Etihad boosts stake in Virgin Australia as Qantas starts job cuts
Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l) has increased its shareholding in Virgin Australia (VA, Brisbane Int'l) from 19.9% to 21.24% a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has revealed. In March, fellow investor Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) ramped up its shareholding from 19.8% to 22.1%. Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland Int'l) is still the largest foreign carrier with a 24.46% stake in the regional Australian airline.
It has also been learned that representatives of the three carriers including Etihad CEO, James Hogan, Air New Zealand CEO, Christopher Luxon, and an as-yet unnamed representative of Singapore Airlines are now set to join the Virgin Australia board in July after the airline worked out the final details of protocols needed to avoid conflicts of interest.
The move will likely give struggling Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingford Smith) further headaches as last week, the airline announced its first pilot job cuts in 50 years. Australian media reports claim up to 100 pilot positions, or just under 20 per cent of the 550 pilots for the carrier's B747-400 and B767-300(ER) fleets, are likely to be affected. The exact number of "voluntary redundancies" will only be disclosed once government has given its consent.
In the wake of a USD220million loss in the six months to December 31, 2013, Qantas blamed an uneven domestic playing field, dominated by Virgin Australia, for its woes and called on government to relax restrictive legislation governing foreign investment in the airline.
Ch-aviation
Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l) has increased its shareholding in Virgin Australia (VA, Brisbane Int'l) from 19.9% to 21.24% a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has revealed. In March, fellow investor Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) ramped up its shareholding from 19.8% to 22.1%. Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland Int'l) is still the largest foreign carrier with a 24.46% stake in the regional Australian airline.
It has also been learned that representatives of the three carriers including Etihad CEO, James Hogan, Air New Zealand CEO, Christopher Luxon, and an as-yet unnamed representative of Singapore Airlines are now set to join the Virgin Australia board in July after the airline worked out the final details of protocols needed to avoid conflicts of interest.
The move will likely give struggling Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingford Smith) further headaches as last week, the airline announced its first pilot job cuts in 50 years. Australian media reports claim up to 100 pilot positions, or just under 20 per cent of the 550 pilots for the carrier's B747-400 and B767-300(ER) fleets, are likely to be affected. The exact number of "voluntary redundancies" will only be disclosed once government has given its consent.
In the wake of a USD220million loss in the six months to December 31, 2013, Qantas blamed an uneven domestic playing field, dominated by Virgin Australia, for its woes and called on government to relax restrictive legislation governing foreign investment in the airline.
Ch-aviation