airmack
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2001
- Posts
- 63
Seems like the Germans are trying to take over the world via airlines..
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5617e3a6-...uid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html
Lufthansa to link with JetBlue in NY
By Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt
Published: March 12 2008 19:16 | Last updated: March 12 2008 19:16
Lufthansa plans to use JetBlue as its feeder partner in New York by linking booking systems and frequent flyer programmes.
The German airline said the link-up with the US carrier, in which Lufthansa took a 19 per cent stake at the end of last year, was aimed at creating a quasi-hub at JFK airport.
It said the move would add to the benefits of owning BMI British Midland, the UK airline in which Lufthansa holds a stake of just under 30 per cent and has an option to buy a majority stake from December.
The German carrier has long wanted to challenge its rival British Airways on the lucrative routes between London Heathrow and the US.
Buying out Sir Michael Bishop, BMI’s founder and chairman, would give Lufthansa BMI’s 11 per cent of take-off and landing slots at London’s main airport, making the German carrier the second biggest slot holder at Heathrow.
Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa chief executive, would not be drawn about taking over BMI.
Boasting record profits for last year – partly through a copybook integration of Swiss – and a bullish outlook for this year, Mr Mayrhuber said Lufthansa was ready to seize buying opportunities – even though he was currently not working on any specific deal.
He said Lufthansa would have no interest in investing in the huge US carrier that would be created if United Airlines, Lufthansa’s partner in the Star global airline alliance, and Continental were to develop recent exploratory talks into a full-blown merger.
With a strong presence in the Asian as well as the transatlantic market, Lufthansa sounded a more optimistic note about the year ahead compared with rivals such as BA, which earns most of its money on US flights and at present has a higher operating profit margin than its larger German rival.
Lufthansa last year saw operating profit rise 63 per cent to €1.4bn ($2.2bn) and its adjusted operating margin rise by two percentage points to 6.9 per cent – one point better than Air France-KLM, but still two points off the 9 per cent margin it calculates for BA (the UK airline talks of 10 per cent)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5617e3a6-...uid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html
Lufthansa to link with JetBlue in NY
By Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt
Published: March 12 2008 19:16 | Last updated: March 12 2008 19:16
Lufthansa plans to use JetBlue as its feeder partner in New York by linking booking systems and frequent flyer programmes.
The German airline said the link-up with the US carrier, in which Lufthansa took a 19 per cent stake at the end of last year, was aimed at creating a quasi-hub at JFK airport.
It said the move would add to the benefits of owning BMI British Midland, the UK airline in which Lufthansa holds a stake of just under 30 per cent and has an option to buy a majority stake from December.
The German carrier has long wanted to challenge its rival British Airways on the lucrative routes between London Heathrow and the US.
Buying out Sir Michael Bishop, BMI’s founder and chairman, would give Lufthansa BMI’s 11 per cent of take-off and landing slots at London’s main airport, making the German carrier the second biggest slot holder at Heathrow.
Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa chief executive, would not be drawn about taking over BMI.
Boasting record profits for last year – partly through a copybook integration of Swiss – and a bullish outlook for this year, Mr Mayrhuber said Lufthansa was ready to seize buying opportunities – even though he was currently not working on any specific deal.
He said Lufthansa would have no interest in investing in the huge US carrier that would be created if United Airlines, Lufthansa’s partner in the Star global airline alliance, and Continental were to develop recent exploratory talks into a full-blown merger.
With a strong presence in the Asian as well as the transatlantic market, Lufthansa sounded a more optimistic note about the year ahead compared with rivals such as BA, which earns most of its money on US flights and at present has a higher operating profit margin than its larger German rival.
Lufthansa last year saw operating profit rise 63 per cent to €1.4bn ($2.2bn) and its adjusted operating margin rise by two percentage points to 6.9 per cent – one point better than Air France-KLM, but still two points off the 9 per cent margin it calculates for BA (the UK airline talks of 10 per cent)
