Posts Tagged ‘American Airlines’
Friday, December 2nd, 2011
An investigation is underway into why an Air France passenger jet was missing 30 screws in one of its protective panels, after it had undergone a thorough investigation in China. According to a spokesman for the airline, jets go through the process of a full service once every six years. The examination takes around a month to complete, and costs the company millions of dollars.
Taeco is a Xiamen-based firm which services jets belonging to airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa, American Airlines, Emirates and JAL. Alexandre de Juniac, the flag-carrier’s chief executive, said that the company would not be using Taeco again until the investigation into the missing screws was completed.
Taeco has announced that it will be conducting its own investigation into the situation. The process is expected to last a few days. The firm has been looking after Boeing 747s for Air France for around four years now, according to Juniac. He added that this represented around 10 per cent of the carrier’s long-haul fleet.
The problem was discovered on the second Airbus 340 to be sent to China for a service. In a previous statement, Air France said that it sent fewer than five planes a year to Taeco, that figure has now been changed to between five and seven aircraft.
In 2010, an Air France passenger plane was found to have been repainted in some areas with a paint which could potentially catch fire. The problem was uncovered after it had been in service for three weeks.
Tags: Air France, American Airlines, Boeing, British Airways, Emirates, JAL, Lufthansa, Taeco
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Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
AMR Corp., parent company of American Airlines, has applied for bankruptcy protection and seen the value of its shares plummet. On Tuesday, they were down 81 per cent and are now worth just 31 cents each. Efforts to negotiate cost cuts have failed in recent weeks, and AMR said that it was spending $600 million on staff costs above what other airlines were paying out.
Filing for Chapter 11 means that AMR is hoping to keep the creditors at bay while it tries to fix its debt situation, or sell part of its business. Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September, all other major airlines in the US filed for Chapter 11. American Airlines’ competitors have all managed to cut costs and revise workers’ agreements since then.
AMR has also announced that chief executive of AA, Gerard Arpey, will be retiring. He will be replaced by Thomas Horton, AA’s current chairman. Mr Horton said that the airline would now be looking to negotiate with the unions about revising the terms and conditions of its employees. He added that the decision to file for bankruptcy protection was unanimously voted for by the company’s board.
Allied Pilots Association president, David Bates, said he understood that the terms of employment within the company were likely to change. He added that the allotted timeline of 18 months for restructuring was also likely to result in a revision of the carrier’s business plan.
Mr Horton said he was convinced that AA would emerge a more robust company.
Tags: AA, Allied Pilots Association, American Airlines, AMR, Chapter 11
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Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
US Congress has joined with other governments around the world in condemning European Union plans to impose a carbon emissions charge on all commercial airlines flying in and out of Europe. The House of Representatives has not wasted time in declaring its support for a bill which would make US carriers exempt from the EU’s carbon trading scheme.
As of the beginning of next year, airlines landing or taking off in Europe will have to pay for a permit. The funds from these permits are meant to off-set the greenhouse gasses being produced by the airlines.
Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, John Mica, said he had told representatives from the EU, while they were in Montreal, that the US would fight the legislation. He added that the rules contravened existing trade agreements and were contrary to international law.
Opposition to the charges has also been forthcoming from the Obama administration. The State Department has issued a statement in which it says the EU legislation has not been thoroughly addressed. Major US airlines, including US Airways, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines, as well as global cargo haulers UPS and Fedex, claim that they will have to hand over around $3 billion by 2020 under the new rules.
When the rules come into play, the EU has said any airline not paying for permits would be fined heavily. Other nations, including India and China, have already said they disapprove of the legislation. China has gone as far as to threaten not to buy Airbus planes if the rules are not changed.
Tags: airlines, American Airlines, carbon emissions, Delta Air Lines, European Union, United Airlines, US Airways
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Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
As German flag carrier Lufthansa looks at ways of disposing of BMI, Emirates confirms that it is not interested in acquiring the loss maker. A spokesman for the Middle Eastern giant said that although Emirates is looking to continue expanding, it is not currently looking to do so by purchasing another carrier. Etihad, also rumoured to be interested in the British airline, has said it will not comment on speculation.
Earlier in the week, British Airways said it would be interested in talking to Lufthansa about taking over BMI’s landing and take-off slots at Heathrow. However, because BA currently owns 44 per cent of the capacity at the London hub, there could be some monopoly issues.
