by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 26, 2012 | Uncategorized |
In this installment of Timetable updates:
Star Alliance: Air Canada reintroduces service to JFK and Thai reduces some service to europe.
Skyteam: Air France is reducing service to India and Aeroflot is increasing service to US, Cuba and China and South Korea.
STAR ALLIANCE:
AIR CANADA:
Toronto(YYZ)-New York(JFK): Effective May 3 will begin 3x/day service.
Toroton(YYZ)-New York(LGA): Effective May 1 will add additional daily service bringing total to 14x/day.
THAI:
Bangkok(BKK)-Copenhangen(CPH) effective between May 1 and June 15 is being reduced from 1x/day to 5x/week.
Bangkok(BKK)-Paris(CDG) effective between April 21 and June 30 is being reduced from 10x/week to 1x/day.
Bangkok(BKK)-Milan(MXP) effective March 25 is being reduced from 4x/week to 3x/week.
Bankkok(BKK)-Stockholm(ARN) between May 1 and June 15 is being reduced from 1x/day to 5x/week.
SKYTEAM:
Air France (all effective for summer timetable):
Paris(CDG)-Bangalore(BLR) is being reduced from 1x/day to 6x/week.
Paris(CDG)-Delhi(DEL) is being reduced from 1x/day to 6x/week.
Paris(CDG)-Mumbai(BOM) is being reduced from 1x/day to 6x/week.
Aeroflot:
Moscow(SVO)-New York(JFK) effective June 1 is increasing from 1x/day to 2x/day.
Moscow(SVO)-Beijing(PEK) effective August 31 is increasing from 14x/week to 16x/week.
Moscow(SVO)-Havana(HAV) effective August 4 is increasing from 4x/week to 5x/week.
Moscow(SVO)-Los Angeles(LAX) effective May 30 is increasing from 4x/week to 5x/week.
Moscow(SVO)-Seoul(ICN) effective June 1 is increasing from 4x/week to 1x/day.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 26, 2012 | Uncategorized |
It was reported on Wednesday that US Air has retained a team of advisor to explore possible options for acquiring American Airlines. I had written a little bit about this a few days ago when rumors first emerged.
Reuters had confirmed that US Airways did in fact retain Barclays Capital, Millstein & Co. and Latham & Watkins. This according to US Airways CEO Doug Parker.
In recent weeks there has been speculation that either Delta or US Air would attempt to acquire American Airlines which is currently under bankruptcy protection while it is being restructured. An acquisition of this size would obviously send shock waves through the industry and give regulators plenty of things to consider to ensure that the acquisition is fair to the marketplace.
For passengers, the much more important piece would be the implications such an acquisition would have to the airline alliances. American being a keystone member of Oneworld is critical to that alliance’s success. Would Oneworld be able to survive without a US based carrier? I have my doubts.
BUT…
On the other hand, an acquisition of American by US Air makes a lot of sense if US Air is going to use American as a conduit to remove itself from the Star Alliance where it seems to frequently play the role of Rodney Dangerfield and “doesn’t get any respect”. From this perspective, US Air making a move to Oneworld would be a stroke of genius and balance the power of alliances in the USA and give US Airways much stronger footing as an influential alliance member. Currently, United is by far and away the dominant Star Alliance carrier in the US and US Air will never have a chance to play a leading role in Star Alliance as long as the balance of power stays the way it is.
I can easily see US Air following this path and using American to change alliances. I don’t think there would be any hard feelings between Star Alliance and US Air.
Delta as a suitor makes less sense to me since they’ve already merged with Northwest and have plenty of market share and are a major part of Skyteam. Adding American to their “hangar” would certainly raise regulatory eyebrows. I can’t imagine that Delta would be allowed to combine 3 major airlines into one Mega-Airline.
This developing drama will continue to unfold and I’m sure there will be surprises along the way. But that makes it all the more interesting…….Keep in mind these are my opinions and nothing more!
