akayama Geschrieben 22. Mai 2003 Melden Geschrieben 22. Mai 2003 Branson set to tie knot with bmi Jonathan Prynn and Jim Armitage, Evening Standard 22 May 2003 BMI British Midland and Virgin Atlantic are in advanced merger talks to create a powerful new rival to British Airways, the London Evening Standard has revealed. The discussions have been on-going for several months but the pace of progress has speeded up dramatically in recent days. A merger would bring together two of the British aviation industry's great survivors - Sir Richard Branson and British Midland chairman Sir Michael Bishop - and forge an airline with a value estimated at £2bn. As news of the talks reverberated around the industry, British Airways executives were frantically weighing up the implications for the embattled flag carrier. The deal will be structured as a technical takeover of bmi, but chairman Bishop would be made life president. Bishop, 61, owns 25% of bmi's shares directly but controls a block of 51% of the company he founded in 1978. Virgin is being advised by Credit Suisse First Boston while bmi is using Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. Branson said: 'Bmi and Virgin Atlantic have for some time been exploring areas for greater co-operation in expanding their respective businesses, including codeshare expansion, potential sharing of facilities and joint lobbying on matters of common interest.' No deal has yet been reached on a merger or takeover, he said. However, advisers close to the talks said huge strides had been made over a number of difficult issues. BMI could be renamed bmi Virgin and continue to operate its European network of short hops. These would be scheduled to connect with Virgin's long-haul services, particularly transatlantic flights. Branson is desperate to get his hands on more slots at Heathrow, of which Virgin has 3% against BA's 40%. Bmi is the second-biggest operator at Heathrow with 14%. Bmi, 30% owned by German carrier Lufthansa, has found life difficult since the terrorist attacks on the US with the downturn in full-fare business traffic being coupled with greater competition. BA must challenge formidable rival THE creation of a £2bn rival on its own patch is BA's worst nightmare, writes Jonathan Prynn. It parks a shiny new tank on its lawn at Heathrow, manned by two of the sector's most formidable operators. The new airline would hold 17% of the Heathrow slots goldmine against BA's 40%. Crucially, it gives Virgin a chance to break out of its Gatwick ghetto and dramatically increase its presence at Heathrow, while bmi gets a long-haul partner with which it can schedule its services. The deal is very much more than the sum of the two parts. It is inconceivable BA would sit back without a response. Whether that comes in the bold, possibly foolhardy, guise of a counter-bid, or something less dramatic, remains to be seen. What is certain is that, after years of truce, there is again bad blood between BA and Branson. BA will hope that, at the very least, regulators demand some bmi Heathrow slots are given up in return for waving the deal through. Survivor in cut-throat business SIR Michael Bishop has achieved the impossible in his long career in aviation, that most cut-throat of industries. He has survived and - with the exception of the awful post-9/11 period - prospered, while retaining the respect and affection of his peers. His bmi airline has carved out a niche in an industry dominated by one of the world's most powerful flag carriers, British Airways. Now 61, Bishop, one of the few openly homosexual British captains of industry, was once described as 'that cute little brute' by then BA chairman Lord King. The son of an Australian wartime serviceman, Bishop joined the industry at 21 after education at Mill Hill school in London and technical college in Manchester. The small charter airline he worked for was bought by British Midland Airways in 1964 and he soon became general manager. In 1978 Bishop raised £2.5m from a wealthy US dentist and acquired the airline. Now very wealthy, Bishop has two houses in the Midlands and one in Sydney. During the week he lives at the Savoy hotel - the same room for 25 years. He recently set up a charitable trust to inherit his fortune when he dies. