Airline Finance News - Europe.Jan 22, 2007 U.S. airlines, government and U.K.'s Blair criticize emissions plan. Airlines believe that including them in the EU's emissions trading Emissions trading (or cap and trade) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. program is not the right approach to curbing worldwide emissions, preferring voluntary measures as more effective. The U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for transportation affairs told the European Commission European Commission, branch of the governing body of the European Union (EU) invested with executive and some legislative powers. Located in Brussels, Belgium, it was founded in 1967 when the three treaty organizations comprising what was then the European Community the measure is "unworkable and unlawful," and that the U.S. objects to the "unilateral" nature of the plan. British Prime Minister Tony Blair Noun 1. Tony Blair - British statesman who became prime minister in 1997 (born in 1953) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, Blair says improving efficiency and developing new fuels is a better strategy than reducing flying. Jan 10, 2007 Air France Air France in full Compagnie Internationale Air France French passenger and cargo airline with more than 200 destinations in some 80 countries. It introduced supersonic Concorde service in 1976, but financial loss led the company to cease its Concorde , Alitalia Air France CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Quits Alitalia Board. The head of Air France-KLM Air France-KLM (Euronext Paris: AF, NYSE: AKH) is an airline company incorporated under French law with its headquarters at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris, France. has resigned from the board of Alitalia, allowing the French airline to keep its options open on a possible bid for the unprofitable Italian flag carrier. Jan 17, 2007 Air France KLM KLM Kaiserliche Marine (Enigma: Rising Tide game) KLM Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (Royal Dutch Airlines) KLM Klub Langer Menschen (German: Tall Person Club) Air France KLM Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta yesterday resigned from the Alitalia board, fueling speculation that the group might submit a bid for a controlling stake in Italy's struggling national carrier. Jan 18, 2007 Air France KLM Air France KLM flew 16.12 billion RPKs in December, a 3.3% rise from the year-ago month. Capacity was up 3.8% to 20.29 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 0.4 point to 79.4%. Jan 10, 2007 Alitalia Alitalia is attracting the interest of Rothschild investment bank, which is forming a consortium of Italian and international investors to present a bid for the stake being sold by the Italian government, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. several press reports. The consortium will include privately held Italian carriers Air One and Meridiana and two US private-equity funds. Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo Intesa Sanpaolo is a new banking group resulting from the merger between Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI. It has clear leadership in the Italian market and a strong international presence focussed on Central-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean basin. also is involved. Select SkyTeam airlines led by Air France KLM and Milanese businessman Paolo Alazraki reportedly are interested as well. The government, which holds 49.9% of AZ, is marketing 30.1% of the struggling flag carrier and may sell the rest if the right offer is made. By law, a buyer of the 30.1% stake will be obliged to make an offer for all AZ shares. The government is accepting expressions of interest until Jan. 29. Jan 10, 2007 Alitalia Alitalia Unions Wary After Meeting Financier. Trade unions representing workers at Alitalia remained wary on Tuesday after meeting with a little-known Italian financier who has expressed an interest in buying a stake in the airline. Jan 9, 2007 Alitalia Investment bank Rothschild is working on a consortium of investors who aim to bid for a stake in Alitalia that Rome is putting up for sale, a source close to Rothschild said on Tuesday, confirming press reports. Asked whether the bank was looking at forming a consortium for the ailing airline's privatization privatization: see nationalization. privatization Transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned , the source said: "Yes". The Italian government has opened the bidding process for the sale of at least 30.1 percent of its 49.9 percent stake in Alitalia and will accept expressions of interests until January 29. Several newspapers said on Tuesday the Rothschild-led consortium for the airline would include Italian as well as two US funds. Jan 9, 2007 Alitalia, Finanza Mercata, Air France KLM, SkyTeam Italian government's offer to cede control of Alitalia has domestic media buzzing about potential suitors. Finanza Mercata said Air France KLM, which always has been considered a potential buyer, will join with SkyTeam partners Korean Air  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . , AeroMexico and CSA (1) (Canadian Standards Association, Toronto, Ontario, www.csa.ca) A