Strategy – Page 1051

  • News

    Great expectations

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    The European Commission is putting a stronger case than ever before for direct powers to apply EC competition rules to air transport services on third country routes. If it is successful the implications will be enormous. By Trevor Soames.The European Commission never was one to give in easily. With some ...

  • News

    Euro alliance shape shifts

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    The European alliance merry-go-round is turning at full tilt during the northern hemisphere's summer, with loose ends tidied up and new combinations entering the arena. With the holidays more or less shutting the regulators in Brussels down for the month of August, the frustrated officials at British Airways ...

  • News

    FAA falters over charges

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    Under a barrage of protest from overseas governments and pressure at home, the Federal Aviation Administration may back down and modify its position on overflight fees. A senior official at the FAA confirms that most of the comments received on the overflight ruling are negative. Before the current ...

  • News

    Olympic sees the endgame

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    The European Commission looks set to authorise Olympic Airways' outstanding state aid and once the funds are in place, the flag carrier plans to implement ambitious restructuring measures. Olympic chief executive Jordan Karatzas is confident that the Commission will shortly unfreeze Olympic's outstanding state aid, amounting to GDr35 ...

  • News

    No ticket to ride catching on fast

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    Electronic ticketing - or ticketless travel - continues to grow in popularity in the US, where the concept was invented, and should become widespread in the international arena in the near future, carrier officials say. First adopted by ValuJet and Morris Air, electronic ticketing was next embraced by Southwest - ...

  • News

    Northern delights?

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    Routes Oslo '97, the third route development forum organised by Airline Business and Airport Strategy & Marketing, takes place in Oslo on 15-16 September and is sponsored by Gardermoen Airport and the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority. In this preview, Sally Gethin examines the role of Oslo's new airport at Gardermoen, ...

  • News

    Peru regains top ranking

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    Peru has become the first Latin American country to regain Category I status for safety oversight from Washington, but officials in the region are wary over claims that the US Federal Aviation Administration will upgrade other Latin American countries still on the 'black list.' 'This as not at ...

  • News

    Seven in a pickle over ticket tax

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    The US ticket tax debate has turned into something of a pretty pickle for the Seven Sisters. The campaign by seven major US airlines, officially known as the Coalition for Fair FAA Funding, to replace the current tax with a user fee has backfired so spectacularly that they now find ...

  • News

    Tough on TAM

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    Just kick them where it hurts most - this is standard parental advice given to daughters the world over to arrest ardent advances. Translate the formula into airline terms and the equivalent way to stall an airline's overzealous advances is to damage its safety record. Well, TAM (Transportes Aereos Regionais) ...

  • News

    Thai sale set for year end

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    It has been a long and tortuous road but Thai Airways International looks to be edging towards phased privatisation, with a partial disposal expected before year end. Thai's board has asked the government to approve the sale of part of its remaining 93 per cent stake along with ...

  • News

    Rainbow aria

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    Besides the airline industry, Omar Fontana's leading passion in life is the piano. Yet a recent operation on Fontana's hands has made it difficult for this accomplished pianist to play. So he is sublimating his love for playing by composing a symphony, instructing other people to write down 'the ...

  • News

    Turkish blend

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    The Turkish flag carrier appears to have turned the corner financially and is now profitable. But political uncertainty and government interference are still holding THY Turkish Airlines back. Meanwhile, deregulation is allowing the country's private charter carriers to move into scheduled operations. Mark Odell reports from Istanbul. Much as Turkish ...

  • News

    Giant leap forward?

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    Varig may still be the undisputed giant of the Brazilian airline industry, but will restructuring efforts be enough to keep it ahead of burgeoning competition? Lois Jones reports.When you start off at the top, the danger is that there's only one way to go - and that's down. Five years ...

  • News

    Stretched to the limit

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    Vasp's ambitions spread far and wide, but are its financial resources equally expandable? Lois Jones reports. Vasp chairman and president Wagner Canhedo Azevado is a man who likes to think big and be in control. The chairman likes to consider South America, and not just Brazil, as a single ...

  • News

    Caracas fails to fill vacuum

    1997-09-01T00:00:00Z

    While Caracas prevaricates over how to re-allocate Viasa's international routes, foreign airlines are racing to fill the vacuum left by the flag carrier's demise. This leaves any Venezuelan carrier eventually granted the dormant route authorities with the daunting challenge of having to establish itself in a market dominated chiefly by ...

  • News

    easyJet's complaint

    1997-08-27T11:43:00Z

    The European Commission has opened an enquiry into allegations by UK low-cost airline easyJet of anti-competitive practices by KLM. The action follows a complaint made by easyJet in October 1996 that KLM was lowering its fares artificially on the Amsterdam-London route in order to compete with easyJet's tariffs. ...

  • News

    Dash 8-400 favourite at SAS

    1997-08-27T00:00:00Z

    Kevin O'Toole/Stockholm An official announcement on the selection of a new 70-seat turboprop for the SAS Commuter fleet is imminent, says the Scandinavian airline, with an order expected for as many as 20 Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8-400s, to be used alongside the existing Saab 2000 50-seaters. ...

  • News

    KLM pursues European plans

    1997-08-27T00:00:00Z

    Kevin O'Toole/LONDON KLM says that it will continue to press ahead with plans to increase its presence across Europe, having signed its latest partnership deal with Norway's Braathens SAFE- backed with a 30%equity stake. KLM, which took full control of Air UK earlier this year and ...

  • News

    Marketplace

    1997-08-27T00:00:00Z

    ++ Virgin has confirmed that it will add two new Airbus A340-300s in 1998 (Flight International, 13-19 August ) but that one of the aircraft will be acquired on a four-year operating lease from International Lease Finance (ILFC). The aircraft will be delivered in March 1998, and will be joined ...

  • News

    Qantas steps up battle to cut costs and raise yields

    1997-08-27T00:00:00Z

    Kevin O'Toole/LONDONPaul Phelan/CAIRNS Qantas chairman Gary Pemberton, unveiling a modest increase in profits for 1996/7, has warned that the carrier will have to step up its drive to cut costs and improve yields if it is to have a chance of further improvements over the coming financial year. ...