BA increases stake in Iberia
British Airways has bought American Airlines remaining 1% holding in Spanish flagship carrier Iberia.
The purchase takes BA's stake form 9% to 10%. The UK airline said the purchase was intended to preserve its two seats on the Iberia board.
BA and AA originally bought into their oneworld alliance partner in 1999 through a holding company BA and AA Holdings in which BA now has a 90% stake. It is the holding company which has the 10% stake in Iberia.
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Aeroflot looks to the east
Russian carrier Aeroflot has teamed up with two smaller airlines Dalavia and Sakhalin Airlines to form a new Far East operation.
Aeroflot said the merger would help introduce financial and technical reforms.
The move is part of the intention of the Russian Government to transfer all state-owned airlines to Aeroflot.
Mr Valery Okulov, chairman and ceo of Aeroflot, in which the Russian Government has a 51%, said the Russian airline industry was too fragmented.
Platt stands for ACTE board
Industry stalwart Mike Platt, global industry affairs director for HRG, is one of eight candidates for election to the board of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives.
Also standing is Sally Rademaker, manager of the sourcing market unit for Ericsson South Africa, the only other candidate from the EMEA region.
The successful candidates will fill three director at large vacancies on the ACTE board for three years. Voting closes on December 11.
Virgin Trains to add 10m seats
Virgin Trains is to increase its frequencies on its West Coast Main Line services by nearly a third by the end of 2008.
This will include three trains an hour between London and Manchester and London and Birmingham plus an hourly London-Glasgow service.
The train company also wants to add two coaches to its Pendolino high speed services on the West Coast line.
Sir Richard Branson, founder of the train company, said the move would add 10,000,000 extra seats.
It comes in response to a 20% increase in passengers on the lines in the past year, 4% more than expected.
Air Berlin targets MICE market
German low cost carrier Air Berlin has set up a special tam to target the meeting, incentive, convention and events (MICE) market.
It will be headed by Anja Heinemann and launched at the European Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings exhibition (EIBTM) in Barcelona later this month.
Porritt key speaker at ITM conference
Jonathon Porritt, one of Britain's foremost campaigners on green issues, is to be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the UK and Ireland Institute of Travel Management in Edinburgh on March 21-23 next year.
Mr Porritt was director of Friends of the Earth for six years in the 1980s and subsequently co-founded Forum for the Future for which he is now programme director. He is also chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission.
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