Airline Finance News - Europe.Oct 1, 2007 European shares ended the third quarter on a mixed note, as some better-than-expected U.S. economic data and gains from Alcatel-Lucent helped offset food-sector weakness tied to a warning from sugar firm Tate & Lyle. Sep 28, 2007 Aeroflot, Alitalia Aeroflot is not considering buying Italian airline Alitalia at the moment and is inclined to drop the idea entirely, Deputy General Director Lev lev-, pref See levo-. Koshlyakov said on Sept. 25. Aeroflot has said it wanted to see new, more attractive terms before deciding whether to bid for the Italian company. Sep 25, 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 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 is studying taking advantage of new transatlantic travel rules to launch direct US flights from London. Air France KLM did not say whether they meant Heathrow Airport, where travel to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. is dominated by 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. , Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines American Airlines Major U.S. airline. American was created through a merger of several smaller U.S. airlines and incorporated in 1934. It continued to buy the routes of other airlines, becoming an international carrier in the 1970s; its routes include South America, the and United Airlines. Air France KLM 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. Spinetta said he expected the top 10 airlines in 2025 to include Chinese groups, Indian companies This is a list of major companies based in India. Please note that the list is highly incomplete and does not have every company of all sizes. More information about the companies can be found in the links to the company articles. A
Air France KLM, Alitalia Air France KLM refused to take part in an auction this year for the Italian state's near 50 percent stake in Alitalia which found no buyers. Air France KLM has since said it would listen to any fresh proposal from Alitalia. CEO Spinetta told La Tribune on Sept. 24 he expected Prato to look for "an industrial or financial partner, or both" but no contact had taken place yet. He did not rule out Air France KLM taking stakes in airlines outside Europe. Sep 25, 2007 Air France KLM, Alitalia Air France KLM's head was quoted on Sept. 24 as saying he expected talks on a possible alliance with Alitalia to start next month. In an interview with La Tribune newspaper, Jean-Cyril Spinetta said also a new phase of synergies would start soon in Air France's own merger with KLM and that the airline had to be ready to take stakes in rival operators outside Europe. He affirmed Air France KLM would not do a deal with Alitalia or Spain's Iberia, which it is also eyeing, unless it was "strongly creative" of value. Sep 25, 2007 Air France KLM, Iberia A rival bid for Iberia could still emerge from Air France KLM, which is talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to Spanish investment firms Torreal and Inversiones Hemisferio, controlled by business entrepreneurs Juan Abello and Jose Manuel Lara respectively, one source familiar with the situation said. However, Air France's possible interest in ailing Italian airline Alitalia is delaying a decision on whether to launch a bid for Iberia, the source said. Sep 28, 2007 Air France KLM, Iberia Air France has in the past not ruled out being interested in Iberia and has looked from a distance at Alitalia. It has also previously said that struggling Alitalia should be privatized and restored to financial health before it would consider making an offer, and it refused to take part in an Italian government auction that flopped earlier this year. Sep 28, 2007 Air France KLM, Iberia Air France KLM is planning to team up with two Spanish firms to bid for Spain's Iberia against a group led by private equity group TPG TPG Texas Pacific Group TPG Tapping TPG Transports Publics Genevois (Geneva, Switzerland public transportation) TPG Test Pattern Generator TPG TNT Post Group TPG Trésorier Payeur Général , Expansion newspaper said on Sept. 26. The Air France KLM offer would keep 51 percent of Iberia in Spanish hands, allowing the airline to keep flying certain routes in Spain and abroad, the newspaper reported. Sep 26, 2007 Air France KLM, Iberia Air France KLM said the expansion and bid for Spain's Iberia would bring on board two Spanish family investment vehicles -- Torreal, which belongs to Juan Abello, and Planeta, owned by the Lara family, the lead shareholder in Barcelona-based airline Vueling. Planeta declined to comment. Torreal was not immediately available to comment. In July, the airline said it might be interested in Iberia. TPG, in a consortium with British Airways and Spanish firms Ibersuizas, Vista Capital and Quercus Equity, has been talking to Iberia management for months and has made an indicative offer of 3.60 euros a share. Iberia stock closed at 3.25 euros on Sept. 25. Sep 26, 2007 Air France KLM, Iberia, Alitalia Air France KLM will only consider making a bid for Spain's Iberia