Qantas Airways Ltd and British Airways PLC are targeting annual synergies of at least US$500 million by 2010 as part of their merger discussions, the Australian Financial Review reported. Qantas Airways British Airways are in talks about a potential merger as airlines explore consolidation in a bid to mitigate the deepening economic downturn. Qantas confirmed on Wednesday it was exploring a potential merger via a dual-listed company structure after a similar announcement earlier by BA that sent … [Read more...] about Qantas, BA target US$500 million annual synergies
air freighter
ACI reports dissmal Oct '08 traffic
The downward spiral for passenger traffic has eased seomwhat according to ACI's latest statistics, with international traffic growth down by a milder 1.4 per cent relative to Oct '07, whereas global traffic remained depressed at -3.4 per cent due to poor domestic results worldwide down on average by 5 per cent. Growth in the first ten months of the year is flat at -0.6 per cent. Global freight growth results are worse off however, with total freight handled worldwide in Oct '08 down by 7 per … [Read more...] about ACI reports dissmal Oct '08 traffic
TIACA urges liberalisation push
TIACA (The International Air Cargo Association) ended its annual cargo meeting by calling on countries that support the separation of cargo from passenger rights to reach agreement on a separate cargo annex permitting fifth, sixth and seventh freedomrights. This could become the first step towards true market liberalisation and openness and “unlock the significant economic benefits that can be derived from a more open and competitive air cargo market,” TIACA said. The … [Read more...] about TIACA urges liberalisation push
TIACA focus on security, economy & enviro
Nearly 3,000 air cargo industry delegates attending TIACA’s (The International Air Cargo Association) annual event in Kuala Lumpur last month heard seemingly nothing but bad news as talk dwelled on the economic crisis, impending US security procedures and the environment. “At such a challenging time for everyone whose business is linked to world trade, ACF 2008 provided a timely opportunity for some 2,800 industry managers and executives to come together to discuss ways to grow … [Read more...] about TIACA focus on security, economy & enviro
Schiphol ready for all-change
“This is clearly a financial crisis like we’ve never seen,” starts Ad Rutten, executive VP and COO of the Schiphol Group. “We all know in the cargo world that business is down, its been down since the summer. The only thing we can predict is that everything will change and nothing will be the same,” he adds. It is this ‘all-change’ environment that Schiphol – which handled a total of 1.61 million tonnes of air cargo last year – has fi rmly … [Read more...] about Schiphol ready for all-change
BA World Cargo’s volumes up despite crisis
Strongly impacted by the global financial tsunami, Europe is presently a tough market for all carriers, reflected by the recently released International Air Transport Association (IATA) statistics which shows air cargo volumes were down by 5.4 per cent in October year-on-year across Europe. According to British Airways World Cargo’s senior vice president for Europe and the Americas, David Shepherd, despite these challenging conditions and a 6.4 per cent drop in capacity, BAWC’s … [Read more...] about BA World Cargo’s volumes up despite crisis
