British Airways (BA) is considering forming a consortium to launch a takeover bid for Iberia, the Spanish flag-carrier in which it has a 10 per cent stake.
The British airline said this morning that it had held talks with a string of private equity companies over the possible creation of a bidding vehicle.
source: Times online
British Airways has shrugged off its recent difficulties to be named airline of the year for the first time in almost 20 years.
The company was also voted top airline in three other categories – best transatlantic airline, best Europe to Asia and Australasia carrier, and best airline based in western Europe in the Airline of the Year Awards organised by travel information company OAG.
Last month figures showed that BA had lost more bags in 2006 than any other major European carrier.
The airline was also the hardest hit by the counter-terrorist measures introduced for passengers’ luggage last August, which led to BA having to cancel hundreds of flights. And last Christmas, the carrier had to put up with thick fog which wrecked schedules at Heathrow.
source: Guardian
German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG has shown renewed interest in Spanish carrier Iberia and may make an offer this month, according to a German weekly, WirtschaftsWoche.
The German company declined to comment on the report saying it has nothing more than its previous comments — made by its chief executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber — that the Spanish carrier is of strategic interest, but it is too expensive.
source: earthtimes.org
Brazil’s TAM said it is about to become the first airline to promote itself in the Second Life online virtual world by offering cyberspace flights that correspond to its real-world international service.
Second Life, created by US-based Linden Lab, has millions of registered users and its own economy and currency, known as the Linden dollar, which can be exchanged for US dollars.
Several companies are already active in Second Life, including car maker Toyota, IBM and Reuters Group, which has a virtual news bureau there.
During this week, American Airlines was subjected to a legal act by the widow of Taisuke Matsuo, the passenger that on April 2005 was found dead in the toilette of an airline’s plane departed from Tokyo only two hours after the landing.
The man, that apparently had a hearth attack during the first leg of the trip to Indianapolis, was found only two hours after the arrival to the final destination, the O’Hare international airport of Chicago.
source: Avionews
Chilean airline LAN will spend 2.6 billion U.S. dollars over the next five years on 52 new aircraft, company president Jorge Awad said on Friday.
The company will fund part of the purchase with a 320-million-dollar offering of 22 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange, Awad told a press conference at the end of the company’s board meeting.
The planned purchases are 36 Airbus A320, four Airbus A340 and eight Boeing 767-300 for passengers, and four Boeing 777 for freight.
source: People.com.cn
Air Canada will become the official airline of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the airline and the Vancouver organizing committee announced Thursday.
The six-year partnership also includes sponsorship rights and transportation for Canadian Olympic teams to next year’s summer games in Beijing and the 2012 London Olympics.
“‘All of us at Air Canada are honoured to support the Olympic and Paralympic spirit,'” Air Canada president and CEO Montie Brewer said in a news release.
source: CBC News
Low-cost carrier Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, has started commercial operations with ticket prices as low as $US2.60 ($3.19).
Its first passengers flew out of the island resort of Penang, officials said.
Firefly, Malaysia’s second low-cost airline after AirAsia, will use two 50-seater Fokker Friendship aircraft.
Initially, the airline will fly from its base in Penang to the Malaysian cities of Kota Baru, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan and Langkawi. From April 13, the airline will also fly daily to the Thai resort islands of Phuket and Koh Samui.
source: theage.com.au
Air Pacific we revert to its scheduled Nadi/Honolulu/Vancouver flights from 06 April following the cancellation of a code-share deal with Canada’s Harmony Airlines.
Harmony Airways, a five-year-old Canadian full-service airline, announced it would end scheduled flights, blaming rising costs and competition from larger rivals, and only operate chartered flights.
source: MICE BTN
LAN, continually rated as the region’s best airline, dominates the domestic market – last year 78 percent of Chile’s domestic passengers chose LAN, 17.6 percent flew Sky and 7.6 percent chose AerolÃneas del Sur.
LAN continues to challenge the competition, with promotional deals cutting ticket prices up to 20 percent in the past month.
LAN has recently shown interest in the lucrative Brazilian market, the company attempted to acquire the defunct Varig airline, but the Brazilian budget airline Gol beat them to it. Shares of Lan stock fell nearly 3 percent only minutes after the buyout was announced.
source: Mercopress
