Strategy – Page 964
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Boeing details revised growth 777 schedule
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Boeing has unveiled a detailed revised timetable for development of the growth 777-200X and -300X, calling for delivery of the first General Electric GE90-115B-powered aircraft within 44 months of formal launch. The schedule is based on a formal launch for the programme by the end ...
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Olympic runs up a profit despite slump
Troubled Greek flag-carrier Olympic Airways saw turnover fall by 2% last year compared with 1997, although it was able to report a net profit of Dr1.66 billion ($5.3 million) for the period, thanks to a Dr12 billion gain from a write-back of previous provisions. The airline also suffered an ...
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The China syndrome
The People's Republic is overflowing with airlines, but in the wake of the Asian crisis, few are turning a profit Chris Jasper/LONDON Though Beijing, in the form of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), has been talking up the prospect of consolidation within the country's airline industry for some ...
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KLM uk counters rivals with new 'buzz' low-frills division
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON KLM uk has reacted to growing infiltration into its London Stansted market by low fare airlines with the creation of its own "no-frills" division, "buzz". The new brand will be launched early next year, providing the UK-based division of KLM with the tools to attack head-on ...
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Canadian rejection
Air Canada has formally rejected an Onex bid to merge it with Canadian Airlines, and has launched an action to declare the plan illegal. The flag carrier says, however, that it is open to offers higher than the C$1.8 ($1.2 billion) bid received by Onex and its partner, oneworld leader ...
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China's chaotic airline industry
The Chinese airline industry is made up of a cat's cradle of carriers, headed by the "big three" airlines that offer the bulk of international services and which are each equipped with large fleets of Western airliners. Few of China's airlines are profitable, with most of the country's carriers state-owned ...
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Turbofan time
The entrée of the 30/40-seat jet offers the opportunity to focus on modernising the lower end of the regional aircraft fleet Paul Lewis/Washington DC The recent introduction of the new Embraer RJ-135 (above) and Fairchild Aerospace 328JET has heralded the entry into service of a completely new class of ...
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EC approves Alliance engine plan
The European Commission (EC) has formally approved plans by the General Electric-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance to offer a powerplant for the Airbus Industrie A3XX, following a review of the tie-up's likely impact on competition. The decision had been anticipated after the Commission indicated last November that it was ...
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Step by step
A year after ICAO's global CVS/ATM gathering, progress towards the ultimate goal of global implementation is slowly being made Emma Kelly/LONDON In May last year, more than 800 International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) states and aviation decision makers met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss communications, navigation and surveillance/air ...
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Routes
Virgin Express will begin serving Berlin Schönefeld from Brussels, London (Stansted and Gatwick) and Rome from November. US Airways will add services between Manchester in the UK and Philadelphia next May. The airline also plans to add daily non-stop flights from its Charlotte hub to Paris and Frankfurt. Swissair has ...
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AirTran pins hopes of return to profit on introduction of 717
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES AirTran Airways is poised to introduce the first of up to 100 117-seat Boeing 717s to support its efforts to become profitable this year for the first time since 1995, says chairman and chief executive Joe Leonard. The arrival of the 717 "will be ...
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Boeing seeks to overturn China Eastern A340-500/600 deal
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Boeing is attempting to overturn a decision by China Eastern Airlines (CEA) to acquire Airbus A340-500/600s. It is proposing a deal similar to the controversial agreement the US company sealed with Singapore Airlines earlier this year, which will take the carrier's A340s in return for ...
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Volga-Dnepr ponders new strategies
Chris Jasper/SHANNONOutsize cargo specialist Volga-Dnepr plans to launch scheduled freight services as part of a major expansion of its operations. The Russian carrier, which offers cargo charters with its Antonov An-124-100 freighters marketed through the UK's HeavyLift Cargo Airlines, may take four Ilyushin Il-96Ts freighters to launch the service, but ...
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Air Foyle ponders new strategies
Emma Kelly/LONDON UK freight specialist Air Foyle is evaluating 100-seat aircraft for the expansion of a passenger activities, following the loss of a TNT cargo contract next summer. The company is also finalising the re-organisation of Ireland's CityJet, in which it recently purchased a controlling stake. Air Foyle ...
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Four form joint union
Cabin crew unions from the Netherlands and Italy have formed a new joint organisation in the wake of the KLM/Alitalia strategic alliance. The Wings Cabin Crew Union (WCCU) ties together VNC of the Netherlands and Italy's SULTA, ANPAV and UGL, with the Dutch union claiming the four represent the ...
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Canadian regionals lukewarm on merger
Canada's regional airlines are showing little enthusiasm for the expansion opportunities likely to accompany a merger of Canadian Airlines and Air Canada. Ottawa's hopes of retaining a competitive airline industry after a merger could hinge on the expansion of services by regional and charter carriers, which could take over ...
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SAA's Sun Air bid is rejected
Pretoria has vetoed South African Airways' (SAA) planned take-over and closure of Sun Air after refusing to write off R20 million ($3.3 million) owed by the defunct regional. The UK's Virgin Atlantic Airways is touted as a possible alternative investor. The South African Government says the proposed sale of ...
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Digital giant
Boeing and Northrop Grumman have combined forces to bring construction of the 747 into the 21st century Guy Norris/SEATTLELate next month a 747-400 destined for Japan Airlines (JAL) will roll out of Boeing's Everett manufacturing site in Washington. On the outside it will look just like any other -400, but ...
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BA shake-up claims victims
Chris Jasper/LONDON British Airways' sweeping executive reshuffle has removed at least two senior figures from the carrier's upper management. It has effectively elevated or demoted others as its old horizontally oriented structure is replaced by a vertically oriented model through which the airline says it hopes to "sharpen its ...
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Air France closes on new allies
Chris Jasper/LONDON Julian Moxon/PARIS Air France is moving closer to enlisting new airline allies to launch a global grouping alongside Delta Air Lines. Austrian Airlines is thought to be close to defecting from the Swissair-led Qualiflyer alliance and British Midland (BM) is being targeted as part of the recruitment offensive. ...