World Class Airports Conference in the UAE

With the 2nd World Class Airports Conference opening today in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) welcomed airport professionals from around the world to the three-day event which will focus on safety, customer service, efficiency, environment and economic development.

H.E. Khalifa Al Mazrouei, Chairman and Managing Director of ADAC , today welcomed conference delegates to the World Class Airports Conference, at the Abu Dhabi Hilton.

The conference is the second of three ADAC is hosting in Abu Dhabi over the coming weeks. Last week saw the first ever Low Cost Airlines conference in Al Ain and next week, beginning November 16, ADAC will play host to the first ever Middle East Terminal Expo conference at the Beach Rotana.

H.E. Khalifa Al Mazrouei told the audience:

“The aviation industry is currently facing major challenges as the impact of the financial markets affects air travel. That said, the aviation industry has faced such testing times before and I am optimistic that the impact of today’s credit crunch will not be lasting.

Airports around the world must of course take account of the current climate but must also look to the long term and the predicted growth in air travel. Airport infrastructure takes time and must plan for the long term which is why we in Abu Dhabi and other parts of the Middle East are proceeding with investment plans to bring facilities to a world class level and ensure we have the capacity to deal with the anticipated growth over the short and medium term.”

The conference itself will focus on the challenges facing airports around the world.

The themes are: Safety and security, the environment, operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and the role of airports as catalysts for economic diversification. Each area is the subject of scrutiny as the conference seeks to find solutions to the common challenges airport around the world face.

ADAC’s chairman added: “Conferences such as these highlight the fact that airports around the world face common challenges. Their value, to ADAC and the attendees is that solutions are common to all. What can work in one airport, invariably, can work in another. Safety and security is a challenge that all airports face and I welcome the focus this conference is placing on the issue. You cannot make progress on other fronts unless you can offer an environment in which passengers, airlines and staff feel safe. Customer Service excellence is also an issue that airports around the world must constantly strive towards and deliver and we at ADAC look forward to taking the lessons from around the world and applying them in our airports to ensure we continue to offer the best possible service to our passengers and airlines.”

Vietnam Aviation Industry: VietJet Air Plans Joint Venture With AirAsia

“Vietnam is developing its airline industry, and policies have been created to attract capital sources, including foreign investment,” Thanh said in an interview published by Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper on Tuesday.

VietJet Air is one of the private airlines in Vietnam. These airlines will be a joint venture with AirAsia airlines.

According to Vietnam Airlines, AirAsia’s acquisition of 30 per cent stake in Air local VietJet last month just moved to help foreign airlines offer domestic flights, foreign companies are currently prohibited by law from doing. National airlines asked the government to prevent the joint-venture between VietJet Air and AirAsia.

However, the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration deputy head Lai Xuan Thanh said AirAsia’s move was illegal as the government allows foreign investors to buy shares in a local airline.

Thanh said as the stake purchase complied with the law, there was no legal basis to roll it back as requested by Vietnam Airlines, Thanh said.

VietJet Air, the first private airline to be licensed in Vietnam, said its joint venture with AirAsia will be named VietJet AirAsia.

Nguyen Duc Tam, VietJet Air CEO, told Thanh Nien with only 30 percent stake, AirAsia will hardly be able to control VietJet Air’s business.

“We have our own strengths and strategies and there is no way VietJet Air can be taken over by foreign investors,” Tam said.

“VietJet Air managers have a lot of experience in working with foreign investors and we understand that AirAsia is an international company. As a result, we have already made clear and transparent agreements to ensure VietJet Air can operate independently on equality and mutual interest principles.”

Foreign investment

The government has set a 30 percent cap on foreign ownership in a local airline. However, Vietnam Airlines said, the regulation does not distinguish foreign airlines from other foreign investors. As a result, foreign carriers like Jetstar and now AirAsia have entered the domestic flights segment in Vietnam, which they are technically not allowed to do. This trend is bound to harm the local industry, the national carrier said.

Vietnam Airlines proposed that the government fix the “loophole.”

“The law on aviation was created many years ago, so there can be some regulations that are no longer up-to-date,” Thanh said. “Businesses usually propose changes to laws in accordance with the development.”

