FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1995
1995 - 2965.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Alitalia fails to reach break-even KEVIN O'TOOLE AND ALLAN WINN/LONDON ALITALIA HAS admitted that it will fail to reach the promised break-even point this year, largely because of the indus trial action from the pilots' union which has cost the airline L80 bil lion (S49 million) in cancelled flights. The Italian carrier has also been hit by widespread speculation in the press that Alitalia managing director Roberto Schisano has been asked to resign by the board - a move he is reported to have declined. Alitalia was unable to comment on the story as Flight InternationalvKXA to press. Schisano has been the main architect of Alitalia's restructuring, and in spite of the setback over break-even, has made good progress in revitalising the carrier, despite the bruising battle with employees over cost-cutting. The airline is confident that operations will be back in the black in 1996. Hans Udo Wenzel, Alitalia's senior vice-president for passenger sales, says that relations with the pilots are "now on the mend", and that an end to the long- running dispute could be close. An agreement on new working practices, including crewing for the Olympic is taking shoit-haul route to success leased Boeing 767s and the 15 Fokker 70/100s on order, was signed in July, leaving pay as the major negotiating point. Alitalia's next immediate goal is for a recapitalisation to help repair the group's debt-burdened balance sheet. The group requires upwards of LI,500 billion in fresh funds, although part of the capital will come through asset sales, says Wenzel. The sale of a controlling stake in Aeroporti di Roma will provide around L400 billion, with further cash from the sale of the headquarters building in Rome. The aim is to attract private investors, as well as its state-hold ing company, IRI, to take part in the recapitalisation, so avoiding a state-aid ruling from the EC. Although the industrial action has slowed Alitatia's passenger traf fic growth to only 3% so far this year, it plans to bounce back in 1996 with a 13% increase in capac ity, backed by an ambitious 36% rise in productivity. • It has been good news generally from southern Europe's struggling state-owned flag carriers. Greek carrier Olympic Airways has reported encouraging progress on its restructuring efforts. Olympic expects to end the year showing a modest net profit of Dr4.3 billion (Si9 million), the group's first since 1978, says chair man Prof Rigas Doganis. The improvement follows the restructuring programme launched in the middle of 1994, backed by a massive debt write-off by the Greek Government, totalling Dr491 billion. The impact of the reduced financing burden showed in the group's performance over the first half of the year. Pre-tax losses of Dr5.3 billion in the traditionally weak first half were down from Dr 16.7 billion a year ago. Doganis says that cost-cutting efforts are making a contribution, including annual savings of Dr5 billion from the pay freeze imposed at the start of 1994. He adds that more than 1,000 jobs will have gone by the end of this year, on the way to a staff reduction of 1,900 when restructuring is com plete in 1998. For the longer term, the airline also plans to halve the number of types in its jet fleet, from six to three, although under the terms of the European Commission's state- aid approval, Olympic will not be permitted to renew its long-haul aircraft until after 1998. Olympic is drawing up a plan to renew its short-haul fleet, however, and discussions with manufacturers are due to begin by the end of the year says Doganis. • Avro wins more orders for RJs LUFTHANSA CityLine and Turkish Airlines have an nounced further orders for Avro RJ regional jets, while National Jet Systems has become the first oper ator of die aircraft in Australia. The CityLine deal involves two RJ85s, in addition to the five air craft ordered in September. The seven aircraft, five due for delivery in 1996 and two in 1997, bring the CityLine RJ order to 17. Turkish Airlines is leasing four RJ70s to supplement its growing RJ100 operations, while National Jet Systems has leased an RJ70 to add to its 12 British Aerospace 146s. • Sextant Avionique wins Dash 8- 400 avionics contract BOMBARDIER HAS selected French firm Sextant Avionique as the risk-sharing supplier of avionics for the de Havilland Dash 8-400 70-seat, high-speed, reg ional turboprop. The integrated avionics suite, Sextant's first for a regional airliner, will include flat-panel cockpit dis plays, flight controls, instrumenta tion, radio communications and navigation, sensors, weather radar and centralised maintenance. Sextant will itself supply the liq uid-crystal displays and automatic flight-control system, but is ex pected to subcontract other ele ments of the package. Bombardier says that the -400 avionics will permit a common type-rating with other Dash 8 models. The -400 airline advisory panel is meeting at de Havilland on 23 October to determine the final configuration of the avionics , including the number of displays. Sextant is already a risk-sharing partner on the Bombardier Global Express long-range business jet and a components-supplier on the Dash 8 and Canadair Regional Jet. Bombardier has also selected Abex NWL Aerospace, another participant in die Global Express project, to supplv the hvdraulics sys tem for die Dash 8-400. • India approves Lufthansa cargo joint venture THE INDIAN Government has agreed to a proposal from UK-based banking and finance specialist the Hinduja Group to found a new Indian-based cargo airline with German flag carrier Lufthansa. / The new joint venture, provi sionally called Lufthansa India, will be managed by Ashok Leyland, a Madras-based subsidiary of Hinduja. The new airline is to begin oper ations in the second quarter of 1996, with an initial fleet of five Boeing 727-200 freighters. • 8 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 18 - 24 October 1995
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
