|
Related Newslog Items 28 August 2010 United Airlines and Continental Airlines said they expect their proposed merger to close by 1 October after the U.S. Department of Justice ended its antitrust investigation. DOJ indicated that a deal by United/Continental to lease gates and facilities at Newark to Southwest Airlines "resolves ... principal concerns regarding the competitive eff ects" of the tie-up. Continental and United pledged to "continue to serve all the communities both airlines currently serve. The slot pair transfer is exp ected to have minimal impact on combined carrier's route network." 24 August 2010 Continental Airlines plans to share codes on Aegean Airlines flights between Athens and Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Munich, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Rome. The Star Alliance partners on 23 August began code sharing on Continental flights between Newark and Athens, and on "sel ected flights operated by Aegean Airlines in Europe." 16 August 2010 The number of first and business class airline passengers in June increased 16.6 percent worldwide versus a year earlier, marking a seventh cons ecutive month of growth, according to the International Air Transport Association. "Adjusting for the temporary impact of the European airspace closures shows that premium travel was expanding at an annualized rate of 9 percent in the s econd quarter, while economy travel expanded at an annualized rate of percent," IATA reported. "Transpacific and Europe-Far East continue to show strength on the back of business travel generated by strong Asian economic growth. Transatlantic travel, with the weak European economies at one end, continues to underperform." 5 August 2010 Hotel rates booked by HRG clients in most regions during the first half of 2010 were flat or "only marginally down" from a year earlier, with the exception of the Middle East, where rates were down by double-digits in sel ect cities, according to the travel management company. Meanwhile, the average length of stay increased by 9 percent, "suggesting that corporates have begun to relax their travel policies in light of the perceived improvement in the current economic climate," according to HRG dir ector of global hotel relations Margaret Bowler. Given market r ecovery, Bowler noted that "it is likely clients will revert to the traditional RFP season," rather than delaying the process to s ecure more favorable rates, as many did in 2009. 4 August 2010 Continental Airlines and Brussels Airlines plan to begin sharing codes on dozens of routes between and from Brussels and Newark. Eff ective 9 August, the Star Alliance partners will cooperate on Brussels Airlines' service from Brussels to nine European and 12 African destinations, and on Continental's Newark-Brussels route and flights from Newark to five U.S. cities. 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.
20 July 2010 United Airlines reported Atlantic and Pacific premium cabin booking growth of 38 percent and 46 percent, respectively, during the June quarter versus a year earlier. Overall unit revenue on Asian routes jumped 52 percent--including 64 percent in China and 46 percent in Japan--partly due to "improvements in yields and load factors in premium cabins," said president John Tague. 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."
|
|
|
retweet
share
share
share
share
share
share
share
share
share
share
share