分类： News

Olympic Air in its letter addressed to the Hellenic Parliament, says the crisis is to blame for its decision to stop operating domestic flights. At the same time, a document of the Competition Commission reveals that an ex officio investigation into the market for passenger air transport has been carried out unannounced on-the-spot checks on Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines.

The Commission’s objective was to examine “the potential anti- competitive nature of the exit / withdrawal of one of the two airline companies from specific flights.”

However, as stated in the document, the research findings have not yet been finalized and therefore their results are not yet to be announced.

The documents were sent to the Parliament after the question raised by 13 Members of SYRIZA party, led by Litsa Ammanatidou and Panayiotis Lafazanis, concerning the announcement of Olympic Air according to which, from September 30, 2013, the company will stop operating flights from Athens to Rhodes, while flights from Athens to Thessaloniki and Heraklion, Crete, are also to be suspended from October 14, 2013.

OSLO, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle plans to set up bases in New York and Fort Lauderdale next year and will significantly increase services between the Nordics and America as it gets more Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Norwegian, the first budget airline in recent years to offer transatlantic services, will fly to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orlando on top of its routes to Fort Lauderdale and New York, Chief Executive Bjoern Kjos told a news conference on Tuesday.

Norwegian placed Europe’s biggest aircraft order last year when it bought 222 planes from Boeing and Airbus. It has been one of Europe’s most successful carriers, taking market share from SAS and also moving outside its traditional Nordic market with bases in London and Spain.

It is also one of the most successful stocks on the Oslo bourse with its shares up 105 percent over the past 12 months.

Still, many analysts consider the stock undervalued as it is trading at 7.8 times its expected 2014 earnings, well below an average of around 10 for European peers.

Norwegian launched long-haul services earlier this year when it received its first of eight Dreamliners, and it has recorded a 96 percent load factor on those flights.

The firm says it can operate long-haul flights 30 percent cheaper than traditional airlines, primarily because of the Dreamliner’s lower operating cost.

Microsoft is buying Nokia’s mobile phone business and patents for €5.44bn ($7.2bn) in an all-cash deal that will reshape the telecoms industry on two continents.

The US company will pay €3.79bn for “substantially all” of Nokia’s phone unit and €1.65bn to licence its patents, in a big bet from Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s outgoing chief executive, that the Finnish group’s mobile devices can rival those of Apple and Samsung Electronics.

The deal means Nokia becomes a telecoms equipment company, marking the latest dramatic change in its 148-year history. It ends a 30-year rollercoaster ride with phones that saw the group become the world’s biggest manufacturer of mobiles but also come close to financial ruin several times because of them.

Stephen Elop, Nokia’s chief executive, will step down to become head of the mobile phone business and return to his former company, Microsoft, where he has been flagged as one of the front-runners to replace Mr Ballmer.

“It’s a bold step into the future – a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies. Bringing these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft’s share and profits in phones, and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft and our partners across our entire family of devices and services,” said Steve Ballmer, who announced last month he would be stepping down as Microsoft chief executive within a year.

“After a thorough assessment of how to maximise shareholder value, including consideration of a variety of alternatives, we believe this transaction is the best path forward for Nokia and its shareholders,” said Risto Siilasmaa, Nokia’s chairman and interim chief executive.

Nokia expects to book a gain of €3.2bn from the sale and will now be focused on three main areas: NSN, its telecoms equipment business that it recently seized control of from Siemens; its HERE mapping business; and a new unit known as Advanced Technologies to develop technology and licence patents.

The deal is subject to approval by Nokia shareholders and competition authorities and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.

• Revenue: CNY41,624 million (USD6667 million), +3.5% year-on-year;
• • Passenger: CNY34,665 million (USD5552 million), +3.3%;
  • Cargo: CNY3531 million (USD565.6 million), -11.8%;
• Total operating costs: CNY42,141 million (USD6749 million), +7.4%;
• • Fuel: CNY14,979 million (USD2399 million), +2.1%;
  • Labour: CNY4649 million, +6.0%;
• Operating profit: CNY134.8 million (USD21.6 million), -92.7%;
• Net profit: CNY621.9 million (USD99.6 million), -28.2%;
• Passenger numbers: 37.8 million, +9.2%;
• Passenger load factor: 79.3%, +0.2 ppt;
• Passenger yield: CNY0.60 (USD 9.6 cents), -7.7%;
• • Domestic: CNY0.61 (USD 9.8 cents), -6.2%;
  • International: CNY0.55 (USD 8.8 cents), -11.3%;
  • Regional: CNY0.86 (USD 13.8 cents), +4.9%;
• Cargo yield: CNY1.54 (USD 24.7 cents), -13.0%;
• • Domestic: CNY1.31 (USD 21.0 cents), -16.6%;
  • International: CNY1.52 (USD 24.3 cents), -12.6%;
  • Regional: CNY3.88 (USD 62.1 cents), -1.0%;
• Total assets: CNY133,759 million (USD21,423 million);
• Cash and cash equivalents: CNY3672 million (USD588.2 million);
• Total liabilities: CNY107,744 million (USD17,256 million).

MANILA – The Philippine unit of Southeast Asia’s largest budget airline plans to increase its stake in Zest Airways Inc.

“Yes of course, we are open. The initiative should come from Ambassador (Alfredo) Yao on how much he is willing to sell. We’ve discussed it. I don’t want to preempt what Ambassador Yao wants to do,” Marianne Hontiveros, Air Asia Inc chief executive told reporters.

“Of course Zest is attractive to us. That is why we’re interested in the company,” she added.

Philippine AirAsia last March forged a partnership with Zest Air, allowing the former, which operates out of Clark, to gain access to the latter’s slots at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Philippines AirAsia holds an 85 percent economic stake and a 49 percent voting stake in Zest Air while the latter owns a 15 percent stake in the former.

AirAsia Group owns 40 percent of Philippines AirAsia. The remaining 60 percent is held by Hontiveros, Michael Romero, Antonio Cojuangco and Yao.

In a report to Bursa Malaysia, AirAsia Group said it expects Philippines AirAsia to be profitable next year, as the carrier’s network expands.

Philippines AirAsia, which started operations in the country in March last year incurred a net loss of $7 million in the second quarter of the year, a slight improvement from the $8 million in the same period in 2012.

Earlier, Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said in a report that the outlook for Air Asia’s Philippine unit is likely to improve once its operation is consolidated with Zest Airways.

“Zest changes the outlook for Philippines AirAsia considerably, particularly if the two carriers are able to fully integrate their operations,” CAPA said.

A single brand and product across the Philippine market, including both Manila and Clark, “should improve AirAsia’s position in the Philippines,” the report said.