by Lufthansa Flyer | Jul 20, 2016 | Air Berlin, Airlines, Corporate, Etihad, Featured, Lufthansa |
In news out of Germany in the last several hours, it appears that Lufthansa is a little bit more than serious about acquiring routes and aircraft from a struggling Air Berlin.
In a potential deal between unlikely bedfellows, Lufthansa is in discussions with AirBerlin’s main stake holder, Etihad, about the prospects of acquiring upwards of 40 aircraft and a majority of routes that are not operated in or out of AB’s hubs in Berlin and Duesseldorf. The acquisition would also include the crews for the aircraft.
Air Berlin currently operates 148 aircraft, so any acquisition would be a major one, since it would cut Air Berlin’s fleet by 27%. But this kind of a deal would also take the sting out of AB’s balance sheet which has hemorrhaged $1.29 BILLION in losses over the last 3 years.
The aircraft and routes would be assigned to Lufthansa’s Eurowings ‘Low Cost Carrier’ division and would immediately grow market share by eliminating the AB competition on the routes. This also plays well in Lufthansa’s plan that seeks to grow Eurowings by 25-30% in the coming year.
The one fly in the ointment will be the anti-trust fears that Germany and the EU will have. Historically, Germany and/or the EU have not looked favorably at deals that potentially reduce competition in the marketplace. But on the other hand, the real threat exists for the loss of thousands of jobs and the failure of an airline.
Not that the EU has made any good decisions lately, but here’s a chance for them to not screw something up! 😉
It would also be a welcomed jab at the ME3 who have been dumping capacity into Europe thanks to their subsidized operations, but I digress…….
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jun 10, 2016 | Airlines, Avgeek, Cuba, Destinations, Featured |
In news released by the US DOT, it appears that we have a list of cities that will be able to fly to Cuba from the USA beginning this fall.
According to the news, Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale are the initial cities on the ‘approved’ list. According to the DOT, it paves the way for 10 roundtrips to operate daily between the US and Cuba.
Approved carriers thus far include American, JetBlue, Frontier, Silver Airways, Southwest, and Sun Country.
This announcement has no bearing on charter flights that already operate to Cuba.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jun 6, 2016 | Airlines, Avgeek, Featured, Industry News |
In what I would categorize under the heading of ‘What are they thinking?’, Turkey has decided in order to revive tourism to a once thriving coastal town, it would make sense to sink an Airbus A300 into the ocean in the hopes that divers would come to visit it. They also claim that it will help build a new reef for fish and corals to make home and would be the largest aircraft ever to be sunk for this purpose. The last point I won’t argue since it’s been proven that artificial reefs can work. What I do wonder is will people now flock to Kusadasi, Turkey to dive the wreck.
What used to be a favorite destination of Russians and Europeans alike, Kusadasi is struggling to stay alive. In fact, according to the RT.com article covering the event, it is suggested that Russian tourism has fallen off by as much as 81% due to sanctions, terrorism and basic distrust of each other. Also noted was the fact that dozens of hotels, restaurants, and shops have been shuttered due to the dramatic drop in tourism. Apparently the dunking of an Airbus is the best idea that the local Chamber of Commerce could come up with!
Back to the sinking of the A300….
The A300 was dismantled in Istanbul and trucked on 5 flatbeds to Kusadasi where cranes helped position the aircraft. With the aid of rafts and divers, it was lowered, complete with wings, into its final resting place 60 feet below the surface of the Aegean Sea. It is now open for business.
To see various tweets and Instagram posts showing the event, click here to be taken to the RT.com story.
Are you thinking ‘Slow News Day” ???
