It has not been a good year for Singapore Airlines (SIA), Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas – these three airlines that are the closest rivals in the Asia/Pacific region. What they do usually make headline aviation news, whether in shaping up the competition or feeding the gossip mill, and the airlines themselves most probably are keeping a close watch of one another’s moves. It is a year that they share …Read More
Tag Archives: Ryanair
Stakes are high for Virgin Atlantic in bmi acquisition race
It appeared to have been a done deal when British Airways’ (BA) parent International Airlines Group (IAG) and Lufthansa reached a draft accord to sell the loss-making British Midland Airways (bmi) subsidiary to UK’s largest carrier in early November. In a surprising revelation on 12th December, however, Lufthansa said it had also reached an agreement in principle to sell bmi to British Airways’ arch-rival, Crawley, England-based carrier Virgin Atlantic. “We …Read More
Air travellers to pay new emissions trading scheme tax
In a call together with compatriots International Airlines Group (IAG) subsidiary British Airways (BA), easyjet and Virgin Atlantic to the United Kingdom (UK) government to scrap the air passenger duty (APD) – a tax introduced in 1994 for flights originating in the UK – Ryanair has surfaced yet another tax in the offing to be borne by air travellers. Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said that air travellers will be …Read More
Scoot by Singapore Airlines: What’s in a name?
What came to mind when Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced the name of its new budget carrier: Scoot? For a Singaporean like the author, it was the two-wheel scooter that was ubiquitous on many urban roads in large cities after World War II. More notably, I think of the Italian brand Vespa, and Audrey Hepburn side-saddling Gregory Peck on a ride through Rome in the 1952 movie ‘Roman Holiday’ – a …Read More
Acquiring bmi boosts Virgin Atlantic’s growth potential
Since acquiring the United Kingdom (UK) carrier British Midland Airways, or bmi, in 2009, turning around the loss-making airline before selling it to another airline has always been one of the many options being considered by its parent Lufthansa. As Europe’s largest airline by revenues appointed Morgan Stanley recently to look at all potential options for the ailing UK carrier which has been battered by this year’s Arab Spring in …Read More
Taming of the Tiger
Budget carrier Tiger Airways’ chief executive Tony Davis could not have picked a more unpropitious time to purchase one million shares or 24.3% of his holdings, and at the price of S$1.42 per share which is below Tiger Airways’ initial public offering (IPO) price of S$1.50. In August last year, Davis and two of Tiger Airways’ largest shareholders – Ryanasia and Indigo Partners – already relinquished 12% of the issued …Read More
Comac C919 threat overblown
As Airbus has been racking up significant A320 neo (new engine option) sales since the re-engined narrowbody aircraft’s launch in December last year (“A350 risks further delay as A320 neo receives go-ahead“, 1st Dec 10) and Boeing is mulling its competitive response in whether opting for a re-engined 737 or an all-new 737X that may ultimately feature a twin-aisle concept with a 2019 or 2020 entry into service (EIS) (“Boeing …Read More
Iberia’s interim short-hual outsourcing should become permanent
It has not been grabbing media headlines nor had it been touted as a paradigm shift in the European airline industry, nor had it even received the attention of the investor community that low-cost carriers (LCC) Ryanair and EasyJet had, but Iberia’s latest decision in outsourcing its short-hual operations to its subsidiary Vueling Airlines should ultimately become permanent amid intensifying competition from LCCs and an anaemic economic recovery. Moreover, this …Read More
Ryanair pushes the boundary
Ryanair is not one new to controversy. But give it credit for pushing the boundary to continually trying to reshape the flying experience – from proposing to charge for the use of the aircraft lavatory to considering vertical seating. And now, Ryanair threatens to turn away passengers arriving at check-in without their pre-printed boarding pass instead of the current practice of charging those passengers who forget or do not bother …Read More