BA Chairman says "No more kow-towing to U.S. on security"

October 27, 2010


The chairman of British Airways has criticized airport checks as "completely redundant" and said Britain should stop "kow-towing" to US demands for increased security, the Financial Times reported today.
The newspaper quoted Martin Broughton as saying at the annual conference of the UK Airport Operators Association in London on Tuesday that no one wanted weak security.
Broughton said, however, the practice of forcing people to take off their shoes and have their laptops checked separately should be ditched.
"We all know there's quite a number of elements in the security program which are completely redundant," he said.
Broughton said there was no need to "kow-tow to the Americans every time they wanted something done" to beef up security on US-bound flights.

Who's the whistle blower?

October 26, 2010


British Airways could be fined up to EUR€80 million (USD$112 million) next month for fixing cargo prices with other carriers, a source with direct knowledge of the case said on Tuesday.
The European Commission charged BA, Air France-KLM, SAS and several other airlines in December 2007 with taking part in an air freight cartel.
The EU watchdog is expected to announce penalties for the carriers on November 9, several sources have said.
The charges followed raids on both sides of the Atlantic a year earlier that also involved the US Department of Justice.
"The Commission is considering a fine of between EUR€60 million to EUR€80 million," the source said, adding that no final decision has been taken and discussions are continuing.
A European Commission spokeswoman described the figure as speculation.
BA, which declined to comment, lost a record GBP£531 million in the year to March 2010 but expects to break even in the full year to March 2011 despite bigger-than-expected first quarter losses due to the impact of volcanic ash and strikes.
LUFTHANSA BLEW WHISTLE The Commission has not identified the targets of its probe, but BA, Lufthansa, SAS, Air France-KLM, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Air Canada and Alitalia all confirmed they had been investigated.
Lufthansa previously said it had immunity as it alerted the Commission to the cartel.
The probe initially targeted more than 20 carriers, including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Cargolux, Malaysia Airlines and Alitalia, but not all are expected to be found guilty.
The Commission can fine companies up to 10 percent of their global sales for breaching EU rules, but fines rarely reach that level.
BA and Korean Air each paid USD$300 million in criminal fines in the US price probe in 2007; Air France-KLM agreed to a USD$87 million US civil antitrust claims settlement in July.
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Finnair strike ends

October 26, 2010


The Finnish Aviation Union (IAU) said late on Tuesday that it had reached agreement on a new wage deal, ending a two-day strike by air transport technical staff, which had halted aircraft maintenance.
Finnish national carrier Finnair, which cancelled 35 flights on Monday and Tuesday, said its traffic is expected to return to normal on Wednesday.
"The strike has ended, industrial actions will be ramped down and employees will return to work," IAU said in a statement, adding that the new deal is for three years.
Finnair spokeswoman Paivi Huuhtanen said some 1,500 passengers were affected by the strike, but noted the costs had not been estimated.
Scandinavian airline SAS's Blue1 also had to cancel some 14 flights due to the strike.

Finnair cancels flights

October 25, 2010


Finnish national carrier Finnair has cancelled 19 flights on Monday and 15 on Tuesday, because of a strike by air transport technical staff halting maintenance of aircraft.
Finnair spokeswoman Inka Ikonen said about 900 passengers on Monday and about 500 on Tuesday were being impacted by the strike.
"It is very difficult to estimate the costs," Ikonen added.
Around 900 Finnish Aviation Union's (IAU) members begun a strike on Monday at 5 am local time after a new wage deal was not reached on Sunday.
Both the IAU and employer's representative on Sunday evening turned down the state mediator Esa Lonka's proposal for a new deal and the parties are now waiting for the talks to reconvene.
"We have not yet received an invitation for talks from Lonka," IAU's deputy chairman Reijo Hautamaki said.
So far Scandinavian airline SAS’s Blue1 and Finncomm airlines have not cancelled any flights.
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SAS Traffic Up In September

Scandinavian airline SAS said passenger traffic rose 8.5 percent in September from a year earlier while its yield in the month was seen coming in negative, in line with the previous month.
SAS said its passenger load factor rose 3.6 percentage points year-on-year to 74.3 percent.
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More Strikes..Yikes...Here we go agian...Tel Aviv Airport Strike Grounds Flights

September 13, 2010


Reuters reports...ground staff began an indefinite strike at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport on Monday, initially halting all outgoing flights, an airport spokeswoman said. Will these strikes never stop at a time when airlines and the economy in gerneral is trying to recover?
The stoppage by Israel Airports Authority workers in support of pension demands occurred during one of the busiest holiday periods of the year in Israel, she said.
Flights already en route to Ben-Gurion, Israel's main international airport, were being allowed to land but all ground services such as offloading of baggage were suspended.
"The airport is currently closed to all outgoing flights and the strike is currently open-ended," the spokeswoman said.

Air Berlin Reaches Agreement with Cockpit Staff

Management at Air Berlin and LTU announced they have reached a successful framework agreement with VC, the pilots’ union, with regard to the working conditions for cockpit personnel. The collective bargaining process that has been ongoing since the beginning of the year has therefore been brought to an amicable conclusion.
British Airways union expected to meet for discussions Monday 6 September.
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