All news – Page 6642

  • News

    Travel agents outraged by commission reductions

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    KAREN WALKER WASHINGTON DC Taking their lead from United Airlines, most major US carriers have slashed travel agent commission rates from 8% to 5%. The cuts have provoked outcry from travel agent groups, already reeling from efforts by the airlines to steer customers towards Internet bookings. Within days of ...

  • News

    Travelocity merger with Preview stirs on-line fight

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    JANE LEVERE NEW YORK Global distribution system company Sabre has merged its Travelocity unit with Preview Travel in a step-up in the battle for the growing on-line travel market. The new company, Travelocity.com, will have projected sales this year of more than $1 billion. Travelocity was already top-ranked in ...

  • News

    Boeing reverses policy to create full-service finance unit

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    DAVID KNIBB SEATTLE In a major policy reversal, Boeing is turning the customer finance unit it inherited from McDonnell Douglas (MDC) into "a full-service financing organisation". The former MDC finance unit, renamed Boeing Capital, will be combined with the finance services of its treasury as part of the move ...

  • News

    Delta buys Comair

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    Delta Air Lines is buying Comair Holdings, parent of Comair, in a $1.8 billion deal. Comair, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a Delta Connection regional carrier which feeds passengers from cities in the midwest and Florida to Delta's hubs in Cincinnati and Orlando. Comair chairman and chief executive David Mueller, ...

  • News

    Ansett NZ wins pilot contract battle amid sale talk

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    New Zealand's second airline has won the struggle with its pilots over a new contract, but it is dogged by reports that it is preparing the airline for sale. Ansett New Zealand and its pilots have been at odds most of this year over a company demand that they ...

  • News

    In brief

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    Joint operations - Qantas Airways and British Airways are to merge commercial operations in Hong Kong from next April. The carriers say the new organisation is designated to integrate commercial operations such as telephone sales, ticketing and marketing. The two have joint operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. ...

  • News

    One Chinese merger plan fails, but another takeover is revived

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    NICHOLAS IONIDES BEIJING Merger talks between Air China and China Southern Airlines have ended in failure but supporters of consolidation in China's bloated airline sector will be pleased with another positive development: two other Chinese carriers have forged a tentative deal. Beijing-based industry sources say China National Aviation (CNAC), ...

  • News

    Shanghai opens second airport

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    With the opening of Pudong in October, Shanghai became China's first city with two international airports. Now the question is how to co-ordinate the two. Under a three-phase plan approved by Beijing, Pudong will boost operations in stages. During its first month, Shanghai Airlines and China Eastern planned to shift ...

  • News

    Freeing up the skies

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    PETER BENNET VIENNA Free flight promises to solve chronic capacity problems and, although it is 15 years away, Europe's aviation industry is moving ahead with creating the infrastructure. "Free flight is a misunderstood concept," says Lars Lindberg, president of AvTech aviation technology consultants in Sweden. "Some people think it is ...

  • News

    A year to forget

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    PETER CONWAY LONDON It took a while for the Asian downturn to affect the air cargo industry, but last year the bad news really hit home. There is little hiding from the fact that 1998 was a dismal year for the air cargo industry. And final figures from the ...

  • News

    Arabian dream

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    CHUCK GRIEVE DUBAI A new commuter airline in the Arabian Gulf, is linking the UAE cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Will it succeed where others have failed? Robin Cutts is a man for a quote. Like this one: "Airlines publish ambitions and then charge you for it." And: ...

  • News

    Facing the markets

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    TOM GILL CASABLANCA Moroccan flag carrier Royal Air Maroc is preparing for privatisation and hopes to join Air France's global alliance. But it has not escaped the market turmoil hitting the rest of the industry. "When you make a lot of profit it is a bit worrying. You say ...

  • News

    Philippines scraps Taiwan accord

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    The Philippines Government, as threatened last month, has scrapped its air services agreement with Taiwan as a high-stakes dispute over a new air accord has boiled over. The Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has ordered the suspension from November after Taiwan refused to agree to a demand that its ...

  • News

    Hong Kong cuts fees

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    DAVE KNIBB SEATTLE A deal between Hong Kong's airport authority and government has cleared the way for a 15% cut in landing and parking fees at Chek Lap Kok from 1 January. Hong Kong's Government has agreed to take over fire and rescue operations at the airport to save the ...

  • News

    Government cash to rescue Garuda

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    NICHOLAS IONIDES SINGAPORE Garuda Indonesia is to receive a financial boost from its government owners from next year, with a promise of annual cash injections of $62 million over the next eight years. The cash-strapped airline, Indonesia's flag carrier, says the government made the promise in September, allowing for payments ...

  • News

    Asia stays cautious despite signs of recovery

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    The latest round of financial results from Asia's airlines show how far the bulk of the region has come over the past year. But faced with continuing depressed yields in many markets, executives across the region feel compelled to warn that a full recovery is still a distant prospect. Carriers ...

  • News

    New contenders join the contest in Peru

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    DAVID KNIBB SEATTLE Substitute LanChile and Grupo TACA for Cintra and Delta Air Lines and a new chapter opens in Peruvian aviation. LanPeru and TACA Peru, backed by their main patrons LanChile and Grupo TACA, have replaced the fallen AeroPeru that was owned by Mexico's Cintra and Delta. Meanwhile, a ...

  • News

    Cintra faces new investigation

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    Mexico's competition commission has launched a new investigation into Cintra, the holding company for Aeromexico and Mexicana. The commission intends to focus on whether Cintra complied with conditions the commission set in 1995 when it approved Cintra's formation. This is the commission's second investigation of Cintra. In 1997 it ...

  • News

    In brief

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    Air Canada expands in USA - Air Canada has signed a new code-share agreement with United Express carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines, effective from 31 October. The agreement will enable Air Canada to offer 11 new destinations along the Eastern seaboard via Washington Dulles and Chicago. Cuban contract for TransAer ...

  • News

    Aeroflot calls in US bank for long-term debt advice

    1999-11-01T00:00:00Z

    PETER BENNETT VIENNA Russia's flag carrier Aeroflot has selected Chase Manhattan Bank to help restructure its mounting debt problems and finalise plans for a possible re-entry into the world capital markets. The airline insists, however, that there is no chance of a fresh share issue to raise new cash ...