standards-defining organization founded in 1919. It is involved in many industries, including electronics, communications and information technology. Czech Airlines CSA Czech Airlines (in Czech: České aerolinie (abbreviation: ČSA)) is the Czech national airline company, and former national carrier of Czechoslovakia based at Ruzyně International Airport, Prague. to bid for AZ. Italian Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi reportedly told Radio 24 that he "would not be happy" if AF KLM took control of AZ but that he "would adapt to it." Italian businessman Paolo Alazraki told Italian media he is heading a consortium of 16 investors prepared to buy AZ and return it to profitability within two years without cutting jobs. "The plan. . .excludes the sale of assets and land," he said. "It is based on one or two solid international alliances [not AF KLM] an on an agreement with trade unions." Jan 8, 2007 British Airways British Airways in full British Airways PLC International passenger airline based in London. In 1936 British Airways Ltd. was founded through the merger of three smaller airlines. British Airways, Union To Resume Strike Talks. British Airways and its largest union plan to resume talks on Friday aimed at averting a strike over a new pensions plan and work condition changes, spokespeople for the two parties said on Thursday. Jan 19, 2007 British Airways British Airways Changes Uniform Policy. British Airways on Friday said it had changed uniform rules to allow staff to wear religious symbols openly, after coming under heavy criticism for banning an employee from wearing a crucifix over her uniform. Following consultations with representatives from a wide range of religious groups, the airline said it would permit staff to wear a lapel pin A lapel pin is a small pin often worn on the lapel of a dress jacket. Lapel pins can be purely ornamental or can indicate the wearer's affiliation with an organization or cause; for example, American Flag lapel pins became very popular in the United States, especially among symbol such as a Christian cross The Christian cross is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity. It is generally seen as a representation of the crucifixion of Jesus. It is related to the crucifix (a cross that includes a representation of Jesus' body) and to the more general family of cross symbols. or Jewish Star of David, the company said. In addition, and in response to complaints by some Christians, it "would allow some flexibility" in its usual policy banning staff from wearing chains over their uniforms. Jan 19, 2007 British Airways British Airways' hopes to resolve its pension deficit issue were dashed Friday when the GMB GMB (in Britain) General, Municipal and Boilermakers (Trade Union) Union rejected its latest proposal, which included a one-time company contribution of [pounds sterling]800 million ($1.55 billion) into its New Airways Pension Scheme and annual contributions of about [pounds sterling]280 million for the next 10 years subject to the unions' acceptance of benefit changes. Jan 15, 2007 CSA Czech Airlines CSA Czech Airlines carried "nearly" 5.5 million passengers in 2006, a 4.7% increase over 2005. Jan 19, 2007 Finnair Finnair Group airlines together transported 659,886 passengers, up 0.7 percent year-on-year in December. Finnair Group carried last year about 8.8 million passengers, 3.2 percent more than a year ago. Passenger load factor grew by 2.5 percentage points to 75.2 percent, in scheduled traffic 3.9 percentage points to 71.6 percent. Jan 9, 2007 Finnair Finnair said its unit revenues, based on RPKs, were in the fourth quarter on a par with the year ago period, but unit revenue for 2006 fell 3 percent. The group said higher ticket prices had not been enough to compensate for increased costs, such as fuel costs. In Asian traffic RPK RPK Republican Party of Kentucky RpK Rocketplane Kistler (Oklahoma City, OK aerospace company) RPK Revenue Passenger Kilometre RPK Random Player Killing (gaming) was up 29.8 percent, but due to even sharper capacity increase the passenger load factor fell 2.3 percentage points to 72.6 percent, it said. Jan 9, 2007 Finnair Finnish national carrier Finnair's passenger traffic rose year-on-year in December, boosted by strong demand for Asian flights, it said on Tuesday. Finnair's passenger revenue kilometres (RPKs) rose 9.1 percent to 1.56 billion in December, after a 2.3 percent increase in November, it said in a statement. The overall passenger load factor -- a measure of how well an airline fills its seats -- rose 1.2 percentage points to 75 percent. Jan 9, 2007 Iberia Iberia flew 4.28 billion RPKs in December, an 11.6% increase from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.8% to 5.45 billion ASKs and load factor rose 5.5 points to a December record 78.5%. Jan 12, 2007 LTU LTU Luleå Tekniska Universitet (Luleå University of Technology; formerly Luleå Tekniska Högskola) LTU Lithuania LTU La Trobe University (Australia) LTU Lufttransport-Unternehmen GmbH German Airlines LTU German Airlines MD Juergen Marbach announced yesterday that after talks between LTU, investors and Spanish authorities, LTU will not establish a new company to take over some South