Page 3 - AAA JULY-AUGUST 2012 Online Magazine

aERIal vIEW
CONTENTS

EDITOR’S NOTE CREDITS

EDITOR
JEREMY TORR
jeremy.torr@gbp.com.sg
ExEcuTIvE PublIshER & cEO
The end of the flag carrier? ViTTORiO ROssi PRudEnTE
vittorio.prudente@gbp.com.sg
Way back in 2007, a delphi group conducted a forward-looking study on major
airlines and travel trends over coming decades. They predicted that most large cOO & MaRkETIng DIREcTOR, asIa
siVa sachi
network airlines would be unable to continue as they were, and that most would siva.sachi@gbp.com.sg
fall to mergers and alliances. The study estimated at most some five large network
airlines would survive, mainly in the long haul travel sector. The rest of the travelling aRT DIREcTOR
aRThuR chan
world’s aviation would be met by smaller, regional airlines. arthur.chan@gbp.com.sg
WEb DIREcTOR
Today, the list of global network flag carriers in trouble is dismal. Qantas is in an ElMER ValEncia
annual report mire. air india is haemorrhaging pilots and money. cathay is holding elmer.valencia@gbp.com.sg
off major purchases. british airways is shackled to poor ratings and market share.
cIRculaTIOn ManagER
KhaiRul naEM
Turkish airlines’ chairman, hamdi Topçu admitted recently that up to 14 regional khairul.naem@gbp.com.sg
carriers had “knocked on our doors [looking for] for partnerships” to escape aDvERTIsIng REPREsEnTaTIvEs
financial problems. Turkish says it was approached by flag carriers from the czech EUropE, MiddLE EAST, SoUTh AfricA &
Republic, Poland, serbia, spain and hungary. The latter two ended in bankruptcy. SoUTh AMEricA
cOnTacT: ViTTORiO ROssi PRudEnTE
closer to home, Thai airways has admitted it can’t compete with the lccs, and TEl: +39 049 723 548 Fax: +39 049 856 0792
has launched Thai smile, a carrier that no-sacked president, Piyasvasti amranand MOb: +39 335 611 9295
EMail: vittorio.prudente@gbp.com.sg
describes as “not low cost but somewhere in the middle” as though that would
make it more profitable. a proposed airasia and Malaysian deal has crashed, with ASEAN, pEopLE’S rEpUbLic of chiNA, TAiwAN,
hoNG KoNG & AUSTrALASiA
airasia’s Tony Fernandes noting that “ ...sometimes you need a bit of a kick up cOnTacT: siVa sachi
your backside. We didn’t appreciate (how good our operations were) until we saw TEl: +603 7835 0855
MOb: +601 2905 6825
something else,” he said, referring to Malaysian airlines. EMail: siva.sachi@gbp.com.sg
USA & cANAdA
apart from financials and operations, just look at where the sales are to see which cOnTacT: JOsh MaYER
way the wind is blowing. lion air has 230 boeings on order. airasia has 200 airbuses. TEl : +1 972 816-6745 Fax : +1 972 767 4442
EMail : jm@mayeradvertising.com
air France is busy restructuring its routes in order to make cost savings. air india’s
first boeing 787 sits on seattle tarmac at time of writing, awaiting settlement of a SwiTzErLANd
cOnTacT: RObERT ROTTMEiER
bill dispute. There simply isn’t the money available for unprofitable organisations, TEl : +41 216 174 412 Fax : +41 216 170 921
no matter what is painted on the tail. it looks increasingly as though the industry MOb : +41 792 104 466
EMail : robertrottmeier@bluewin.ch
– in particular the long-haul legacy carriers – will see a massive change imposed
on it by market forces. iSrAEL
cOnTacT: TaMiR EshEl
TEl : + 972 544 508 028 / +972 989 117 92
it’s not hard to see who the survivors will be – Middle East carriers have mass, Fax : +972 989 199 65
location, aircraft types and numbers on their side. Regional lccs have price, EMail : eshel_tamir@yahoo.com
accessibility and simplicity on theirs. it’s going to be a bloody scenario as oil, the
euro and national budgets all sweep their tsunami through the flag carriers. don’t
book too far ahead... Global Business Press Pte. Ltd.
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asian aiRlinEs & aiRPORTs is a monthly publication
for professionals working in all sectors of the airline,
airport and related industries. Opinions expressed by
JEREMY TORR contributors in asian aiRlinEs & aiRPORTs do not
necessarily represent those of the publisher or editor.
Editor This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in
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consent of the publishers.
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