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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1827.PDF
HEADLINES AIR TRANSPORT Unions back rescue plan for Alitalia All nine Alitalia employee unions have signed up to the airline's new business plan, clearing the way for the struggling carrier's flight operations to be split from its other activities. The agree ment also calls for the Italian treasury to reduce its holding to 30%, from the current 62%. The deal enables Alitalia to receive a desperately needed €400 million ($490 million) gov ernment bridging loan. Alitalia managing director Giancarlo Cimoli has persuaded pilots, cabin crew and ground staff to accept wage cuts and longer working hours - an unprecedented achievement at an Italian company. Alitalia pilots will fly a maximum of 900h a year; up from 770h, and 289 cockpit positions will be eliminated. Across the airline, employee numbers will be cut by 3,700, resulting in labour savings of €280 million ($340 million) over the next two years. The airline had been on course to run out of cash at the end of September. Cimoli plans to split Alitalia's flight operations from its ground activities, forming stand-alone companies AZ Fly and AZ Service, respectively. BUSINESS JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON Confusion over Airbus role in Microsoft competition trial Airframer reverses decision to support software giant's Luxembourg antitrust appeal Confusion surrounds Airbus's interest in supporting US software giant Microsoft in its competition trial brought by the European Commission, after the airframer withdrew its request to intervene late last week. Microsoft is due to appear this week in Luxembourg before the Court of First Instance, the European Union's highest court for commercial cases, to seek an injunction against an earlier EC ruling that it had abused its domi nant market position to limit com petition. Airbus submitted a request to intervene in the case, effectively becoming a witness on Microsoft's behalf, but the latter now confirms the European manu- Will Airbus stand by its application to support Microsoft in court? facturer will not attend. Airbus had been on the list of interveners judged by the court to have been directly affected by the ruling and was due to speak on Microsoft's behalf. However this week's hearing is only to allow Microsoft to seek an interim delay to the imposition of penalties mandated by the judge, which include a demand for the software company to share source code for its Windows operating sys tem with competitors and sell a version of Windows without "bun dled" Media Player software. The case could run for several years. If Microsoft loses its eventual appeal, the ruling could change supplier relationships in other sec tors. Airbus could be forced to offer aircraft without "bundling" its choice of seats, avionics or in-flight entertainment, and could poten tially be asked to reveal the techni cal specifications of its products. Microsoft's associate general counsel for Europe, Horacio Gutierrez, says: "This filing con firms the negative effects of the Commission decision will be felt well beyond the software industry." BUSINESS MURDO MORRISON / LONDON SBAC overstaffed and unfocused, says review The Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) is overstaffed, unfocused and too reliant on the Farnborough air show for income. It has failed to adjust to a shift in gov ernment funding to the regions, "provide policy cohesion on national aerospace matters" or de liver value for money to members. These are the damning conclu sions of an internal strategic review of the SBAC, unveiled last week by new president Kevin Smith and recently appointed director-general Sally Howes. The 10-month review - carried out by a team that included several of the UK's top aerospace industri alists such as John Ferrie of Smiths Aerospace and Cobham's Allan Cook - concludes that the society must become "leaner, more flexible and more affordable" to its mem bers. Among its recommendations are a new role for regional aero space trade bodies as "regional arms" of the SBAC and for organi sation of the Farnborough air show - which takes up 40% of the soci ety's resources - to be farmed out and its financing separated from the SBAC's core budget. A restructured Farnborough air show - with fewer trade days, a smaller flying display and possibly a new location - is likely to be a by product of the shake-up, although the review does not make firm rec ommendations at this stage (Flight International, 13-19 July). The review is particularly critical of the way the SBAC has responded to government policies that have seen a transfer of influence to English regions and the devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This has led to the creation of eight regional aero space alliances, which have become the focus for channelling resources to small and medium enterprises. "The SBAC has been unable to harness the power of the regional alliances or provide policy cohe sion on national aerospace mat ters," says the review. It also slams the SBAC's internal organisation, saying: "The systems of governance and financial man agement are poor and members are increasingly critical of the value they get for the subscription paid." It also condemns the society's reliance on Farnborough, saying the show's financial performance may be a "myth" because "the commercial risk exposure which comes with it and the dedication of a large number of scarce resources to its success are all major concerns". 8 28 SEPTEMBER - 4 OCTOBER 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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