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/busines...id63276?source= ----------------------------- Auch wenn die Quelle nicht die zuverlässigste ist, wird wohl etwas wahres dabei sein. Interessante Wendungen insbesondere für BA. Eine gemeinsame VS/BD würde British Airways wirklich unter Druck setzen. In Verbindung mit den anderen Entwicklungen bei KL/AZ etc. könnten wir nun in eine heiße Konsolidierungsphase eintreten. Aber trotzdem ersteinmal mit Vorsicht zu genießen. Akayama -------------------------------------------- Luftfahrt trudelt tiefer in die Krise Die Fluggesellschaften starten mit einer neuen Sparrunde, Lufthansa setzt eine Arbeitszeitverkürzung durch. hz FRANKFURT/M. Die anhaltende Krise der Luftfahrt zwingt eine Reihe von Fluggesellschaften zu neuen harten Einschnitten. Lufthansa verordnet 16 000 Mitarbeitern eine kürzere Arbeitszeit, um damit Personalkosten zu sparen. Auch andere große Gesellschaften greifen angesichts der wirtschaftlichen Folgen des Irak-Kriegs, der Lungenseuche SARS und der anhaltenden Konsumzurückhaltung zum Rotstift. So will Air Canada noch einmal weitere 7 000 Stellen streichen. Singapore Airlines erwägt ebenfalls, erneut Hand an die Kapazitäten. In den USA legte Branchenführer American Airlines ein neues Restrukturierungspaket vor. Die Zuspitzung der Lage ist ein alarmierendes Zeichen für die Branche. Nach Meinung der US-Investmentbank Goldman Sachs könnte die Krise kleinere Gesellschaften in die Insolvenz treiben. Die Lufthansa nahm mit der weiteren Arbeitszeitverkürzung indes eine weitere Hürde auf ihrem Sparkurs. Der Vorstand einigte sich mit dem Gesamtbetriebsrat darauf, von kommender Woche an die Arbeitszeit der Beschäftigten am Boden auf wöchentlich 35 Stunden zu reduzieren. Ursprünglich wollte der Vorstand diesen Schritt bereits vor einer Woche beschließen, scheiterte jedoch zunächst am Widerspruch der Arbeitnehmervertreter. Ein daraufhin eingeschalteter Wirtschaftsprüfer überzeugte den Gesamtbetriebsrat nun aber, dass die angeschlagene finanzielle Situation des Konzerns diese Maßnahme rechtfertigt. Lufthansa verzeichnete im ersten Quartal dieses Jahres einen operativen Verlust von 415 Mill. Euro und rechnet auch für das Gesamtjahr nicht mehr mit Gewinnen. Auch die neue Arbeitszeitverkürzung hilft dem Konzern nach Worten von Finanzchef Karl-Ludwig Kley nur begrenzt bei der Bewältigung der Krise. Der Konzern spart mit der Kürzung nach eigenen Angaben bis zu 5 Mill. Euro pro Monat ein. Das Lufthansa-Management hatte sich erst im März angesichts der anhaltenden Krise mit Vertretern des Bodenpersonals auf eine Krisenklausel im Tarifwerk geeinigt. Danach kann der Konzern bei gravierenden Umsatzausfällen die Wochenarbeitszeit ohne Lohnausgleich kürzen und damit die Personalkosten reduzieren. Im Gegenzug will Lufthansa zunächst auf betriebsbedingte Kündigungen verzichten. Mitte April war die Arbeitszeit in einem ersten Schritt um 1,5 Stunden auf 36 Stunden verkürzt worden. Deutlich härter trifft die Krise den Lufthansa-Partner Air Canada. Wie gestern aus Gewerkschaftskreisen bekannt wurde, will die kanadische Fluggesellschaft 7 100 Stellen mehr streichen als geplant. Der Abbau soll in den nächsten drei Jahren erfolgen. Zuvor hatte die Gesellschaft schon den Abbau von 3 600 Stellen angekündigt. Singapore Airlines – wie Air Canada mit der Lufthansa Partner in der „Star Alliance“ – denkt über neue Gehaltskürzungen und Personaleinsparungen nach. Die Nachfrage sei auf Grund des Ausbruchs von SARS dramatisch gesunken und Verbesserungen in den nächsten Monaten nicht zu erwarten, klagt die Gesellschaft. „Der Beginn dieses Geschäftsjahres war deprimierend“, sagte gestern Singapore-Chef Cheong Choong Kong. Im ersten Quartal, das noch etwas länger als einen Monat läuft, werde Singapore Airlines einen Verlust ausweisen. Für das gesamte Jahr erwarten Analysten einen deutlichen niedrigeren Nettogewinn als im Vorjahr. Auch andere Fluggesellschaften leiden unter SARS: Die Swiss aus der Schweiz kündigte gestern an, die Flüge nach Peking bis in den Spätsommer hinein komplett auszusetzen. 1 200 Piloten von Japan Airlines (JAL) forderten die japanische Regierung dazu auf, alle Flüge nach China zu verbieten. Zeitgleich kündigte der neue American-Airlines-Chef Gerard Arpey auf der Hauptversammlung seiner Gesellschaft ein neues Restrukturierungspaket an. Danach will die größte Fluggesellschaft der Welt die Preise senken und die Sitzplatzzahl in ihren Maschinen erhöhen, um der Konkurrenz der Billigflieger Paroli bieten zu können. Ohne ausreichende Gewinne werde American nicht zukunftsfähig sein, warnte Arpey auf dem Aktionärstreffen. Der Manager versprach, in der Zukunft vor allem auf die Profitabilität der Fluglinie zu achten. HANDELSBLATT, Freitag, 23. Mai 2003, 07:48 Uhr http://www.handelsblatt.com/hbiwwwangebot/...ot/0/index.html [ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: akayama am 2003-05-23 08:46 ]
