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Aviation History
1998
1998 - 3367.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Star picks managers as it gears up for fight ANDREW DOYLE/MUNICH THE SIX airline members of the Star Alliance have appointed a dedicated manage ment team to take over die day-to day running of their operation in a bid to achieve more effective co operation in key areas. The move forms part of aggres sive plans by Star, the largest mem bers of which are United Airlines and Lufthansa, to maintain its headstart over rival global alliances such as oneworld and allow it to ".. .meet head-on the next phase of airline competition". Star's alliance management board will consist of six executives who are charged widi implement ing the five-year business plan approved by the heads of the mem ber carriers at their recent meeting in Rio de Janeiro. The board is to be chaired by Lufthansa executive vice-president alliances, Friedel Roedig, with United Airlines director alliances Bruce Harris taking die position of deputy. The other four members of the management board will take on responsibility for specific areas of strategic importance to Star, such as network development, passen ger services, information technolo gy and sales and marketing, which were previously overseen by work ing groups. Roedig says: "Nowdiat this groundwork is in place, the time of the purely committee- based organisation is over. We are ready to accelerate the process." Lufthansa says a key factor behind the move is the need to speed up die decision-making process, placing accountability for key areas widi individuals instead of working groups. "It is very impor tant not to wait widi certain deci sions until die next meeting of the airline presidents," says die German flag carrier. Lie declines to comment on die objectives of Star's five-year business plan, or exactly how much audiority the members of die management board will have. A source close to the Star Alliance explains: "It's a little too early to see the actual level of deci sion-making freedom. That's Garu4a officials have beaded to Seattle to resolve leasing problems with six new 131s Garuda pushes to renegotiate 737 leases ANDRZEJ JEZIORSKI/SINGAPORE GARUDA INDONESIA is in talks with the US Export- Import Bank, Boeing and General Electric to renegotiate leases on six Boeing 737s. The airline says talks attended by airline president Abdul Gani and president commissioner Rob- by Djohan began on 11 December in Seattle, focusing on credit terms and length of leases. The airline declines to reveal further details. The aircraft concerned are three 737-300s and three 737-500s, which Garuda says Gani would like delivered by the end of this month. Garuda has been unable to pay for 17 737s ordered in June 1996, before die impact of the Asian eco nomic crash on traffic and yields. Since then, the Indonesian rupiah has ridden a rollercoaster and now stands at 45% of its pre-crisis value against the US dollar. Five aircraft from the original order were deliv ered in 1997, while six more have been sold on to other customers, including Air New Zealand and I leller Financial of Chicago. Garuda has cut 2 3 % of its work force - 3,000 employees - in response to falling demand and soaring costs, most of which are paid in dollars, while tickets are sold in rupiah. It has cut services, is returning six leased Boeing MD- 11s and is offering five Airbus A300B4sforsale. The airline intends to stabilise its fleet at 3 5 aircraft, 15 fewer than the current level, focusing on Airbus A330-300s, 737s and 747s, and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s. "We would only like to serve profitable routes," says Garuda. This has led to withdrawal of flights to Los Angeles and concentration of European services on Am sterdam, Frankfurt and London. The airline is working to re schedule about $370 million in for eign debt. • something that will be established over the next couple of months." In addition to United and Lufthansa, die founder members of Star include Air Canada, SAS, Thai and Varig. Three odier members of the management board so far announced are Ross MacCormack of Air Canada, responsible for net work development, Per Stende- bakken of SAS, who will look after "seamless service" and product development, and United's Bruce Parker, responsible for information technology and automation. Air New Zealand, Ansett Aus tralia and All Nippon Airways intend to join die Star Alliance next year, and are expected to be joined by Singapore Airlines. • Austria favoured for CeatsATC centre AN INDEPENDENT report has come out in favour of Austria as the location for a new air traffic control centre for die central European area. While diere is still some dissent on the findings of the report, there is, say industry sources, "consider able optimism" that the findings will be approved at a meeting of civil aviation authority director generals in Paris this month. If approved, the central Euro pean air traffic services (Ceats) sys tem is planned to open in 2005/6. Seven countries are involved: Austria, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia and the Czech Republic. In June, they agreed that Eurocontrol would run the Ceats centre, and be responsible for col lecting the user charges that will pay for it. Initial funding will be through bank loans, national con tributions and possibly die Euro pean Union, through its trans- Furopean network programme. Details of how the centre will work remain to be agreed once the political deal is in place, but they centre at present on the creation of a single airspace continuum offer ing direct routings over flight level 300 (30,000ft/(9150m). Transition to other airspace areas will be han dled by Eurocontrol. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 16 - 22 December 1998 17
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