NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) – A former British Airways executive who oversaw the carrier’s operations at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport has been indicted for accepting bribes to help a ground handling company win contracts, New York’s attorney general said on Tuesday.
The charges announced by Attorney General Letitia James against Steven Clark, who she said directed British Airways operations at JFK Terminal 7, arose from “Operation Greased Runway,” a probe into contracting and procurement at JFK.
John Kinsella, a former chief executive of Ground Services International (GSI) accused of making improper payments to Clark, was also charged in the case.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty, according to their respective lawyers. British Airways, part of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, was not charged.
James said Clark received more than $5 million and a secret 5% stake in GSI over several years from Kinsella, in exchange for promoting that company’s services.
According to court papers, payments were concealed from Britain’s flag carrier with fake invoices, and sometimes laundered through companies that Clark or Kinsella created.
James said Clark also received improper sums from another vendor, while Kinsella paid an executive who helped run JFK Terminal 1, which houses several airlines, to win his support.
Clark, 61, of New York, and Kinsella, 59, of Naples, Florida, were each charged with several counts, including bribery and money laundering, and arraigned before a New York state judge in Queens.
“Mr. Clark is innocent of the charges to which he pleaded not guilty, and expects to be vindicated,” Clark’s lawyer Kevin O’Brien said in a phone interview.
Kinsella’s lawyer Brian Legghio said his client was also innocent, looked forward to clearing his name, and had been awarded his JFK contacts on merit and based on his reputation. He said Kinsella sold GSI three years ago.
GSI agreed with James’ predecessor Barbara Underwood last December to a $12.3 million settlement related to the probe.
“Today’s indictment sends a clear massage to airline companies and airport vendors: pay-to-play schemes will not fly in New York,” James said in a statement.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York Editing by Tom Brown)
Guernsey airline renews ATR fleet with the deliveryof first of three new ATR 72-600 aircraft
Toulouse, 25 October 2019 – ATR, the world number one in the regional aviation market, today delivered the first of three ATR 72-600 aircraft to Aurigny. By replacing its fleet of three ATR 72-500 aircraft with the -600 Series, Aurigny will optimise its operations by acquiring the most efficient regional aircraft. An ATR 72-600 burns up to 40% less fuel and emits 40% less CO2 compared to a regional jet. The Guernsey-based airline will also further benefit from -600 Series’ latest generation Standard 3 avionics suite and is the launch customer for the ClearVision™ Enhanced Vision System (EVS). The EVS will provide pilots with outstanding vision and situational awareness during conditions of reduced visibility. In the cabin, Aurigny’s passengers will also benefit from the -600 Series’ modern Armonia cabin which will introduce the latest standards of comfort, offering more space for luggage in Overhead Bins and providing passengers 18” wide seats.
Aurigny Chief Executive Officer, Mark Darby, said: “We are sincerely proud of Aurigny’s role in providing essential connectivity between Guernsey and the United Kingdom – our customers depend on the services that we provide and we want to deliver them the very best. Our ATR fleet has played a key role in that for many years and upgrading our fleet will allow us both to optimise our operations with the very latest avionics while providing our passengers with a modern, comfortable cabin, in which they can relax and enjoy their flight.”
Stefano Bortoli, Chief Executive Officer of ATR commented: “Regional airlines often have a tough job and it is our role to make sure that we do everything that we can to support them. When an airline upgrades its ATR fleet to the latest generation -600 Series with ClearVision™, it tells us that our platform has a perfect fit with their operations and that they trust us to continue delivering innovations that will make a genuine and positive impact in the future.”
ATR aircraft provide a lifeline to island communities all over the world. With Guernsey situated in the English Channel, Aurigny deliver essential connectivity to their passengers by linking them to destinations in Great Britain and mainland Europe. An ATR study has shown that the benefit that regional connectivity can bring to communities, with a 10% increase in regional flights leading to a 5% increase in tourism, a 6% increase in regional GDP and an 8% increase in Foreign Direct Investment.
PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) – France’s Dassault Aviation and Europe’s Airbus have stepped up pressure on France and Germany to agree on the next stage of a planned fighter project, warning Europe’s arms industry and long-term security could suffer from delays.
The two companies are the leading industrial partners in a project to build a futuristic swarm of manned and unmanned warplanes, announced by the leaders of France and Germany two years ago and expanded earlier this year to include Spain.
Dassault and Airbus won a 65-million-euro contract in January to develop the concept for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) but await a new contract to build demonstrators for interlinked fighters, drones and an “air combat cloud” by 2026.
Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Eric Trappier told a conference of policymakers last month that the demonstrator contract should have been launched in September but this was now slipping towards end-year. He called it “indispensable” to avoid any further delays in order to maintain the 2026 deadline.
No reason has been given for the delays.
On Monday evening, Dassault and Airbus amplified those warnings with a joint statement.
“If Europe does not move forward — and move forward quickly — on this programme, it will be impossible to maintain the development and production capabilities needed for a sovereign defence industry,” the companies said.
The warplane system is expected to be operational from 2040, with a view to replacing Dassault’s Rafale and the four-nation Eurofighter, in which Airbus represents both Germany and Spain.
The new project faces competition from Britain and its plans for a new combat jet dubbed “Tempest”.
The fighter developments have split the current Eurofighter consortium and led to a shake-up of industrial alliances as Italy joins Eurofighter partner Britain on Tempest, turning its back on Germany and Spain, while Sweden has opened the door to abandoning its independent stance by co-operating on Tempest.
The FCAS is also overshadowed by differences between France and Germany over export policy after Germany imposed a ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia over the death of killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi a year ago by Saudi operatives.
The ban, recently extended to March, has raised questions over a long-delayed Saudi border systems contract run by Airbus.
Airbus Defence and Space Chief Executive Dirk Hoke called in a magazine interview last week for the export ban to be relaxed. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has said there is no reason for the moratorium to be lifted.
France and Germany are expected to discuss the issue at ministerial meetings this week.
AIRBUS SETBACK IN SPAIN
Airbus meanwhile faces a battle to shore up its position as a top defence contractor in Spain after losing its place as the representative of Spain’s interests on the upcoming fighter project to local defence electronics firm Indra Sistemas.
Spain last month named Indra as contractor for the Spanish share of the Franco-German-led FCAS project, displacing Airbus from the Spanish coordinator role it had held on Eurofighter.
Airbus officials have pledged to try to overturn the move but a Spanish defence source told Reuters there was no change in the decision.
Indra declined to comment.
Publicly, Airbus has said it was surprised by the decision but has pledged to continue to defend Spain’s best interests.
Dassault will meanwhile mark a long-awaited milestone on Tuesday when it delivers the first of 36 Rafales to India, the culmination of a fighter procurement process that lasted almost 20 years and involved the cancellation of a much larger deal.
La Tribune reported on Monday that France and India were discussing a possible repeat order for 36 more Rafales.
(Additional reporting by Emma Pinedo Gonzalez in Madrid, Tassilo Hummel in Berlin, Editing by Deepa Babington)
The Italian government is begging U.S. major Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) to up the proposed acquisition of a 10% stake in Alitalia for $100 million to at least 15%, according to a report in Italian media.
Loss-making Alitalia has been seeking new investors for more than two years after going into administration in May 2017 after workers rejected a plan to cut jobs and salaries. Successive Italian governments have had to balance the carrier’s massive losses with the need to placate a heavily unionized workforce.
(Reuters) – The collapse of British travel operator Thomas Cook left hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers abroad and forced governments and insurers to coordinate a huge operation to get them home.
FILE PHOTO: Passengers are silhouetted in front of a closed service counter of travel agent Thomas Cook and airline Condor at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
The company ran hotels, resorts and airlines ferrying 19 million people a year to 16 different countries.
Here is a summary of the impact of the collapse in different countries and efforts to salvage parts of the group:
GERMANY
Thomas Cook’s German tour business filed for insolvency on Wednesday in a move aimed at separating its brands and operations from its failed parent, and it said it was in talks with potential new investors.
The German government said it was considering an application for a bridging loan from Thomas Cook Germany, a day after it said it would guarantee a 380 million euro ($418 million) bridging loan for Condor, the British group’s German airline.
The company is in contact with the German foreign ministry, insurers and other partners to get customers home. Zurich Insurance, which provided insolvency cover to Thomas Cook Germany, will cover the costs for those on holiday.
About 97,000 holidaymakers were still stranded on Thursday.
AUSTRIA
Thomas Cook Austria, which belongs to the German unit, also filed for insolvency on Wednesday, with the aim of continuing in business.
THE NETHERLANDS
The Dutch unit of Thomas Cook canceled all travel booked through Thomas Cook Netherlands and subsidiary Neckermann.
A Dutch court on Wednesday granted Thomas Cook Nederland B.V., a Netherlands-based subsidiary, protection from creditors. It employed roughly 200 staff.
