Cheap flights news - Delta Says No Merger Yet, Deal Must Meet Conditions
February 27, 2008
Delta Air Lines cooled expectation that it was ready to merge with Northwest Airlines, saying there was no deal yet and that it had a strong stand-alone plan.

The carrier's chief executive, Richard Anderson, said in a memo to employees that a potential merger has been elusive after months of reviewing its strategic options.

"To date, we have not arrived at a potential transaction that meets all of our principles. Rest assured that we will not complete a transaction unless all of these conditions are met," Anderson said. "We have a strong stand-alone plan."

Industry and other sources have said in recent weeks that Delta and Northwest were close to a merger agreement but labor issues were holding up a formal proposal.

In a separate note to employees at Northwest, that company's chief executive, Doug Steenland, said the airline believes "consolidation among network carriers is inevitable."

Steenland said Northwest continues to consider options that would provide greater long term security and growth for employees and create value for shareholders, and benefit customers and service.

Mike Boyd, an industry consultant, said the Delta memo, "underscores again" that neither airline needs to merge. "This is something they want to put together but it is not a merger of absolute necessity," Boyd said.

Delta and Northwest emerged from bankruptcy protection last year with lower costs and cash on hand. Both have strong domestic and growing international networks -- Northwest to Asia and Delta to Europe.

Conditions for a deal cited by Anderson include a guarantee that worker seniority be protected, a crucial issue that pilots at both airlines have tried unsuccessfully to sort out for weeks in joint negotiations, several industry sources have said.

Managements at Delta and Northwest want the support of the 11,000 pilots at their companies before proposing a merger to their respective boards, shareholders and the government.

They also have said they want to avoid worker integration problems that have plagued other airline mergers, including the one between US Airways and America West Airlines in 2005 and the Northwest-Republic merger 22 years ago.

But seniority rankings, which determine everything from a pilot's wages, hours worked, routes flown, and vacation time, are excruciatingly difficult to merge.

Delta pilots generally make more money and fly newer planes than their counterparts at Northwest, while Northwest pilots tend to have more years of experience and want to protect their seniority.

The conditions of a merger also require a combined airline be called Delta and it must be headquartered in Atlanta, a point that industry sources have said Delta and Northwest apparently had resolved.

Anderson also said a merged company would have to strengthen its network and accelerate plans for international expansion. He and Northwest's Steenland have said previously they prefer a combined company that would grow and create more jobs.

(Reuters)
Top Stories
• Delta Says No Merger Yet, Deal Must Meet Conditions
• Heathrow Protesters Scale Roof Of British Parliament
• Iberia 2007 Net Profit Jumps, Holds Costs
• Ryanair Complains About Support To Air France-KLM


Published on: 27/02/2008

Cheap flights news - BOC Aviation To Lease 8 Airbus A320s To Qantas
February 25, 2008
BOC Aviation, the aircraft leasing arm of the Bank of China, said on Monday that it will lease eight Airbus A320 aircraft to Qantas Airways.

The agreement is the second deal between Qantas and BOC, which leased three A320s to Qantas in 2004, the Chinese bank said.

BOC Aviation will deliver the planes between the third quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011 to Jetstar, Qantas's low-cost Singapore-based subsidiary.

Singapore-based BOC Aviation, which Bank of China acquired in 2006, said it now had 70 planes leased to airlines worldwide.

It has another 64 aircraft on order for delivery by 2013.

Chinese banks are also actively expanding in domestic leasing to diversify their income streams.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China set up a leasing company in September, while Caijing magazine reported last week that China Development Bank was awaiting approval to inject CNY8 billion yuan (USD$1.12 billion) into a Shenzhen leasing firm.

China's banking regulator gave banks approval a year ago to establish leasing companies, seven years after it stopped issuing licenses in order to clean up the industry.

(Reuters)

Published on: 25/02/2008

- Cheap flights news, 27/02/2008
- Cheap flights news, 25/02/2008
- Cheap flights news, 23/02/2008
- Cheap flights news, 21/02/2008
- Cheap Flights News, 15/01/2008
- Cheap Flights News, 12/01/2008
- Cheap Flights News, 11/01/2008
- Cheap Flights News, 11/01/2008
- Cheap Flights News, 31/12/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 31/12/2007
- Cheaf Flights News, 21/12/2007
- Cheap flights News, 21/12/2007
- Cheap flights News , 02/08/2007
- Cheap flights News , 21/06/2007
- Cheap flights News , 20/06/2007
- Cheap flights News , 18/06/2007
- Cheap flights News , 19/05/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 09/05/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 08/05/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 05/05/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 24/04/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 23/04/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 21/04/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 19/04/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 17/04/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 16/04/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 12/04/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 12/04/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 04/04/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 03/04/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 29/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 28/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 24/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 22/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 21/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 16/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 15/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 13/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 10/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 09/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 08/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 07/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 02/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 01/03/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 27/02/2007
- Cheap Flights News, 19/02/2007
- American Air Parent Possible Buyout Target, 17/02/2007
- American Air Parent Possible Buyout Target, 16/02/2007
- IATA Says Shorter Air Routes Cut Emissions, 15/02/2007
- British Airways Ground Crew Reject Pension Deal, 14/02/2007
- Ryanair To Challenge Regulator Over Dublin Airport, 13/02/2007
- Delta Gets Court OK To Poll Creditors On Plan, 08/02/2007
- EasyJet Quarterly Revenue Up, 07/02/2007
- Ryanair Profit Beats Forecasts, 05/02/2007
- UK Passenger Tax Increases, 01/02/2007
- Strong Interest In Alitalia Sale, 30/01/2007
- BA, Union Due To Resume Last-Ditch Strike Talks, 29/01/2007
- British Airways Union Shortens Threatened Strike, 25/01/2007
- Air France KLM Silent On Alitalia Bid Report, 23/01/2007
- British Airways Seeks Arbitration To Avert Strikes, 23/01/2007