Both Airlines Speak Out
Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines comment on Delta-JAL venture and each other
The issue is the proposed joint venture between Delta and Japan Air Lines. The discussion, seemingly also known as finger pointing, is between Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines. Here we present each side and let you draw your own conclusions.
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic today asked US regulators in a regulatory filing to act on hypocritical comments made by the head of American Airlines about what constitutes dominance in aviation markets.
Commenting on Delta's plans to persuade Japanese airline JAL to switch to SkyTeam, the CEO of American Airlines, Gerard Arpey, told his managers that Delta's "extensive presence" at Tokyo's Narita Airport would make it difficult for Delta to obtain antitrust immunity from the Department of Transportation for the carrier's planned joint venture with JAL.
Delta and JAL together would have lower market shares between the US and Narita than BA/AA would have between the US and Heathrow.
Mr. Arpey also told his managers that American Airlines would raise strong regulatory objections to Delta and JAL's collaboration and expressly said that that "if JAL were to change horses (from Oneworld), we would certainly argue that they might not be allowed to even code-share, let alone have immunity with the dominant carrier in Narita."
American has vowed to fight the linkup between two of the largest players in the US-Japan market on competition grounds, arguing that the carriers' high combined market shares and large slot holdings at Narita (a severely constrained airport like London Heathrow) would pose a major threat to competition.
Yet, Mr. Arpey argues that it's fine for regulators to let through American's planned merger with BA, which would have market share levels of between 47 percent and 100 percent.
Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said: "Virgin Atlantic absolutely agrees with American Airlines that a high level of market concentration should be an insurmountable hurdle to obtain antitrust immunity for a possible alliance such as BA/AA. Mr. Arpey has clearly highlighted why dominant groups like AA and BA shouldn't be given regulatory clearance. We have asked the DOT to further investigate his views as American cannot have it both ways."
The Delta-JAL joint venture would result in a total capacity share on US-Narita routes of 54 percent, significantly smaller than the 64 percent share that BA/AA would hold on US-Heathrow routes.
In addition, the Delta-JAL joint venture would result in overlaps on services between Narita and only three mainland US cities (LAX, SFO and JFK) where their combined share of capacity would range between 36 percent and 60 percent. In marked contrast, the BA/AA alliance would result in overlaps on six routes, where their combined capacity share ranges between a remarkable 47 percent to an astounding 100 percent.
Mr. Arpey's remarks follow comments from Bob Crandall, who was chairman and CEO of American Airlines when it first tried to merge with BA in 1996. He recently said, "Any objective observer would have to look very hard to find a way in which alliances have benefited consumers."
American Airlines
Once again, Virgin's comments are long on accusations and rhetoric and short on the facts. American is opposed to a Delta-Japan Airlines (JAL) tie-up for the same reason we are confident our transatlantic immunity application will be approved: to preserve and enhance competition.
SkyTeam with a Delta-JAL combination would account for nearly 60 percent of US-Tokyo passengers, as opposed to oneworld's approximate 44 percent share of US-London passengers. AA and British Airways only account for about 40 percent of US-UK traffic, whereas Delta-JAL would consolidate the positions of the two largest US-Japan carriers with more than 60 percent share of US-Japan passengers, leaving oneworld with just a 6 percent share.
In addition, significant competition will remain after AA and BA receive immunity, as 78 percent of travelers on city pairs where AA and BA both provide nonstop service would continue to have three or more competitive options. Just 27 percent of passengers on city pairs where Delta and JAL overlap would continue to have three or more competitors for transpacific service.
The bottom line is we're aiming to level the playing field for alliance competition in the transatlantic market and to prevent an unlevel field for alliance competition from evolving in the transpacific.
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IS Ethiopian Airlines is supplying money to Azeb mesfin's Money laundering business??
YES Azeb Mesfin, wife of dictator Meles Zenawi, member of the rubber stamp Ethiopian parliament and boss of the biggest corruption scheme in Africa called the Endowment Fund the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT) has been pushing state banks to the brink of bankruptcy.
The money Ethiopian Airlines makes ends up in Tigray ethnic thugs pocket by The TPLF woyane junta taking it from the banks and investing it Worldwide.
According to well-positioned banking sources, since Azeb took over EFFORT from Sebhat Nega last year she is personally pressurizing banks to illegally grant huge amounts of loans in local and hard currency. EFFORT, which allegedly owes close to 10 billion birr in unpaid loans mainly from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the Development Bank of Ethiopia and the Business and Construction Bank, is well-known for defaulting on the multi- billion birr loans it is raking out of the coffers of state-owned banks.
Azeb, widely known as the First Lady of Corruption and Queen of Mega, has been hand twisting banks, managed by inexperienced TPLF’s hirelings, to loan out a string of additional funds to EFFORT, which has practically monopolized the economy. The latest instalment of the loan bonanza to the privileged and discriminatory ethnic business conglomerate arrived in the amount of $120 million (1.6 billion birr) which was secured a few months ago from the major state banks including Development Bank of Ethiopia. The bank has already been in the red as it carries a huge burden of unpaid non-performing loans.
The latest loan was approved for EFFORT’s shady business proposal to launch a huge irrigation project in Tigray. Under Hiwot Agriculture Mechanization, one of TPLF’s numerous companies, EFFORT has already short-listed foreign agribusiness giants including, a Saudi Arabian Irrigation firm, Alkhorayet Industry and Valley, the British Irrigation company and Israeli Drip irrigation, Omni. The main idea of the project is to produce cash crop for export while two-thirds of households in Tigray depend on food aid.
“We are witnessing the most unacceptable form of discrimination that is illegal anywhere. Almost all state banks have been serving TPLF first as the rest of the nation is their last priority,” said a businessman, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The Prime Minister’s wife has been using her influence and privilege to play with money at the expense of poor taxpayers. This is corruption of the worst kind. Nobody knows why EFFORT is not paying tax and servicing the loans that should have been invested on essential projects that benefits everyone,” he added.
It has been reported that almost all of TPLF’s companies, which barely pay income tax, are undertaking expansion projects financed by state-owned banks that never ask EFFORT and Azeb to pay back the funds. Last year EFFORT took out a whopping $1.41 million, nearly 2 billion birr, for the expansion of Messebo Cement Factory from the ailing Development Bank of Ethiopia, which sustains its operations on loans from internal and external loans.
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the picture is well-drawn...
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