Aviation

Theodoros Vassilakis, chairman of Aegean Airlines, was on hand late last month at the Athens International Airport for the inauguration ceremony of his company’s new Airbus A320s.

Tourism Minister Fanni Palli-Petralia last month met with Greek ministers in an effort to coordinate actions that would improve the tourism sector.

The Association of European Airlines released traffic and capacity data for its members recently that gives a first look at the overall traffic and capacity results for 2006. AEA members boarded 343.6 million passengers during the course of the year, an increase of 14.8 million over 2005.

With the signing of a recent Presidential Decree, Greece can now create an independent National Aeronautical Supervisory Command. The pertinent decree, which allows for the organization, operation and staffing of the new command, was signed last month by the country’s minister of transport, Michalis Liapis.

Continental Airlines, the world’s fifth largest airline, last month announced it would launch daily nonstop flights between New York/Newark and Athens effective June 7, 2007 (eastbound), subject to government approval.

US Airways’ customers will have more ways to jet off to Europe thanks to new flights from Philadelphia to capitals such as Athens, scheduled to start in late May. Including the Athens flights, US Airways, represented in Greece by Amphitrion, will offer a total of 22 daily flights to 19 cities in 12 countries throughout Europe during the peak summer season.

US Airways Group, last month announced that it has increased its offer to merge with Delta Air Lines, Inc. Under the revised proposal Delta’s unsecured creditors would receive $5.0 billion in cash and 89.5 million shares of US Airways stock.

Sabre Holdings was sold last month to two private equity firms in the U.S. for $4.45 billion. Although Sabre is considered the leading global distribution systems (GDS), analysts say the buyout centered more on the importance of the company’s subsidiary units, Travelocity and lastminute.com.

The European Union’s Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said last month that a proposal will shortly be submitted to the European Commission (EC) that includes airlines in the EU’s existing Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). This proposal, he continued, includes all airlines, regardless of origin, that fly in and out of the EU. Airlines would be included in this scheme by 2011, and will either have to reduce their emissions or buy carbon permits.

Sabre Holdings was bought out last month by two private equity groups, Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group (TPG) for $32.75 per share in cash.