American routes from collapsed Air Madrid . Marbach said there was not enough time to put together a plan "on a solid economic basis" and that LTU's offer to absorb the routes was void. Jan 18, 2007 LTU German Airlines LTU German Airlines MD Juergen Marbach confirmed said that the carrier intends to launch a Spanish subsidiary. "We are having intensive talks with Spanish co-investors as well as Spanish authorities to establish a new company, which should be in position to take over some Air Madrid routes to South America as soon as possible," he said. He also reiterated that LTU has no plan to take over Air Madrid. Jan 11, 2007 Lufthansa Lufthansa flew 8.28 billion RPKs in December, a 7.4% rise from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 5.3% to 11.4 billion ASKs and load factor rose 1.4 points to 72.6%. Jan 11, 2007 Lufthansa, SAS (1) (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, www.sas.com) A software company that specializes in data warehousing and decision support software based on the SAS System. Founded in 1976, SAS is one of the world's largest privately held software companies. See SAS System. Scandinavian Lufthansa said the SAS takeover talk was "all speculation" and that it had not given Goldman Sachs a mandate for any merger and acquisition transaction. A spokesman for SAS said he was not aware of any bid approaches. A Lufthansa spokesman said Goldman was advising KarstadtQuelle after the German retailer agreed to buy out joint venture partner Lufthansa's stake in tourism firm Thomas Cook for EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 800 million (USD USD In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the U.S. Dollar. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. $1.04 billion) last month. Given the involvement of the three governments in SAS, any selloff sell·off n. The sale or disposal of a relatively large number of stocks, bonds, or commodities that often causes a sharp decline in prices. Noun 1. in the airline is expected by analysts to be complicated. This is also because Norway has been against any sale of its stake. Jan 9, 2007 Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian SAS and Lufthansa played down market speculation of merger talks on Tuesday, speculation which sent SAS shares up more than 5 percent. The rumors were a repeat of talk which emerged in September last year after the new Swedish government named SAS as a potential privatization target. Jan 9, 2007 Meridiana, Alitalia Smaller Italian airline Meridiana, which is controlled by Prince Karim Aga Khan, is also expected to put in a bid for Alitalia, according to press reports. Last month, Meridiana bought 30 percent of fellow carrier Eurofly. Little-known Italian financier and consultant Paolo Alazraki said last week he was working with 16 unidentified investors to study a bid for Alitalia, the first open expression of interest in the carrier. Alitalia, which has a market capitalization Market Capitalization A measure of a public company's size. Market capitalization is the total dollar value of all outstanding shares. It's calculated by multiplying the number of shares times the current market price. This term is often referred to as market cap. of about EUR1.47 billion (USD$1.91 billion), has not made an operating profit Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. in the last five years. Long-term potential suitor SUITOR. One who is a party to a suit or action in court. One who is a party to an action. In its ancient sense, suitor meant one Who was bound to attend the county court, also, one who formed part of the secta. (q.v.) Air France has so far made no comment on the Alitalia sale. The two airlines own a 2 percent stake in each other. Jan 9, 2007 SAS Scandinavian Scandinavian airline SAS said on Tuesday that its group traffic (revenue passenger kilometres) fell 2.2 percent in December due to lower planned capacity during the Christmas holiday period. It said in a statement that total load factor for last month dipped 1.2 percentage points to 66.1 percent. The yield for November, the latest month available, was up 12.9 percent. It expected a higher rise in yield for December. It repeated that it saw no signs of a slowdown in the air travel market, though there was continued uncertainty due to competition and high fuel costs. Jan 9, 2007 Swissair Former Swissair executives and board members went on trial yesterday for their alleged roles in the historic 2001 collapse of the airline, the largest bankruptcy in Switzerland's history. Nineteen executives, including former CEOs Philippe Bruggisser and Mario Corti, will mount their defense in a Swiss court near Zurich, responding to a 100-page charge sheet submitted by prosecutors that includes accusations of false accounting and unlawful management. Jan 17, 2007 01/22/2007 Z Editor: Aram Gesar, eMail: edit@AirGuideOnline.com For Air Transport & Travel Business Experts contact eMail: bizintel@AirGuideOnline.com For more global news, reviews, features and analysis, please subscribe to our Newsletters: http://www.airguideonline.com/order_formsubs.htm#news To Advertise: advert@AirGuideOnline.com Jan 8, 2007 |
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