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27 July 2010
Air Berlin agreed to join the oneworld alliance and establish codeshare and frequent flyer program deals with American Airlines and Finnair. Subj
ect to government approvals and scheduled to take eff
ect 1 November, the code shares would provide Air Berlin customers access to 15 AA destinations in the United States and several Finnair destinations throughout Europe and Asia. Air Berlin is Germany's s
econd-largest carrier, with hubs in Berlin and Dusseldorf.
21 July 2010
The U.S. Department of Transportation made final its approval for antitrust immunity among oneworld partners. American Airlines, British Airways and
Iberia now can
implement a transatlantic joint venture and join
oneworld members Finnair and Royal Jordanian in tighter alliance partnerships. Like the
European Commission, DOT set conditions on approval, notably the transfer of
slots at
London Heathrow to competitors for new transatlantic services.
14 July 2010
The European Commission accepted "remedies" proposed by American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia for their planned transatlantic joint venture. Concessions offered by the airlines and accepted by
EC include surrendering
slots at
London Heathrow or London Gatwick airports for flights to Boston, New York, Dallas and Miami; making available
slots at New York JFK for services to London; and combining fares, offering conn
ections and linking loyalty programs with other airlines. "We have analyzed these commitments, we have consulted other players in the market and we have concluded that the remedies the airlines have introduced will s
ecure for passengers the
benefits of the alliance together with the prosp
ect of additional services provided by other operators," according
EC vice president responsible for competition policy Joaquín Almunia. The U.S. Department of Transportation
tentatively approved the proposed antitrust-immunized JV. Final approval is exp
ected soon.
14 July 2010
The European Commission cleared the proposed British Airways-Iberia merger, concluding that "the transaction would not significantly impede eff
ective competition in the European
Economic Area or any substantial part of it." In examining the London-Madrid and London-Barcelona markets for example,
EC determined that
the merged entity would "continue to face sufficient competition from other carriers active on these routes, and therefore that passengers will have adequate alternatives to fly on these routes after the merger."
9 June 2010
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced "a national ecological air traffic charge on all passengers" departing German airports, exp
ected to generate €1 billion annually. According to
Reuters the tax would amount to €8 to €16 per ticket. The International Air Transport Association opposed the tax, calling it "a cash-grab by a cash-strapped government" that provides "no environmental benefit."
8 June 2010
IATA reversed its 2010 air industry forecast to a $2.5 billion global profit from the $2.8 billion loss it had projected in March. The International Air Transport Association cited a r
ecovering global
economy that has generated a "strong" rebound in overall traffic to "pre-r
ecession levels" and a "sharp" increase in business travel. "Despite earlier fears that the financial crisis would result in a structural change to the premium market, it now appears to be r
ecovering cyclically in many regions--alongside improvements in global trade," according to IATA. "World trade is still rising sharply and surveys show business confidence, outside Europe, has regained pre-r
ecession levels." The group exp
ects the airline s
ector in all regions to post overall net profits, except Europe, where it predicted a $2.8 billion loss.
8 June 2010
The oneworld alliance formally invited India's Kingfisher Airlines to join.
Oneworld members exp
ect Kingfisher to begin full participation within 18 to 24 months.
Oneworld founder British Airways reached a bilateral codeshare deal with Kingfisher, with "implementation later this month," according to BA CEO Willie Walsh.
26 May 2010
Hogg Robinson Group reported improved results for its fiscal year ended 31 March, "in line with expectations," despite declining travel activity among clients and therefore lower revenues. Profit before tax increased 15 percent year over year to £28.4 million (US$42.8 million). The travel management company cited cost reduction efforts and improved profitability in North America. Chief ex
ecutive David Radcliffe said HRG exp
ects client travel volumes to rebound this year "as businesses generally begin to benefit from the
economic r
ecovery. Towards the end of the [fiscal] year, we did see the first early signs of an upturn, first in Asia-Pacific and more r
ecently in North America and Europe."
12 May 2010
The new U.K. coalition government agreed to replace a controversial air passenger duty with a "per flight duty" and cancel or oppose any new runways planned for London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. Published 11 May, the agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats also calls for "the establishment of a high-speed rail network" as part of a "full program" of environmental initiatives.
8 April 2010
British Airways and Spain's Iberia signed a merger agreement and expect the transaction to be completed "in late 2010." The
proposed merger, first publicly announced in November 2009, requires approval from the
European Commission and both companies' shareholders. After approval, BA and
Iberia would "retain their current operations and operate under their individual brands," according to a joint statement.
2 April 2010
American Airlines, British Airways and three other oneworld allies will accept U.S. regulators' conditions for antitrust immunity. Though the carriers told the U.S. Department of Transportation that they obj
ect to
slot divestures required for approval, they nonetheless asked DOT to finalize the tentative d
ecision "as quickly as possible." During a public comment period that closed this week, Virgin Atlantic again requested "a wider sp
ectrum of remedies" to help maintain balanced competition, including "ch
ecks" on British Airways' "considerable market power over corporate customers."
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