All news – Page 7423
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Euro agents' work cut out
European travel agents need to start convincing airlines of their worth. The decisions by alliance partners Lufthansa and SAS, as well as KLM, to slash their agents' commissions are expected to trigger Europe-wide cuts, following the trend set by US carriers. KLM plans to lower domestic commissions from ...
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United target on legal front
Low-fare carriers in the US are avidly watching how a predatory pricing complaint against United Airlines by one of their number, Frontier Airlines, pans out. A win for the minnow could encourage other no-frills operators to follow suit. Denver-based Frontier has asked the Department of Justice to investigate ...
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Indian policy is a let down
India's revised civil aviation policy has led to charges of protectionism after it failed to set an investment limit for foreign airlines and airports in Indian carriers. The strategy is being viewed as another setback for Singapore Airlines' planned joint venture with Tata Industries, which remains on hold in the ...
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Surviving the customer
Innovation has always been difficult in the airline business. The basic airline product is uniform throughout the industry, and any incremental change by one carrier is usually taken up by its competitors quickly - if it is successful. To survive and stay ahead of their competitors, airlines are constantly looking ...
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Startups slot into Japan
Japan's incumbent carriers are bracing for their first tussle with new competition in four decades, though analysts doubt that air travellers' expectations of dramatically reduced fares will be met. The incumbents are also facing a battle for the 40 new slots that will be created at Tokyo/Haneda when ...
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Competition rules, ok?
The buy/sell slot rules in the US are premised on the simple proposition that the market is better at determining the efficient use of a scarce resource than is an administrative or bureaucratic entity. Competition rules, however, are a different matter and properly the province of governments. To ...
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96 at a glance
January The European Commission clears Lufthansa's comprehensive commercial alliance with SAS, with conditions. Acomplaint by UK regional CityFlyer Express prompts the European Commission to order Belgian carrier VLM to pay interest on a $670,000 unsecured loan from the Flemish government. AI(R)partners Aérospatiale, Alenia and ...
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Top of the curve
In some airline boardrooms, the champagne corks are finally popping. After years in the doldrums, the airline business appears to be on course to report record profits for the second year running. Still, in this business even the best news tends to come with a few caveats, and this initial ...
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Alitalia in for a rough ride
The European Commission has asked Alitalia to reassess its proposed restructuring plan and even then looks set to rule that the carrier's planned injection is state aid. It will also be looking at Alitalia's linkup with Air France, while both carriers suffer further industrial unrest. The revelation that ...
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BA-AA rivals round on DOT
The posturing surrounding the proposed American Airlines-British Airways alliance has moved across the Atlantic with the US Department of Transportation coming under growing pressure from rivals to act. In the most extreme case, the outspoken chairman and chief executive of Continental Airlines, Gordon Bethune, is threatening to ask ...
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Bangkok hub plan snubbed
Bangkok's plan to become the leading hub in south-east Asia lies in ruins and Thai Airways' alliance strategy is under threat after the new government decided to shelve the building of the new US$5.2 billion airport. The announcement in February by Thai prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh further clouded ...
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Weber pens strike plea
Chairman Jürgen Weber is attempting to stir up an internal debate at Lufthansa in a bid to persuade the pilot-dominated DAG union to pull back from strike action. In an unprecedented move Weber sent a letter to all Lufthansa employees in late January outlining the threats to Lufthansa ...
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Growth at a premium
When Salomon Brothers Hong Kong released a report on Malaysia Airlines in late December, it left little doubt that the airline was no gilt-edged investment opportunity. Recommending a 'hold' on the carrier's shares, which put in a weak performance during the carrier's latest financial year, the report's title says it ...
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Latin five set to liberalise
South America's five Mercosur nations are taking a significant if limited step towards open skies in the southern cone. The presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay have inked an accord that would give airlines from those countries the right to launch third and fourth freedom services ...
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It's all in the name
Martin Shugrue is being self-effacing these days. 'Hey, if it was just me calling up people and telling them about Air Marty Start-up Airlines, that would not get us anywhere,' he admits. What is attracting attention within the industry, he maintains, is the fact that his new airline is called ...
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Safety but at what cost?
The industry has given its unqualified support to the report by the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, despite the ambiguity over how its costly recommendations will be funded. But then it's not exactly good for business to criticise the findings of an inquiry in to ...
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Disquiet on the state aid front
The debate over continuing state support to Europe's airlines refuses to roll over and die, just like the concept of the national flag carrier, which lies at its heart. With four cases on Brussels' books, 1997 may yet prove to be a landmark year. The European Commission's scrutiny of ...
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Tax returns to fill coffers
The US ticket tax looks likely to return, but its reappearance could be short-lived as the user fee option gains support following a concerted campaign by the major carriers. At presstime, the Department of Transportation was urging Congress to approve the bill to reinstate the 10 per cent ...
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US cracks softest nuts
Hard on the heels of a landmark open skies pact between the US and Singapore, neighbouring Malaysia is poised to sign a similar deal - giving Washington a significant boost in cracking the tough nut of protectionism that exists in Asia-Pacific. The US hopes the breakthroughs will have ...