or Italy's Alitalia if the deal meets its target of an 8.5 percent return on capital after tax by 2009-2010, an airline executive said on Friday. Speaking at the autumn conference of brokerage Cheuvreux, Chief Financial Officer Philippe Calavia repeated that European consolidation was necessary. Air France added that the level of forward bookings for the next three months remained good and confirmed its current year outlook. Calavia said in a statement that unit revenues for the second quarter "should show a further rise year-on-year, while the improvement in the cargo division is continuing." Sep 28, 2007 Alitalia Alitalia is in a "comatose co·ma·tose adj. 1. Of, relating to, or affected with coma. 2. Marked by lethargy; torpid. comatose (kō´m " state and cannot repay over 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. 1 billion euros (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. $1.4 billion) in debt due in the next three years, its chairman said, raising new doubts on whether the airline can survive without a buyer. The Italian airline is expected to post losses of just under EUR400 million (USD$563.1 million) excluding special items this year, and needs a strong alliance to turn its fortunes around, Maurizio Prato told a Senate hearing. Alitalia has begun a fresh hunt for a 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.) to resuscitate re·sus·ci·tate v. To restore consciousness, vigor, or life to. it after an auction for the Italian state's controlling stake in the airline collapsed in July. He also attacked Alitalia's unions for their attitude to its worsening condition. He said the company did not have enough money to repay EUR320 million (USD$450.5 million) of loans in the next two years or EUR714 million worth of bonds due in 2010. Sep 26, 2007 Alitalia Comatose' Alitalia Can't Repay Debt - Chairman Alitalia is in a "comatose" state and cannot repay over EUR1 billion euros (USD$1.4 billion) in debt due in the next three years, its chairman said, raising new doubts on whether the airline can survive without a buyer. Sep 26, 2007 American Airlines, British Airways, OneWorld Oneworld partners British Airways and American Airlines will not file for antitrust immunity under the new U.S.-European Union open skies  This article is written like a personal reflection or and may require .Please [ improve this article] by rewriting this article in an . deal, British Airways CEO Willie Walsh Willie Walsh (born in 1961) is an Irish airline executive. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of British Airways and is a former Chief Executive of Aer Lingus Early life Walsh was born in Dublin, Ireland. He attended his local secondary school Ardscoil Rís. said. "We're not doing anything to pursue antitrust with American," Walsh said. "We don't see that the agreement has changed [the situation] to a degree that would give us confidence that applying for antitrust immunity would be successful." Sep 27, 2007 British Airways The British Airways pension fund deficit issue, put at [pounds sterling]2.1bn, has now apparently been put to bed, allowing the carrier to concentrate on its vital fleet renewal plans. "The resolution of the pensions deficit was a major move," said CEO Walsh, adding: "It was a trigger event to allow us to go forward." Sep 25, 2007 British Airways, Iberia TPG and British Airways Bid For Iberia Seen Late October. A formal bid for Iberia is likely to be made towards the end of next month as US private equity firm TPG and British Airways look to seal one of Europe's biggest airline takeovers, sources familiar with the deal said on Thursday. Sep 27, 2007 British Airways, TPG, Iberia Bid For Iberia Seen Late October. A formal bid for Iberia is likely to be made towards the end of next month as US private equity firm TPG and British Airways look to seal one of Europe's biggest airline takeovers, sources familiar with the deal said on Sept. 27. The consortium, which also includes two Spanish partners, finished due diligence Research; analysis; your homework. This term has caught on in all industries, because it sounds so "wired." Who would want to do analysis or research when they can do due diligence. See wired. checks on the company in early September and has invited banks to join the financing, the sources said. Sep 28, 2007 British Airways, TPG, Iberia Despite a global credit crunch Credit Crunch An economic condition whereby investment capital is difficult to obtain. Banks and investors become weary of lending funds to corporations thereby driving up the price of debt products for borrowers. jamming up leveraged buyout leveraged buyout, the takeover of a company, financed by borrowed funds. Often, the target company's assets are used as security for the loans acquired to finance the purchase. deals all over the world, financing for the acquisition of Iberia is progressing smoothly, the sources said, although it may have some impact on the price. The TPG and British Airways consortium submitted an indicative offer of 3.60 euros (USD$5.10) per share in