But Thanh said he didn’t agree with Vietnam Airlines’ assertion that selling stake to a foreign airline was a way of selling the rights to start domestic flights at a cheap price.

“The local airline sector is protected by the 30 percent cap on foreign ownership of a single investor and the 49 percent cap on total foreign investment,” he said in the interview.

Airport chaos, Italian airline Alitalia cancel more flights

Italian airline Alitalia canceled more flights Wednesday amid a protest action by pilots and flight attendants.

Eighteen flights had been canceled by 0830 GMT Wednesday stranding hundreds of passengers. The airline canceled 124 flights Tuesday.

A group of investors has crafted new employee contracts as part of its plan to bail out the ailing airline. The investors are pumping $1.25 billion (1 billion euros) into Alitalia.

Pilots and flight attendants in four major trade unions are protesting the contracts through a “work to rule” action — essentially doing the bare minimum required by their contracts in an attempt to slow the work process and pressure management to pay attention to their grievances.

Government officials and representatives of the revamped airline have declined to re-open contract negotiations with trade unions. They have threatened to hire pilots and flight attendants from other airlines if necessary.

European Union Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said Wednesday he approved of the Alitalia takeover plan but warned the airline it must pay back a 300 million euro ($380 million) loan from the Italian government, The Associated Press reported.

Tarjani said the sale of Alitalia’s assets would lead to the creation of a new Italian airline “smaller in size but more efficient,” AP said.

source : CNN

United Airlines and Continental Airlines to Start Passenger Service Operation Next Year

UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. will start blending passenger-service operations early next year as they merge to create the world’s largest carrier.

Shared check-in kiosks and airport signs will appear next year in a process the companies call “Customer Day One” as the new airline adopts the United name. Operational changes such as joint websites probably won’t occur until about 2012, when United gets a single flying certificate from regulators.

UAL and Continental shareholders voted Friday to approve the $3.22 billion all-stock merger, which is scheduled to close by Oct. 1. The carriers are being advised by Bain & Co., the consultant Delta Air Lines Inc. hired to help mesh operations with Northwest Airlines Corp. beginning in 2008.

“On Customer Day One, Continental and United will be able to conduct key customer processes, such as airport check-in and upgrades, for any traveler, regardless of whether they are on a Continental- or United-operated flight,” said Julie King, a spokeswoman for Continental, based in Houston.

Passengers won’t see many immediate changes when the deal closes, King said. The websites for both carriers will continue to operate as they do now, and each company will run its own customer-service and marketing activities, she said.

United’s Mileage Plus and Continental’s OnePass frequent-flier programs will operate independently until after the closing. Members’ reward points will be combined, and the plans will be blended in the first half of 2011, according to the airlines.

United and Continental have decided to keep United’s Chicago headquarters. They will incorporate Continental’s globe logo on the tails when they repaint planes.

Continental Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smisek will run the company, while United CEO Glenn Tilton will become non-executive chairman.

It took Delta about a year and a half to fully combine operations with Northwest after their merger in October 2008.

Within a month, Delta and Northwest began aligning customer policies and fees for services such as taking pets onboard.

Delta installed new signs with its name and logo at all major hubs by March 2009, and the companies were granted a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration in December, which allowed them to integrate pilot groups and flight procedures.

They combined websites and reservation systems in January, and finished meshing technology and dispatch systems in April.

Lithuanian Airlines Sold to Swiss Firm

A Switzerland-based firm has purchased Lithuania’s troubled FlyLAL airline, FlyLAL announced Friday.
Airline officials said that SCH Swiss Capital Holdings agreed to pay US$1 million for the shares and cover the carrier’s debts of approximately euro1 million as part of the deal.

The Swiss investors expressed hope that they would be able to restructure and modernize the airline in two years.

Since it was privatized in 2005, FlyLAL has struggled under the weight of sizable debts, primarily to Vilnius International Airport, where it is based.

“We do not see these debts as a big problem,” said Jan Erik Jansson, CEO of SCH Swiss Capital Holdings.

“We were looking for an airline to purchase, and this is a good company to invest in. With its skilled staff and huge experience, FlyLAL can be a very strong regional carrier,” he added.