Virgin in talks with LH over future of bmi
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Big time consolodation on a global scale is an absolute must for the future of the industry, so a three way tie up here could be a good start. Regulators everywhere need to get their heads out of the sand and let the market work out how one of the largest industries and employers on the planet can be allowed to make money. Airlines generally have some of the worst financial returns of any industry - the margins are horific, even in good times. Allow more foreign ownership, let mergers happen and lets get on with it.
Let the mergers commence - may mean some job losses in the short term and some names lost forever but ultimately it has to move forward.
Will this discussion on VS mean that RB stops bleating about how unfair any ties up between BA /AA and BA anyone else would be? I doubt it. Mergers - Jump in or fall out cause it has to happen.
Let the mergers commence - may mean some job losses in the short term and some names lost forever but ultimately it has to move forward.
Will this discussion on VS mean that RB stops bleating about how unfair any ties up between BA /AA and BA anyone else would be? I doubt it. Mergers - Jump in or fall out cause it has to happen.
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Lufthansa Keeps Open Mind On Virgin/BMI
December 11, 2008: 01:27 PM ET
But Lufthansa said it maintains an open mind about potential cooperation with Virgin Atlantic.
The German flag carrier also said it had the capacity to absorb more acquisitions and strategic stakes on top of the various ones it has made in Europe and the U.S. in recent months.
"From a management point of view, we can do much more," Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa's chairman and chief executive, said at an industry event in Chicago.
Virgin Atlantic said Wednesday that it had held talks with Lufthansa about the future of bmi, which controls a number of slots at London's Heathrow Airport.
Expressions of interest in some sort of cooperation or tie-up between bmi and Virgin Atlantic have not led to serious negotiations, said Klaus Walther, Lufthansa's senior vice president corporate communications.
"We want to find out what [Virgin] wants," noted Walther. He said it would be "logical" to integrate bmi into the Lufthansa group, adding that "there are other options."
Lufthansa is set to lift its stake in bmi, which focuses on short- and medium- haul flights in Europe, from 30% minus one share to 80% next month.
Europe's second-largest carrier by traffic after Air France-KLM SA (3112.FR), Lufthansa recently has expanded through the acquisition of Swiss International Airlines and a 45% stake in Brussels Airlines, with a pending deal to take a 41.6% share in Austrian Airlines (AUA.VI). It has a 19% stake in JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU), a low-fare U.S. carrier.
Lufthansa has also been linked with taking a stake in SAS Scandinavian Airline Systems, and is keeping an eye on the restructuring of Italian flag carrier Alitalia (AZA.MI).
Mayrhuber said Lufthansa's model eschews outright mergers: "Our concept is a modular one. It's like a planetary system that works together."
He said complete integration brings "dis-synergies." Lufthansa prefers an approach he described as "one kitchen, several restaurants".
Nigel Turner, bmi's chief executive, declined to comment on the prospect of any deal with Virgin Atlantic.
-By Doug Cameron, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4135; [email protected]
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http:// www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=OBSC4tG5tv93CjIHwO9G9A%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-11-08 1327ET
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
December 11, 2008: 01:27 PM ETCHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) said Thursday that it is not in serious talks with Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. about potential cooperation over British Midland Airways Ltd., or bmi, in which the German airline is in the process of buying a majority stake.
But Lufthansa said it maintains an open mind about potential cooperation with Virgin Atlantic.
The German flag carrier also said it had the capacity to absorb more acquisitions and strategic stakes on top of the various ones it has made in Europe and the U.S. in recent months.
"From a management point of view, we can do much more," Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa's chairman and chief executive, said at an industry event in Chicago.
Virgin Atlantic said Wednesday that it had held talks with Lufthansa about the future of bmi, which controls a number of slots at London's Heathrow Airport.
Expressions of interest in some sort of cooperation or tie-up between bmi and Virgin Atlantic have not led to serious negotiations, said Klaus Walther, Lufthansa's senior vice president corporate communications.
"We want to find out what [Virgin] wants," noted Walther. He said it would be "logical" to integrate bmi into the Lufthansa group, adding that "there are other options."
Lufthansa is set to lift its stake in bmi, which focuses on short- and medium- haul flights in Europe, from 30% minus one share to 80% next month.
Europe's second-largest carrier by traffic after Air France-KLM SA (3112.FR), Lufthansa recently has expanded through the acquisition of Swiss International Airlines and a 45% stake in Brussels Airlines, with a pending deal to take a 41.6% share in Austrian Airlines (AUA.VI). It has a 19% stake in JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU), a low-fare U.S. carrier.
Lufthansa has also been linked with taking a stake in SAS Scandinavian Airline Systems, and is keeping an eye on the restructuring of Italian flag carrier Alitalia (AZA.MI).
Mayrhuber said Lufthansa's model eschews outright mergers: "Our concept is a modular one. It's like a planetary system that works together."
He said complete integration brings "dis-synergies." Lufthansa prefers an approach he described as "one kitchen, several restaurants".
Nigel Turner, bmi's chief executive, declined to comment on the prospect of any deal with Virgin Atlantic.
-By Doug Cameron, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4135; [email protected]
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http:// www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=OBSC4tG5tv93CjIHwO9G9A%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-11-08 1327ET
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
