Monday, December 08, 2008
Airlines Go Merger Crazy!
Don't look now, but soon there may be just one or two airlines to choose from. Or at least so it seems. The tough economy has left a lot of airlines easy pickings for the stronger in a relatively weak field to consolidate and grow.
Delta and Northwest combined just a couple months ago, Lufthansa recently completed its acquisition of Austrian Airlines, joining Swiss to its stable of fellow airlines. And now, its sight is set on Alitalia... as the italian bankruptcy mess sorts itself out. Alitalia, before any other airline gets its hands on it, is looking to merge with its rival Italian carrier "AirOne." Air France/KLM has its sight set on Alitalia too, so Lufthansa is taking no chances, setting up "Lufthansa Italia," a six plane airline based in Milan.
In the meantime, British Airways is building its own empire, looking to merge with both Spain's Iberia Airways and Australia's Qantas. Not to mention each of these European players has a stake in US Airlines.
AirFrance/KLM are extremely invested in Delta/Northwest. Lufthansa owns 19% of JetBlue, and has a close alliance with United - which is also cozying up to Continental. British Airways and American are extremely close as well.
So what does this mess mean for you? Maybe not a lot in the short term, but down the road look at less competition and higher fares.
Delta and Northwest combined just a couple months ago, Lufthansa recently completed its acquisition of Austrian Airlines, joining Swiss to its stable of fellow airlines. And now, its sight is set on Alitalia... as the italian bankruptcy mess sorts itself out. Alitalia, before any other airline gets its hands on it, is looking to merge with its rival Italian carrier "AirOne." Air France/KLM has its sight set on Alitalia too, so Lufthansa is taking no chances, setting up "Lufthansa Italia," a six plane airline based in Milan.
In the meantime, British Airways is building its own empire, looking to merge with both Spain's Iberia Airways and Australia's Qantas. Not to mention each of these European players has a stake in US Airlines.
AirFrance/KLM are extremely invested in Delta/Northwest. Lufthansa owns 19% of JetBlue, and has a close alliance with United - which is also cozying up to Continental. British Airways and American are extremely close as well.
So what does this mess mean for you? Maybe not a lot in the short term, but down the road look at less competition and higher fares.
Labels: airlines, alitalia, british airways, lufthansa, travel
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Your Alitalia Update: Saved but On Strike
One of Europe's most troubled major airlines, Alitalia, is in a good news, bad news kind of state at the moment. At one point, the beleaguered carrier was within hours of shutting down, unable to pay for fuel on more than a day to day basis. However, a new set of investors appeared that the Italian government could live with, and EU regulators approved the deal this week - with a nice little bonus. They ruled that the 300 million Euro bailout loan that the Italian government gave Alitalia was illegal and therefore doesn't have to be paid back by the new owners.
However, the news isn't all rosy. Alitalia workers upset at the thought of layoffs and restructuring, even though the unions by and large accepted the deal, are sort of on strike. The whole airline isn't shut down, because its not a stoppage strike - but rather a work to rule stoppage. This means that employees are working the bare minimum the contracts require and not a minute more. So far this as resulted in around 200 flights canceled over the last 48 hours or so with more to come.
The good news: your Alitalia ticket, once a risky proposition is probably safer now than it has been in years. The bad news: it might take a couple extra days to use it.
However, the news isn't all rosy. Alitalia workers upset at the thought of layoffs and restructuring, even though the unions by and large accepted the deal, are sort of on strike. The whole airline isn't shut down, because its not a stoppage strike - but rather a work to rule stoppage. This means that employees are working the bare minimum the contracts require and not a minute more. So far this as resulted in around 200 flights canceled over the last 48 hours or so with more to come.
The good news: your Alitalia ticket, once a risky proposition is probably safer now than it has been in years. The bad news: it might take a couple extra days to use it.
Labels: alitalia, bankruptcy, travel
