after a last-minute revision of the US manufacturer's bid appeared to stave off an imminent move towards the European consortium. An evaluation team was ...

  • News

    P&W links with SIA for engine overhaul venture

    1998-07-08T00:00:00Z

    Pratt & Whitney has finalised an agreement with Singapore Airlines (SIA) to establish a new engine repair and overhaul joint venture, in what is the latest in a series of after sales support investments in Asia by competing powerplant manufacturers. Eagle Services ASIA will be 51% owned by PW ...

  • News

    Air 2000 makes LIA fleet merger first priority

    1998-07-08T00:00:00Z

    Air 2000 is aiming to integrate its recent acquisition, Leisure International Airways (LIA), by the beginning of its summer 1999 flying programme. It will then look at long-term fleet plans. The merger of the two UK charter airlines under the Air 2000 identity follows the recent purchase by Air ...

  • News

    KLM accounts hint at the true worth of BA slots at Heathrow

    1998-07-08T00:00:00Z

    Kevin O'Toole/LONDON A rare insight into the value of slots at London Heathrow has emerged from a line in the latest KLM accounts which gives details of a deal with British Airways that appears to put a price tag of up to $3 million on each landing and take-off ...

  • News

    BA and Cathay Pacific near alliance agreement

    1998-07-08T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis/HONG KONG Cathay Pacific Airways is close to finalising a wide-ranging alliance with British Airways, which could extend to the UK company acquiring an equity stake in the Hong Kong carrier. The airlines are also believed to be talking about swapping aircraft. According to industry sources, discussions ...

  • News

    JAL aims to speed cost cuts with new express subsidiary

    1998-07-08T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Japan Airlines (JAL) has launched its new low cost subsidiary, JAL Express (JEX), in an effort to counter the country's crippling high labour costs and in response to the impending entry into the domestic airline market of the first of several planned start-ups. JEX launched its ...

  • News

    Emirates training

    1998-07-01T16:54:00Z

    Emirates Airlines has agreed a one-year ab initio training contract with Western Michigan University. Eight cadets are to join an Aer Lingus course in August, bringing to 72 the number of international pilots being trained at the US school. Source: Flight International

  • News

    Sempati first to shut down

    1998-07-01T09:42:00Z

    Sempati Air ceased operations in early June, becoming the second airline casualty of the Asian currency crisis and the first in Indonesia. Transportation minister Giri Suseno broke the news about the shutdown. 'It is impossible for Sempati to continue operations in the current difficult situation,' he told the Jakarta ...

  • News

    Island of competition

    1998-07-01T08:55:00Z

    Air Mauritius still enjoys government protection as the sole local scheduled carrier and has successfully seen off a recent challenge to this position from local upstarts African Island Airways (AIA). The idea for a second, regional Mauritian carrier was first floated in July 1995 by local entrepreneur Georges Chung. ...

  • News

    Where's the glue

    1998-07-01T00:00:00Z

    The major alliance groups are each taking different approaches as they try to balance the need for IT integration against potential divorce. When United Airlines' chairman Gerald Greenwald announced the planned alliance with Delta Air Lines, he pointed to IT as one of the major hurdles that would determine ...

  • News

    Are you IT- compatible?

    1998-07-01T00:00:00Z

    Anybody who has not realised that strategic alliances between airlines are the future of the industry must have been asleep for the last few years. But as the major alliance groups seek to implement the close ties their strategists have planned, they are becoming acutely aware of a painful reality: ...

  • News

    No baulking at Balkan bid

    1998-07-01T00:00:00Z

    Up to five bidders are expected to submit firm offers for Bulgarian national carrier Balkan Airlines, as the next privatisation hits the region. The Bulgarian government says it wants to find a strategic rather than financial investor for up to 75 per cent of Balkan, but adds it would ...

  • News

    Cathay coy over partner

    1998-07-01T00:00:00Z

    Cathay Pacific remains coy about which global alliance grouping it will ally itself with as speculation mounts over potential bedfellows. Cathay's alliance talks are progressing with virtually all major carriers and groupings in the industry, and a decision will be made within six to nine months, says Cathay managing ...

  • News

    Chinese join global pack

    1998-07-01T00:00:00Z

    Chinese flag carrier Air China has become the first Chinese airline to enter fully into an international alliance, but its decision is likely to trigger similar alliance moves from other Chinese carriers. Air China is set to join a strategic alliance with Northwest Airlines and its partners Continental Airlines, ...

  • News

    China stops cheap deals

    1998-07-01T00:00:00Z

    So much for China's experiment with deregulated air fares. Wide-open pricing, which led to discounts of up to 50 per cent, ended in May when the Civil Aviation Administration of China tightened limits on how much airlines could vary ticket prices. Last November the CAAC gave airlines an almost ...

  • News

    Comair lists in Jo'burg

    1998-07-01T00:00:00Z

    Comair is to become the first South African carrier to seek a listing, and is to debut on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange this July. Comair's chairman, Dave Novick, hopes the listing will value the company in excess of R1 billion (US$200 million). A prospectus was expected to be issued ...

  • News

    Alliances: three forgotten factors

    1998-07-01T00:00:00Z

    Stop. Wait. Listen. Think. The whole world is alliance-mad. The fanatical alliance worshippers of this world might think this is heresy, but a fundamental question needs to be asked. Is the crazy web of continuously changing alliance relationships actually going to produce workable results? Alliance-building is basically an egotistical ...

  • News

    A first class idea

    1998-07-01T00:00:00Z

    While the rest of the airline industry promotes the idea of no-frills, virtually fat-free flying, Midwest Express is pampering its passengers with premium service. Meanwhile, in France Fairlines hopes to emulate this success. A handful of peanuts and a dribble of Coca-Cola never satisfied anyone, least of all an airline ...

  • News

    French pilots kick up fuss

    1998-07-01T00:00:00Z

    A further reduction in costs is the key to Air France's partial privatisation later this year, but pilots are strongly resisting cuts in their salary. A strike over a 15per cent cut in pilots' pay started 1 June and is costing the carrier FFr100 million (US$16.7 million) a day, ...