Here is the excerpt from the Reuters article providing additional details:
Jan 25 (Reuters) – US Airways Group (LCC.N) confirmed on Wednesday that it hired advisers to explore a deal with bankrupt carrier American Airlines but said consolidation was no longer “imperative” for the industry’s health.
The news came the same day US Airways and Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter profits, buoyed by higher ticket prices and curtailed capacity.
US Airways hired Barclays Capital, Millstein & Co and Latham & Watkins to explore its options related to American parent AMR Corp, which filed for bankruptcy in November, US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker said during a conference call.
“We expect AMR will remain in bankruptcy and we anticipate that we and our advisers will be studying the situation for quite some time,” Parker, a long-time advocate of consolidation to cure the industry’s ills, told analysts and reporters.
People familiar with the matter have said US Airways and Delta are each exploring a merger with AM. Private equity firm TPG Capital TPG.UL is also considering a deal.
During a separate earnings call, Delta declined to comment on industry consolidation or a possible deal with AMR Corp.
The airline industry is two years into a recovery aided by capacity cuts and higher fares after a decade-long downturn that cascaded into a series of bankruptcies and airline mergers.
Parker pointed to the flurry of recent large-scale airline mergers as evidence that industry is no longer as fragmented as it was in the middle of the last decade.
In 2010, United Airlines and Continental Airlines combined to form United Continental, while Delta bought Northwest Airlines in 2008.
Shares of both airlines shot up on the New York Stock Exchange. Delta shares rose more than 6 percent, while US Airways stock jumped more than 17 percent.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 25, 2012 | Uncategorized |
In a story reported by Reuters today, Airbus has admitted that manufacturing and design flaws have led to the outbreak of cracks being found in several A380 wing structures. In the article, Airbus goes on to say that the aircraft are safe and that proper steps are being taken to ensure that repairs are carried out. Airbus has not identified the carriers who have been having ongoing issues with these flaws.
I had posted about the initial A380 issues here, and also talked about the EASA directives that were issued in a posting here.
The article as reported by Reuters:
January 25, 2012
Airbus acknowledged a combination of manufacturing and design flaws on Wednesday as it confirmed the discovery of more examples of cracks inside the wings of A380 superjumbo jets, while insisting the world’s largest airliner is safe to fly.
A senior executive said Airbus had found a solution to the outbreak of cracks on a small number of parts inside the wings, which prompted European safety authorities to order compulsory safety inspections last week.
Airbus confirmed that it had discovered more examples of the cracks during the latest wing inspections, but declined to give further details before Friday’s deadline for completing a first phase of checks.
“The A380 is safe to fly,” Tom Williams, executive vice president of programs at Airbus, said.
The cracks were caused by a combination of the choice of aluminum alloy for certain wing brackets as well as stresses imposed at two stages of the manufacturing process, he said.
Williams flew to Dublin to give an unscheduled address at a conference followed by a series of briefings as Airbus stepped up efforts to dampen any concerns about the aircraft’s safety.
Airbus had already dismissed calls by an Australian engineering union to ground the aircraft, saying this had not been demanded by safety regulators who would be only too quick to ban flights if they believed safety was at risk.
European authorities have however ordered inspections on almost a third of the superjumbo fleet after two types of cracks were discovered within weeks of each of other on what Airbus described as a handful of L-shaped brackets inside the wing.
Since then, similar cracks have been found inside the wings of at least one of the superjumbos examined under the directive, industry sources said on Tuesday.
Airbus officials said it was assumed that most of the aircraft being tested would show evidence of the second and more significant type of crack, but that their technical fixes would address this well before they became a potential hazard.
It declined to say which airline had found cracks during inspections but the spotlight is expected to fall on Singapore Airlines which has said it is inspecting six aircraft under a first phase of checks of the most heavily used jets.
Singapore Airlines said it was carrying out inspections as required and would give an update once they were completed. The checks involve emptying and venting fuel tanks for about 24 hours followed by a visual check via a manhole under the wing.
(Reuters)