March, valuing the airline at around EUR3.4 billion, but concerns over global credit and the airline's initial reluctance to open its books has kept Iberia's stock below the approach price since July 26. Sep 28, 2007 British Airways, TPG, Iberia The biggest risk in cutting the Iberia bid value for the TPG and British Airways consortium would be a counter-offer from 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. , which has never ruled out being interested in the airline. A Spanish media report on Sept. 26 said it was preparing for a bid. British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh said on sept. 27 he was "pleased" at the way due diligence had gone after the group spent over a month looking over the books in Madrid. Sep 28, 2007 British Airways, TPG, Iberia The TPG and British Airways consortium was denied access to detailed information on the profitability of Iberia's key routes, because its rival, British Air would see them. But if they fail to get a clear picture, the group may hold off making an outright bid and instead ask for more information, one of the sources close to the deal said. Alternatively the group could announce a bid price range and wait to fix the exact price until after it has seen further information on profitability. The source added that the outlook for Madrid-Barcelona flights, the world's busiest route, was key as a high-speed rail High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions include 200-320 km/h (125-200 mph) - depending on whether the track is upgraded or new - by the European Union and above 90 mph link between the two starts late this year. Sep 28, 2007 FL Group, American Airlines, AMR (1) (Adaptive Multi-Rate) A variable rate speech codec selected by the 3GPP for the 3G evolution of the GSM cellphone system (WCDMA). Using the Algebraic CELP (ACELP) compression technology, AMR provides toll quality sound at transmission rates from 4.75 to 12. Iceland's FL Group a Reykjavik-based firm, which owns Scandinavian discount airline Sterling Airlines and formerly owned Iceland's flagship carrier, said its conservative analysis found more than USD$4 billion upside from unbundling A regulatory requirement that enables a competing service provider to purchase parts of the incumbent local exchange carrier's network in order to provide service to its customers. See ILEC. the AAdvantage frequent-flyer program, though it does not believe American Airlines parent AMR should sell right away. AMR's 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. is USD$5.3 billion. Smarason said most investors and analysts cannot easily understand the profitability of AMR's individual business units because of its structure as a fully integrated legacy airline, which he blamed for weighing on the shares. The problem is compounded because AMR does not disclose detailed financial information, he added. Sep 27, 2007 FL Group, American Airlines, AMR Iceland's FL Group has written to the board of American Airlines parent AMR and urged it to consider a number of strategic alternatives, including spinning off its frequent-flyer program. FL Group, a private equity firm which owns 8.25 percent of AMR, said in the letter that changes at AMR are long overdue given the 50 percent drop in the share price since January. The letter was sent on Tuesday and disclosed on Sept 27. FL Group cited the success Air Canada parent ACE has had by spinning off its loyalty program. Sep 27, 2007 Germanwings Germanwings[sup.1] chief Winkelmann is opting for expansion on home turf rather than looking abroad Germanwings chief executive Thomas Winkelmann has bad news for airports trying to woo the lowcost carrier. Germanwings, he says, will stick to Germany and not open any overseas bases because there are plenty of opportunities to expand in its home market following the sale of dba, Condor and LTU LTU Luleå Tekniska Universitet (Luleå University of Technology; formerly Luleå Tekniska Högskola) LTU Lithuania LTU La Trobe University (Australia) LTU Lufttransport-Unternehmen GmbH to rival Air Berlin. [sup.3]We[sup.1]re the only pure low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (also known as a no-frills or discount carrier / airline) is an airline that offers generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services. left in Germany,[sup.2] he says. [sup.3]Our home market is Germany and we want to grow with Germany.