A Spanish court appears to be takingsteps to launch an official criminalinvestigation into the August 20 crashof a Spanair MD-82 at Madrid-BarajasAirport that killed 154 people. Reportshave suggested that a maintenance chiefand two technicians are being questionedon suspicion of manslaughter on 154counts. … [Read more...] about Spanair
Carriers
Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana and British Airways
The share swap ratio for the merger between Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana and British Airways hasn’t yet been agreed upon, according to a Caja Madridofficial, Dow Jones reported. The UK and Spanish carriers announced a US$5.1billion all-share merger in July, but theterms haven’t yet been worked out. Aslumping share price and a wideningpensions deficit at British Airways havefuelled speculation Iberia can get a betterdeal in the negotiations. … [Read more...] about Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana and British Airways
Airbus
Airbus, owned by Franco German EADS, is to double the amount of vendor financing it offers to about US$2.64 billion next year, the Financial Times reported. The financing is aimed at supporting commercial aircraft sales and maintaining deliveries as its customers struggle to obtain funding from traditional sources. The paper quotes an unnamed aviation banker who says the number of institutions off ering finance for new commercial jet deliveries had fallen by between a half and two thirds from … [Read more...] about Airbus
Alitalia
Alitalia has sufficient liquidity to operate until the start of December, the Italian airline’s bankruptcy commissioner told trade unions recently, according to Reuters. Augusto Fantozzi also told the unions that he hoped to wrap up the sale of Alitalia assets to the CAI investor group by mid-November. CAI plans to merge the profitable parts of Alitalia with domestic rival Air One and is looking for a partnerabroad. … [Read more...] about Alitalia
LTE Internationa
Spanish airline LTE International has suspended all operations after informing Spanish authorities it was in serious financial difficulty. “LTE International Airways SA wish to inform you that due to the financial situation of the company... we have had to suspend our charter and scheduled operations,” a statement on thecompany’s Web site said. … [Read more...] about LTE Internationa
Qantas
Qantas has admitted its guilt to illegally fixing air cargo freight surcharges to the Australian competition regulator. The airline agreed to pay a A$20 million fine and apologised “unreservedly” for illegally ramping up its freight charges in concert with other international airlines between 2001 and 2006. The airline previously admitted its guilt to the US Department of Justice and paid a US$61 million criminalfine last November. … [Read more...] about Qantas