British Airways : BA: BAW :

Lufthansa is reportedly finalising the sale of British Midland International (BMI) to British Airways parent International Airlines Group (IAG).

Quoting unnamed sources close to the negotiations, a number of media reported today that the German carrier has finally decided to sell its UK subsidiary to the Anglo-Spanish airline consortium.

Lufthansa had negotiated with a number of bidders over the past weeks, including Virgin Atlantic Airways.

A potential deal with IAG could be announced as early as tomorrow when the group presents its financial results for the first nine months of 2011.

With the acquisition, IAG would command 60-70% of the slots at London Heathrow. With around 8.5% of slots, BMI is the second largest slot holder at the hub after BA.

Given that Heathrow's capacity has been virtually exhausted, Virgin said it is "very concerned about the competition ramifications of an IAG purchase of BMI".

Lufthansa and BA declined to comment on the status of their negotiations.

After International Airlines Group (IAG) announced today that it had agreed in principle with Lufthansa to take over British Midland International (BMI), there is confusion as Virgin Atlantic Airways appears to be still making a rival bid for the UK carrier.

Virgin said in statement today that "we are working with Lufthansa on the next stage of the purchase".

Virgin added that "we remain committed to the acquisition of BMI".

IAG said earlier today that it expected to ink a binding purchase agreement with Lufthansa "in the coming weeks" and that the transaction would be completed "in the first quarter 2012".

Given London Heathrow's exhausted capacity and dependency on the existing slots, Virgin argues that a BMI takeover through British Airways parent IAG would have an adverse effect on competition at the UK hub.

"British Airways' hold over Heathrow is already too dominant and we are very concerned - as the competition authorities should also be - that BA's purchase of BMI would be disastrous for consumer choice and competition," said Virgin.

Virgin Atlantic Airways is adamant that it is still in the race to take over UK carrier BMI after making another offer, which Lufthansa wants to discuss next week.

A source close to the negotiations told Flightglobal that Lufthansa responded on Virgin's latest bid within the last 12 hours and wants to talk about it in the coming week.

This would suggest that the previous offer by the UK airline might have been too low, but a spokeswoman for Virgin dismissed the notion.

British Airways parent International Airlines Group had reached a tentative agreement to acquire BMI.

Virgin, which has frequently touted the potential for a tie-up with BMI, insisted there were significant competition concerns with the IAG bid. The spokeswoman said Virgin was still in serious bidding talks with Lufthansa.

Lufthansa could not immediately be reached for comment about the possible discussion.

• "the inability to pay one's liabilites as they fall due" / 'l'incapacité de régler ses dettes (ou 'passifs') à échéance'.
  

• la Cie. AA (ou son "Parent Group" AMR), ou l'Alliance oneWorld, ou les accords BA / AA ou AA / BA / IBERIA ;
  
• la grosse commande de 460 Avions (Boeing & Airbus).
  

Le groupe aérien hispano-britannique International Airlines Group (IAG) a annoncé vendredi une hausse de 1,1% de son trafic en janvier, avec un recul chez Iberia en raison de la grève plus que compensé par une bonne dynamique chez British Airways.

2012 AFP

Qu'est-ce que ceci cache, comme mélange de bonnes et de mauvaises nouvelles ?

British Airways announced today that construction has begun on major parts of the first of 12 Airbus A380s the airline is buying. Handover of the first aircraft is due next year.

What is still unclear is exactly when in 2013 the aircraft will enter service and whether it will come ahead of service entry of BA's first Boeing 787.

With the schedule of both the Airbus and Boeing flagship programs in flux, the airline is not ready to commit to who will come first.

BA still plans to field all 12 A380s through 2015, although the exact delivery schedule -- including how many aircraft are to be handed over next year -- is still being defined.

BA promises more details on its A380 (and 787) plans later this year. For now, the routes the A380 is to serve and the exact cabin configuration remain uncertain.

British Airways (BA) has announced delivery dates for the first of its 24 Boeing 787s and 12 Airbus A380s.

The first 787-8 is expected to arrive in May 2013; a further three of the type should be delivered by year end. The first three A380s will be delivered in July, September and November 2013.

BA, which split its long-haul aircraft order between the two types, has 12 A380s on order plus seven options, as well as eight 787-8s and 16 787-9s ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]). The A380s will replace the carrier’s older Boeing 747s; the 787s will initially replace its 767 fleet.

A BA spokeswoman said the carrier will announce initial routes for the two new types later this year. The A380 is widely expected to be used initially on high-density Far East routes—such as Singapore and Hong Kong—and possibly to New York JFK.