[sup.2] He says germanwings is on pace to carry more than eight million passengers in 2007 and reach the 10 million passenger mark in 2009 - and can do this without any overseas bases. He points out Germany has a population of 80 million. Sep 25, 2007 Lufthansa Lufthansa will increase ASKs by 5.7% on its global network for the winter season starting Oct 28, including the launch of new services to Orlando, Karachi and Lahore. Additionally, it is resuming five-times-weekly nonstop service to Buenos Aires Buenos Aires (bwā`nəs ī`rēz, âr`ēz, Span. bwā`nōs ī`rās), city and federal district (1991 pop. . The winter timetable includes 13,272 scheduled flights, 2.9% more than in the year-earlier period. Beginning Oct. 28 it will operate 12,208 weekly flights on domestic German and European routes representing a 4% increase in capacity and 1,064 long-haul flights to 42 countries on three continents for a 6.5% rise. Sep 24, 2007 Montenegro Airlines Montenegro Airlines is the national carrier airline of Montenegro and it is based at Podgorica Airport. It operates scheduled services in Europe, as well as charter flights throughout Europe during the summer months. Its second base is at Tivat Airport. Montenegro Transport Minister Andrija Lompar Andrija Lompar (born 26 November 1956 in Cetinje, Montenegro) is a Montenegrin politician and the current Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunications in the Government of Montenegro. said the nation plans to sell stakes in state-owned Montenegro Airlines next year, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Bank targeted at Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. and airlines and private consortiums all potential buyers, Reuters reported. "Capital increase is the 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 model that will make it possible to restructure the Montenegro Airlines fleet by buying new Embraer aircraft so we can open new [routes]," he said. The carrier currently operates a fleet of four Fokker F100s. Sep 28, 2007 Ryanair Ryanair said it reached agreement with its Dublin-based pilots on a new four-year contract that "will significantly improve" pay and work conditions and bring them into line with the pay and conditions to which it previously agreed with pilots in Shannon and Cork. "This new agreement. . .means that all Ryanair pilots at its three Irish bases are now covered by long-term pay, benefits and roster agreements," the airline said. Key features of the Dublin pilot deal, which has been negotiated for two years, include increases in basic pay, allowances and sector pay; a higher pension contribution by the airline; an improved roster that gives pilots four days off after every five days of work; an improvement in the speed at which copilots can be promoted, and an additional 25 days off annually while still allowing Dublin pilots to fly up to 900 hr. per year. Sep 28, 2007 Vueling Vueling named former Go CEO Barbara Cassani Barbara Ann Cassani, CBE, (born July 22 1960) is an American businesswoman. She was the founder under British Airways of budget airline Go Fly and was the first leader of London's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. chairman to replace Jose Miguel Abad, who resigned along with two other board members representing Grupo Planeta following "disagreement about the management" of the company, the LCC (Leadless Chip Carrier, Leaded Chip Carrier) See leadless chip carrier, CLCC and PLCC. 1. LCC - Language for Conversational Computing. Written at CMU in the 1960's. said in a filing to the Spanish stock market regulator earlier this week. The departure of the Grupo Planeta representatives raised speculation that GP, which holds a 15.87% stake in Veuling through Inversiones Hemisferio, might sell its shareholding to join Torreal and AF KLM in the bid for Iberia. Sep 27, 2007 Wizz Air Wizz Air is a Polish/Hungarian low-cost airline focusing on the markets of Central Europe. Its main base is Katowice International Airport (Poland). It also has bases at Budapest Ferihegy International Airport (Hungary) , Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport (Poland), Gdańsk Lech Wizz Air chief executive Jozsef Varadi plans to expand the central European budget carrier[sup.1]s network outside the European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community and to the east, as it continues to push forward with its high growth strategy. Varadi says Wizz is [sup.3]looking towards the east[sup.2] and will next year launch service to several undisclosed destinations, although he recognises that this will not be without its challenges. [sup.3]Once you step out of the European Union, you are subject to bilateral agreements. But we are working on those and will start a number of new markets in 2008 that are outside the EU and to the east,[sup.2] says Varadi. He declines to specify which markets are under consideration. Wizz Air operates out of three bases in Poland - Gdansk, Katowice and Warsaw. The carrier also has bases in Bucharest, Budapest and Sofia, and will open a seventh base in the Polish city of Poznan in January. From its new base, Wizz will operate flights to Doncaster-Sheffield and Glasgow Prestwick. Sep 27, 2007 ZZ Editorial eMail: edit@AirGuideOnline.com For Air Transport & Travel Business Experts contact our Director of Content Aram Gesar 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 AirGuideFlightTracker is a new real-time service that keeps travelers informed on flight and airport status, delays, security wait times via the Web. For more go to http://www.airguideonline.com/airline_tracker.htm Copyright [c] 2007 Pyramid Media Group. All rights reserved. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion