Alitalia’s board recently released a shortlist of six potential buyers for the carrier following consultation with Citigroup and industrial adviser Roland Berger. The list comprises Aeroflot, Air France KLM, AP Holding (Air One), Cordata Baldassarre, Lufthansa and TPG (formerly Texas Pacific Group). The Italian government wants to sell most of its 49.9 per cent stake in Alitalia and asked Chairman Maurizio Prato, who was appointed in July, to identify potential buyers after its own … [Read more...] about EUROPE/CIS: Six suitors for Alitalia

Europe’s second-largest airline, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said passenger traffic rose 3.9 per cent last month after the German carrier increased frequencies and added routes to Asia and the US and within Europe. Lufthansa’s cargo division handled 0.2 per cent more freight with a 0.9 per cent rise in the load factor to 69.4 per cent. On the passenger side, the load factor climbed 0.6 percentage points in September from a year earlier to 79.7 percent. The Cologne-based airline … [Read more...] about EUROPE/CIS: Lufthansa’s load factors stable

Turkish Airlines CEO Temel Kotil said the carrier’s investment in new routes and aircraft is finally paying off . Revenue for the first semester rose 29 per cent year-over-year to TRY2.2 billion (US$1.8 billion), boosting the carrier’s net profit to TRY125.4 million and its net margin to 9 per cent. Load factor for the first nine months climbed4 points to 73 per cent. “Last year was really a killer for us,” he said according to an ATWOnline report, referring to … [Read more...] about EUROPE/CIS: Turkish aims big

The European Commission searched the offices of several freight forwarders and at least one US freight forwarder was subpoenaed by US authorities as the transatlantic anti-competition probe widens. A handful of freight forwarders including Switzerland-based Kuehne & Nagel International AGs and Welttransport Holding AG were raided recently as part of a joint US and European probe into pricing practices. News reports also mention Eagle Global Logistics (EGL), UTi Worldwide and Schenker … [Read more...] about EUROPE/CIS: Price-fixing probe widens