As a runner, I am really interested in this event taking place next Saturday at Budapest Airport in Hungary. They will play host to a competition between airlines to see who is the fastest airline …on the ground. On Saturday 6 September, a 12 kilometre (8 mile) race involving 1,000 runners will take place on Budapest Airport’s Runway 1 (13R-31L) to raise funds for child cancer charities. The runway is 3km long so I presume teams will run it four times. There will be prizes awarded for: The fastest male and female “The Fastest Airline in the World” “The Fastest Airport…
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B & H: how not to market an airline
Would you fly an airline if you were told it’s financial situation was “alarming” and every new day at the airline is “distressing”? The CEO of B&H Airlines, Amir Jažić, told media in Sarajevo this week that “We are just waiting to see who will shut us down first”. He questioned how the airline would be able to function and for how long! These blunt words may not have encouraged passengers but they inspired the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina into action. Enver Bijedić, Minister for Transport and Communication, said on Thursday…
Eastern Europe Airline Update
Following on from last week’s post about Czech air, the ex European bloc airlines have not fared well since the dissolution of the former Soviet states. In Slovakia, Slovak Airlines closed in 2007, SkyEurope 2009 and Air Slovakia in 2010 Last year, Malev, the airline of nearby Hungary collapsed and WizzAir has made continuous losses since launching in 2003 Poland’s LOT is in financial difficulties Bosnia and Herzegovina B&H Airlines was grounded briefly last month Romanian government owned TAROM has had five years of losses Croatia Airlines has lost money almost every year since commencement in 1989 and was unable to…
Korean buys Czech Air
Korean Air finalised its 44 percent investment in CSA (Ceske Aerolinie AS), the Czech government owned flag carrier on April 11, 2013 for a nominal price of 2.64 million euros ($US3.4m). The government said: “We only had two options: either find a strategic partner or consider liquidation of CSA”. Korean was the only bidder for the carrier, although Qatar expressed an interest. If the European Commission loosens regulations on foreign ownership of EU carriers then Korean Air will have first option to buy the remaining 56% stake held by the government owned holding company. If this occurs in the next twelve months, then the price…
The 28 airlines I have flown- that have gone
I was shocked to discover that of the 82 airlines I have flown, 28 are no longer in business! Who are they and what happened? Air Australia (2012) undercapitalised and badly planned, meant this carrier flew for only 3 months Aloha Airlines (2008) September 11, a contracting Japanese economy, intense competition between four airlines across Hawaii all impacted on Aloha Ansett (2001) I flew this airline 50 times before their Air New Zealand owners shut them down Australian Airlines (1993 and 2006) merged into Qantas, revived as a leisure brand and then scrapped in favour of…
The Airlines that Vanished in 2012
Twenty six airline names disappeared in 2012 – an average of two per month. Some “biggish” name carriers sadly vanished including Malev and Spanair. One of the airlines “died” and came back (Air Zimbabwe) and two more have promised a return. Some of the victims were amongst the oldest airlines in the world. An extraordinary 13 of the carriers that went were Europe based. Four African carriers went, Australia, Asia, the USA South America/Caribbean all lost two. One of my burning questions from the year’s bankruptcies is: Why do consumers get dumped? Most of the airlines gave absolutely no…
Spanish Shakeup for IAG
IAG CEO Willie Walsh has thrown down a challenge following nine months of losses at Iberia and a 25% fall in third quarter profit for the group. This week he said: “We want Iberia to be strong and successful. For too long the narrow self-interest of the few has damaged the long-term future for the many. We will not hesitate to take necessary steps to protect the interests of our shareholders.” It looks like Iberia is going through the same medicine that British Airways went through two years ago. The immediate changes are: Iberia capacity will be…
Hungarian Citizenship for Sale [Updated]
Ever gazed with envy on the European citizen lines at European airports while waiting in line with a non-EU passport? Now those days could be over for you! Hungary has billions of pounds of foreign currency debt due within a short period so is needing new sources of cash. The Ruling party in Hungary is proposing giving citizenship to any individual who buys 250 thousand Euros worth of national debt. The expectation is that purchasers will largely be Chinese. International reaction from EU partners has been underwhelming! Related Posts Malév Malaise- Hungary’s flag carrier demise Medical Tourism in Hungary…
Qatar joins One World
To no one’s surprise, One World announced today that British Airways will sponsor Qatar Airways as a full member of the Alliance, a process that is expected to take between 12 and 18 months. This news is an interesting addition to the One World. The 13 airline strong alliance will count amongst its membership three five star airlines (as measured by Skytrax) : Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar compared to Star Alliance’s two: Asiana and Singapore. One World lost two members when Malev collapsed in 2012 and Mexicana was grounded in 2011. Kingfisher, a would be One World members has had significant financial woes – to…
WindJet Winds Down – and Up
Another closure with no warning. On August 13th, 2012 ENAC, the Italian civil aviation authority, ordered Italian carrier Windjet to suspend all operations and to cease issuing tickets. The low-cost carrier shut down its website and grounded all of its aircraft at the start of the busiest holiday week of the year. 300,000 air travellers found they were stranded and 500 staff lost their jobs. Windjet was established in 2003 by Antonino Pulvirenti, owner of the Catania football team. It grew to be the fourth largest airline in Italy after Alitalia, Air One (now part of Alitalia)…
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