akayama Geschrieben 23. Mai 2003 Autor Melden Geschrieben 23. Mai 2003 BMI and Virgin in co-operation talks By Kevin Done, Aerospace Correspondent Published: May 22 2003 20:21 | Last Updated: May 22 2003 20:21 Vigin Atlantic, the UK long-haul airline controlled by Sir Richard Branson, and BMI British Midland, the UK short-haul carrier controlled by Sir Michael Bishop are in wide ranging talks on closer co-operation. The possibility of a merger between the two privately-held groups, has been discussed, but according to one adviser close to the talks was "not currently on the table". BMI said on Thursday that there were "no ongoing discussions in relation to a merger", but the official statement from Virgin was much less definitive. Virgin Atlantic said the two airlines had been exploring "for some time" possible areas of greater co-operation. "No definitive conclusions" had been reached, however, either on the potential opportunities or on "any other form of more permanent tie up between the two companies such as the acqui sition of BMI by Virgin Atlantic". Any eventual deal between the two groups would mark a dramatic restructuring and consolidation of the UK and the wider European aviation industry and would combine the forces of two o f the sector's most successful entrepreneurs. It would also create a powerful second force to take on the dominance of British Airways at its main hub. Until the emergence and rapid growth of the low cost carriers EasyJet and Ryanair, Sir Richard and Sir Michael had led the challenge to BA, the UK flag carrier, and had ensured that t he UK was by far the most fiercely competitive aviation market in Europe. Virgin Atlantic has long been attracted by a deal with BMI, which has the second largest pool of take off and landing slots at the highly congested London Heathrow, the world's busies t international airport, after British Airways. Virgin holds less than 3 per cent of the Heathrow slots, while BMI has more than 13 per cent compared to the total of about 40 per cent held by BA. Virgin has found its growth severely restricted by the shortage of Heathrow slots, and it has also suffered from not having better access to the feeder traffic of a short-haul network in Europe. For its part BMI has been seeking for several years to break into the lucrative transatlantic between Heathrow and the US but has been blocked by the severely restrictive nature of th e bilateral air services treaty between the UK and the US. It has started limited services between Manchester and the US, but the operation has always lost money. Sir Michael, 61, chairman of BMI, has also been planning for succession at the group, and a tie up with Virgin could provide a solution to the future ownership of the airline. BMI and Virgin Atlantic are already linked through relationships with the Star airline alliance, of which BMI is a member. Sir Richard's campaign on Concorde is being pursued despite being told last week by Airbus, the manufacturer supporting the aircraft, that it was "absolutely unrealistic" to keep Conco rde flying. Noel Forgeard, Airbus chief executive, said in an interview with the Financial Times, that "the costs of operating Concorde and in particular of maintenance and support have become su ch that operations are unrealistic for any operator". Air France, the only other operator of Concorde in the world, is already due to retire its fleet of five Concordes at the end of this month making any initiative by Virgin Atlantic t o keep the iconic aircraft flying even more unlikely to succeed. Mr Forgeard said last week "we will absolutely not, as Airbus, support any initiative to put Concorde back into operation." FINANCIAL TIMES http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?p...p=1012571727307
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