Velocity News, October 2006
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Ziegler takes the Eezehaul route.
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Seabourne’s Dutch connections.
Promotions spot on-time.
Tag: UK
British Airways has launched a competition for new longhaul aircraft by issuing tender documents to aircraft and engine manufacturers.
Airbus and Boeing, and engine manufacturers, Engine Alliance, General Electric and Rolls Royce plus other key component suppliers, have been invited to bid. British Airways’ CEO, Willie Walsh, said: “For the past four years, we have grown capacity by using our aircraft more efficiently.
In order to continue to grow our longhaul business we now need additional longhaul aircraft. We remain committed to generating an economic return for our shareholders. Launching the competition highlights the need for us to address our GBP 2.1 billion pension deficit.
With a combination of firm orders and options, we are planning for both growth and fleet replacement into the next decade. Environmental performance will be one of the key criteria in our choice ensuring greater fuel efficiency, reduced noise and emissions.”
Walsh said that the first aircraft to be replaced are the 20 B747s and 14 B767s, which will be around 25 years old. Subject to the outcome of the RFP competition, orders are expected to be placed during next year. Aircraft being considered for the airline’s longhaul fleet are the A330, A350, A380 and B787, B777 and B747-8. www.ba.com
Read MoreCatalogues fuel online shopping boom
The popularity of catalogues is fuelling an online shopping boom across the UK with consumers spending an average of GBP609 each on goods online this year so far, Royal Mail research revealed today.
Three-fifths (61 per cent) of UK consumers have consulted a catalogue before making online purchases and three in four shoppers (83 per cent) regularly use catalogues before buying online.
The most popular online items according to the 4,000 adults surveyed are music products and downloadable tracks (71 per cent), followed by gifts (69 per cent) and electrical goods (62 per cent).
Read MoreEU faces pressure to follow UK on postal services
European Union countries came under pressure yesterday to follow Britain’s example and open their postal services to full-scale competition by January 2009.
Charlie McCreevy, the Internal Market Commissioner, described his latest proposals as “a final, small step” in a process that began a decade ago for complete liberalisation of the Pounds 60 billion sector. However, he insisted that the requirement to deliver, for the same affordable price, letters to any part of the country and to have at least one mail delivery and collection five days a week would remain. Known as the universal service obligation, this is enshrined in EU legislation.
The move is strongly supported by Britain, which ended the Royal Mail’s 350- year-old monopoly this year, and by Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden.
They have all lifted restrictions on new postal operators and together represent 60 per cent of the total EU market.
Britain welcomed the initiative, stating that “a fully liberalised European Union postal services market is a benefit to consumers, businesses and industry organisations” and would boost the Continent’s overall competitiveness.
Read MoreRoyal Mail to deliver on Europe
Royal Mail will not be rushing to move into fully competitive European postal markets in 2009, even if protesting member states do drop their opposition to full liberalisation by that date (Christine Buckley writes).
Allan Leighton, the group’s chairman, may keep expansion plans shelved, or at least limited. Being “world class” is not the same as being “world active”, he said as the company retreated from a planned expansion overseas.
However, the UK operator will be glad at the future prospect of a level playing field across Europe. Britain itself has had a fully competitive postal market since the start of this year.
Despite being modest about its international aspirations, it is likely that Royal Mail will try some move in the European market once it opens. The British group already has a parcels division, GLS, which operates across Europe, after being founded in Germany.
It will not want to be left at the sidelines if the postal market develops, as some believe that it will, into one dominated by five or six players.
However, with several member states expected to try to hang on to their protected markets, no radical changes may be delievered in Europe’s postal markets until some while after 2009.
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