'AF KLM ready to inject billions into Alitalia'
Air France KLM is prepared to inject €3bn into Alitalia, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The injection would be made over six years if the AF KLM acquired 100% of the loss-making Italian carrier.
The WSJ quoted Leo van Wijk, vice chairman of AF KLM, as saying: "If we get a deal with the Italian government, then we will make a general offer for Alitalia. And if it works out, we will de-list it."
Mr van Wijk said Alitalia needed new "many billions" of new capital.
AF KLM which is in negotiations to acquire the Italian government's 49.9% stake in Alitalia, said last December that it aimed to put €6.5bn into Alitalia.
Meanwhile Alitalia said it had reduced its pre-tax loss of €605.2m in 2006 to €363.9m last year.
The airline said it had an operating loss of €203m during the year, an improvement of €2643m on 2006.
New CRS Code "toothless"
The proposed new EC Code of Conduct for CRSs in Europe is "toothless", the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) said this week.
The charge is in a letter the US-based organisation has drafted as part of its campaign against proposed changes in the Code.
It has called on member of the European business community concerned about the changes to sign and send the letter to their MEPs.
The European Parliament is due to discuss the proposed Code later this year.
The issue concerns the near 46% holding Air France, Lufthansa and Iberia have in Amadeus, Europe's largest CRS.
The existing Code regarded such airlines which owned or controlled the CRS as "parent carriers" and carried safeguards to stop any abuse.
The letter said that while the revised Coded contained such safeguards against abuse by airlines own a CRS, but decision by the EC not to regard the three airlines as parent carriers of Amadeus rendered them "toothless."
The letter adds: "Stakeholders have been stunned to learn that parent carrier rules in the EU today apply to no one.
"Nowhere in the consultation process did the Commission express this view, nor invite comments on the meaning of parent carrier, nor ask for submissions on the issue of the scope of application of parent carrier rules.
"Even more tellingly, none of the aforementioned airlines even suggested they were not bound by the parent carrier safeguards at the Hearing of 2 May 2007.
"To the contrary, the airlines complained the duties of a parent carrier were 'obsolete' or 'burdensome.'"
Record bookings for UK agents
UK agents took a record 14m bookings in 2007, the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) said
The Guild, which represents the majority of British TMCS, said the rate of growth slowed in the final quarter to 4% but said this was balanced by "massive increases in hotel, rail and other transactions."
During the year, Guild members booked 6.8m flights, a rise of 6% on 2006, made 3.2m hotel reservation, up by 20%, booked 2.8m rail tickets, up by 23% and made 400,000 car hire transactions, up 12%.
In the fourth quarter, air bookings were up 4% to 1.62m, hotel reservations up 25% to 867,576, rail bookings up 21% to 731,776 and car hire up 10% to 94,382.
Philip Carlisle, the GTMC's ceo, said: "In the end, 2007 turned out to be even better than we had hoped.
At the end of the third quarter, I was predicting that we would top 13m transactions. In fact, that proved to be a conservative estimate, as we ended the year just 40,000 bookings shy of the 14m mark."
He added: "An air booking counts as just one transaction, regardless of how many sectors are included in the ticket.
"It looks as though travellers are combining several destinations in one trip.
"Where surface transport is concerned, car rental continues to be an increasingly popular option, mostly on overseas trips.
"However, the 23% growth in rail bookings suggests that train companies are getting their act together, and perhaps our business travellers are looking for a 'greener' option."
National expands in Europe
National Car Rental is to expand its outlets in Europe following its takeover last year by Europcar.
National customers will now be able to hire cars from Europcar offices.
Key countries affected are Finland where the number of hire points will rise to 75 in 34 cities, Portugal whose fleet will expand to 9,000 vehicles, Sweden where the fleet will increases to 9,000 and Romania where there will be seven new locations.
Neil Summerville, EMEA sales director for National, said: "We are very excited about the opportunities that this expansion of locations will give our corporate customers travelling throughout Europe."
BA and Virgin to compensate customers
BA and Virgin Atlantic are to pay customers a total of £103m compensation to customers who booked long haul seats while the two carriers were colluding over fuel surcharges.
The period covers August 11, 2004 to March 23, 2006.
BA has already paid about £270m in fines levied by British and US authorities over the alleged price fixing.
The latest settlement is the result of a class action brought on behalf of 8m passengers in the UK and the US.
Passengers who bought tickets in the UK will receive a share of £73.5m while those who bought them in the States will share $59m.
Willie Walsh, BA's ceo said: "This settlement, which British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have jointly agreed with the lawyers for the plaintiffs, is fair and reasonable.
"We absolutely condemn any anticompetitive behaviour."
Pegasus signs deal with Leonardo
IT company Pegasus Solutions has signed a deal with fellow IT company Leonardo Media to create a new hotel content management facility.
The new solution, called ContentHub, will enable hotels to access their online and distribute it to channels managed by Pegasus and Leonardo.
Iberia eyes Spanair
Iberia said it would bid for rival carrier Spanair when owners SAS put it on the market.
The Spanish national carrier said it would make a bid for the loss-making airline with leasing firm Gestair, Reuters reported.
SAS has indicated it will off load the carrier but analyst say it will need a major re-structuring on both routes and costs.
Its fleet is also in need of renewal, analysts said.
Heathrow and Gatwick worst airports for delays
London Heathrow and London Gatwick are Europe's two worst airports for delays, the Association of European Airlines (AEA) said.
The Association's 2007 punctuality report said that 35.5% of flights at Heathrow were held up.
A survey of 27 European airports found that Rome, Dublin and Paris CDG followed the London airports for delays.
The airports with the best record for punctuality were Brussels with 16.7% of flight delayed, Dusseldorf, Vienna, Oslo and Milan-Linate.
The AEA blamed part of the reason for delays on "airspace congestion."
Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, AEA's secretary general, said: "Hopefully, 2008 will mark a turning point in the agonisingly slow process towards a Single European Sky.
"We are looking forward to the second phase of Single Sky legislation, expected this summer, to bring a new impetus to the programme."
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