Virgin Atlantic has also said it might be interested in a tie-up with BMI. A deal could help Virgin as it competes with British Airways on transatlantic routes. The British flag-carrier recently tightened up its relationship with American Airlines.
Although it is yet to comment, Air France is also reportedly interested in BMI. Lufthansa has been trying to turn the carrier’s fortunes around by concentrating on flying services on the oil routes. This includes flights out of Heathrow to Russia, The Middle East and Scotland. Unfortunately for BMI the social and political problems in the Middle East have impacted on its earnings.
For the first half of this year, BMI made losses of 120 million euros. The first six months of 2010 saw the carrier lose 93 million euros. Lufthansa has said that any improvement at the moment looked unlikely.
Tags: Air France, American Airlines, BMI, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Heathrow, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic
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Friday, May 13th, 2011
Following the collapse of merger negotiations in 2008 between British Airways and Australian carrier Qantas, International Airlines Group chief executive, Willie Walsh, has ruled out the possibility that they will be reopened. He said that, at the time, the synergies between the two flag carriers were ideal, but that leaks about the negotiations had scuppered the process.
At the end of last year, Mr Walsh said IAG would be looking to expand through tie-ups with other international carriers or through takeovers. He added that a list of 12 potential candidates had been drawn up, without releasing further details. Many industry insiders said at the time that Qantas was likely to be high on that list. Other possibilities included American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines and Chilean airline LAN.
Recently, Portugal’s TAP has been mooted as a possible acquisition. Although Mr Walsh denied having any discussions with the Portuguese government about the flag carrier, it is believed that the airline will be put up for sale as the country continues to battle its financial problems.
Mr Walsh predicts that as the price of oil remains high many airlines will be forced to seek partnerships in order to survive. He said that low-cost carriers were most at risk because jet fuel accounted for such a large percentage of their operating costs.
He pointed out that budget airlines were also unable to take advantage of the recovery of the cargo industry and the return of passengers willing to pay for premium class seats.
Tags: American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, International Airlines Group, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, TAP, Willie Walsh
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Friday, April 1st, 2011
International Consolidated Airlines Group boss Willie Walsh has said the British Airways will continue to run a full service to Japan following the devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit the north of the country earlier last month. He has also confirmed that the carrier is interested in cementing its links with Japan Airlines following its recent emergence from bankruptcy protection.
The state run Enterprise Turnaround Initiative, responsible for bailing the carrier out, has announced its intention to sell its controlling share of the company. Walsh has consistently maintained that he wishes to grow IAG by merging with other international airlines and has already had meetings with banks and Japan Airlines’ bosses.
The announcement follows a decision by All Nippon Airways to enter into a venture with Europe’s second largest carrier Lufthansa. Peter Harbison, of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, said a tie-up would make good business and strategic sense.
According to spokeswoman for Japan Airlines, Sze Hunn Yap, the company is keen to follow up a number of ideas with BA about how the pair can cooperate. As both are members of the Oneworld alliance there are already codeshare agreements in place. Japan Airlines, as part of its bankruptcy protection agreement, has already managed to secure financing and has retired aircraft and cut its workforce by around a third.
The Tokyo-based carrier is due to finalise a deal with American Airlines which will see increased cooperation on transpacific services. Walsh said he would like to see a similar tie-up with BA on routes between Europe and Asia.
Tags: All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, BA, British Airways, earthquake, IAG, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, oneworld, tsunami, Willie Walsh
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Friday, February 25th, 2011
The largest union representing the interests of workers at American Airlines is hoping to exert added pressure on the carrier to reach a deal over contracts by joining up with other unions under the Oneworld alliance banner. The Transport Workers Union is hoping that a coalition will help to conclude negotiations started in November 2007.
The group said in a news conference that it aims to encourage union members working for other Oneworld airlines including Japan Airlines and British Airways to picket American Airlines’ desks in their respective countries.
A meeting of some of the union heads is scheduled to take place in April in Washington. The discussions will involve how best to manage the coalition and how to develop plans for the long-term. Air transport international vice president of the Transport Workers Union, Garry Drummond, said he was keen to see some real movement. He added that a labour council formed on a global scale would have the ability to make a striking difference.
Oneworld currently has 12 member airlines from around the world. American Airlines is still to issue a statement concerning the union’s plans. Bob Zimmerman, head of Transport Workers Local 565, said as well as being able to exert added pressure on airlines on behalf of their workers, the unions would also be able to work out strategies to boost the revenues of Oneworld members.
