And why is foreign ownership bad...

[grog_sit_reserv]

Agreed, but I still stand by my "F'ing Whores" comment.

 

[BoilerUP]

Agreed, but I still stand by my "F'ing Whores" comment.

Doubly agreed!

 

[dbrownie]

Doubly agreed!

Un-Believable what isn't for sale in America???

DB

Spanish firm offers $12.8 billion to lease Pa. Turnpike

By Paul Nussbaum
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

A Spanish toll-road operator won the bidding war to operate the Pennsylvania Turnpike, offering $12.8 billion for a 75-year lease, Gov. Rendell said today.

The proposal by Abertis Infraestructuras, of Barcelona, must be approved by the Pennsylvania legislature, and legislative leaders in Harrisburg have said the plan faces tough sledding with lawmakers.

In making the largest bid ever for the private operation of a U.S. toll road, Abertis partnered with a subsidiary of U.S. investment bank Citigroup, and Spanish investment firm Criteria CaixaCorp.

Abertis operates toll roads in Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Puerto Rico. The company also operates airports, telecommunications systems and parking garages.

Under Rendell's plan, the Abertis/Citi consortium would lease the turnpike for 75 years with the right to raise tolls 25 percent next year and 2.5 percent or the rate of inflation every year after that.

Rendell called the lease plan "a very good deal for Pennsylvania drivers and taxpayers," and he said it would mean about $1.1 billion per year for road, bridge and transit projects in the state, on average, over the next 10 years.

Under the terms of the lease, the private operator would be required to maintain and improve the turnpike and honor existing labor contracts until they expire. At that point, employee unions would need to negotiate new contracts with the Abertis/Citi consortium.

If approved, the turnpike lease would mean the end of embattled efforts to toll I-80 as a way to raise transportation funds. And it would mean the effective end to the 70-year-old Turnpike Commission, the politically powerful agency that operates the toll road.

 

[zasca]

BA practically owns Heathrow, which I believe is the busiest in the world for international departures, which is where you make margins like that...

 

[chuckthepilot]

Would this open up a lot of doors? Maybe even ab initio training?

Not saying it's a good thing,

 

[waveflyer]

let's say turnaround's fair play-- and continental bought air france--- would you integrate the seniority lists? would you want access to their flying?

i'm of the opinion that it can't get much worse- but the naysayers think of mexican/s. american pilots flowing into the u.s. and doing the job for a LOT less than we could imagine.

 

[lionflyer]

let's say turnaround's fair play-- and continental bought air france--- would you integrate the seniority lists? would you want access to their flying?

i'm of the opinion that it can't get much worse- but the naysayers think of mexican/s. american pilots flowing into the u.s. and doing the job for a LOT less than we could imagine.

Have you ever heard Mexicana on the radio? Could you imagin that everywhere?

 

[flyburg]

BA practically owns Heathrow, which I believe is the busiest in the world for international departures, which is where you make margins like that...

Actually BAA (british airport authority) owns LHR, BAA in turn is owned by a spanish company.

LHR is the most expensive airport for operators in Europe followed by AMS.

So BA's high profits are not because LHR but in spite of.

 

[yournextFO]

Foreign ownership? Before long domestic crews will be staged out of India and paid 35 cents/hour!

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

You got it...

Foreign ownership means foreign jobs...

Can some explain why they think foreign ownership means that we will still be working?