The Transport Workers Union represents around 22,000 American Airlines employees and is currently working to secure contracts for ground handing and maintenance staff at American Airlines’ hubs across the US.
Tags: American Airlines, British Airways, Japan Airlines, oneworld, Transport Workers Union
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Monday, February 7th, 2011
Qantas Airways is looking at a number of options for protecting its market share of international business both to and from the country. Recently, the flag-carrier has been faced with strong competition from rivals including Virgin Blue and Emirates. The airline’s boss, Alan Joyce, has assembled a team of around 20 experts to examine the situation.
Joyce said he was looking at a possible international tie-up with another airline similar to the alliance agreed between Virgin Blue and Etihad. He will also be underpinning new routes with more fuel efficient planes such as the superjumbo A380 from Airbus. From 2012, older aircraft will be replaced by the delivery of the first Dreamliners from Boeing. The carrier currently has an order for 50.
Managing director of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Peter Harbison, admitted that the opportunities for Qantas within Australia were limited and that it will become a key aspect of its expansion programme to form an alliance with another large operator.
Qantas has dabbled in tie-ups before. A potential deal with Malaysian Airlines floundered and in December 2008 a possible deal with British Airways was abandoned. Joyce said that Qantas was currently being supported by other arms of the business and that this had to stop.
Last month, Qantas agreed a deal with American Airlines on routes to and from the US. Transpacific services were once the most profitable for the carrier. However, since 2008, Qantas has witnessed increasing competition from Delta and Virgin Blue which now share the route.
Tags: Airbus, airline, Alan Joyce, American Airlines, Boeing, British Airways, Delta, dreamliner, Emirates, Etihad, Qantas, Virgin Blue
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Friday, December 10th, 2010
WestJet, Canada’s number two airline, has confirmed an inbound interline deal with British Airways. The pact will mean passengers will soon be able to travel across both airlines on a single itinerary. Passengers and their baggage will be transferred from their BA flight onto WestJet’s services without having to purchase a separate ticket.
Although an official press release is still to be drawn up, spokesman for WestJet, Robert Palmer, confirmed that a deal was in place. He said that more details would be forthcoming as tickets go on sale after Christmas.
WestJet already has interline agreements with American Airlines in the US and Europe’s Air France-KLM. The Calgary-based carrier also has a codeshare deal with Cathay Pacific. It is not unusual for interline pacts to turn into codeshare agreements which allow both carriers in the partnership to sell tickets for one another’s services. The advantage of codeshare pacts is that airlines can offer their customers a wider range of destinations without having to pay for the upkeep of their partner’s fleet.
Chris Murray, an analyst with the firm PI Financial Corp, said that at present there had been no discussion about upgrading the relationship. He added that the deal with BA was ideal for WestJet given the travel patterns between Canada and the UK. He went on to say that the deal was likely to increase that value of shares in WestJet.
WestJet hopes that the partnership with BA will not only offer more opportunities to boost revenues, but also provide a way in to the business market.
Tags: Air France KLM, airline, American Airlines, BA, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, codeshare, WestJet
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Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
Premium travel only carrier OpenSkies has announced that it would be keen to add capacity to its fleet. Currently flying four Boeing 757s between Paris and New York, and Paris and Washington, there are plans to add a third route some time in the New Year. Currently being considered are transatlantic destinations including Boston and Montreal.
Chief executive Dale Moss recently said that he would be keen to expand the fleet by up to another 20 aircraft. He added however that he was in no hurry and would probably wait until the business market had fully recovered from the economic problems caused by the global banking crisis.
OpenSkies will be able to capitalise on parent British Airways’ relationships with American Airlines and Spanish carrier Iberia. The airline has been operating since the middle of 2008 and has outlasted other premium-travel transatlantic carriers including Silverjet, Eos Airlines and MAXjet.
Doug McNeill of Charles Stanley Securities points out that it is not unusual for a second generation operator to capitalise on the failures of the first. He said that this is what BA had done with OpenSkies. He added that he was confident in the venture and that if it eventually folded BA was big enough to shoulder the loss.
According to Moss, around 10 per cent of the airline’s sales are to customers wishing to charter the whole aircraft. Recent passengers include pop singer Beyonce Knowles and the AC Milan and Real Madrid football teams. Christine Lagarde, the French minister in charge of finance, took a delegation on OpenSkies to China.
Tags: AC Milan, American Airlines, BA, Beyonce, Boeing, British Airways, Iberia, OpenSkies, Real Madrid
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