POLAND
Thomas Cook’s Polish unit, Neckermann Polska, said on Wednesday that it has filed for insolvency. Poland regional authorities says around 3,600 customers of Neckermann Polska are still abroad.
BELGIUM
Thomas Cook’s Belgian unit ceased carrying passengers on Tuesday and liquidated two businesses, seeking protection from creditors and ultimately a buyer for Thomas Cook Retail Belgium.
It still has some 13,400 customers on holidays abroad.
NORDICS
Several planes operated by Thomas Cook Scandinavian Airlines have not been able to take off because their leasing contracts remained with the British parent, Danish subsidiary Spies said.
It was not immediately clear how the situation would be resolved.
Thomas Cook’s Nordic business said on Monday it would continue to operate as it is a separate legal entity from its London-listed parent and added that it was looking for new owners.
The Nordic business consists of two legal entities, Thomas Cook Northern Europe and Thomas Cook Scandinavian Airlines, and is also known as Ving Group.
The business operates under several brands: Ving in Norway, Spies in Denmark, Tjäreborg in Finland, as well as Ving and Globetrotter in Sweden.
BRITAIN
Emergency flights had brought 14,700 people back to the United Kingdom on 64 flights on Monday, and around 135,300 more were expected to be returned over the next 13 days, Britain’s aviation regulator said.
More than 70 flights were scheduled to operate on Wednesday to bring back 16,500 people.
MEXICO
The collapse of British travel firm Thomas Cook will not have a “significant impact” on Mexico’s tourist industry as it only represents about 0.4% of the sector’s foreign income, the Mexican tourism ministry said on Tuesday.
BULGARIA
Thomas Cook’s collapse poses a serious challenge to Bulgarian tourism, with dozens of Black Sea hotels facing losses totaling tens of millions of dollars as negotiations for the next summer season take place, its tourism minister said on Tuesday.
TUNISIA
Tunisian tourism minister Rene Trabelsi told Reuters that 4,500 Thomas Cook customers are still on holiday in Tunisia.
The British government repatriated about 1,200 tourists via planes sent to Tunisa’s Enfidha airport, and another 4,000 still in Tunisia will return after their holidays.
FRANCE
The French arm of the business said on Tuesday it was asking the French commercial court of Nanterre for creditor protection
Thomas Cook France will hold a meeting of its works council on Thursday about a plan to declare insolvency and to start a recovery procedure.
French organization Entreprises de Voyage said that about 10,000 French tourists could be affected by the bankruptcy.
SPAIN
The collapse has affected 53,000 Britons in Spain, Spanish Acting Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto told reporters.
The ministry has been in touch with German and Swedish authorities to ensure Thomas Cook subsidiaries continue to operate at least for the winter season, she added.
GREECE
A Greek tourism ministry official told Reuters that about 50,000 tourists were affected.
CYPRUS
Cyprus says 15,000 Thomas Cook customers were stranded on the island.
HUNGARY
Thomas Cook’s Hungarian unit Neckermann Magyarorszag said it was continuing its operations and all passengers would be able to return from abroad as planned.
It said its financial situation was stable and its assets were sufficient guarantee that its passengers would not suffer any financial damage. It said passengers should contact its offices directly about upcoming flights.
RUSSIA
Thomas Cook’s Russian tour operator subsidiary, Intourist, said the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook will have no impact on clients, Executive Director Sergei Tolchin told Interfax.
TURKEY
The Turkish Ministry of Tourism said it will provide support for local companies affected by the Thomas Cook collapse.
The head of the country’s Hotelier Federation said about 45,000 tourists from the UK and elsewhere in Europe are in the country.
MOROCCO
Morocco’s tourism ministry said it had created a crisis unit to handle the fallout from Thomas Cook’s collapse. Thomas Cook operated two flights to Marrakesh a week. No official numbers were given.
EGYPT
Thomas Cook operator Blue Sky Group said that 25,000 reservations in Egypt booked up to April 2020 had been cancelled. Blue Sky currently has 1,600 tourists in Egypt’s Hugharda resort.
INDIA
Thomas Cook India said it had been unaffected as it has been a separate entity since August 2012.
MILAN, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Companies hoping to rescue Italian carrier Alitalia will ask for a deadline for presenting their plan to be extended as they are still negotiating key aspects, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Italian railway group Ferrovie dello Stato, which is leading an effort to take control of Alitalia, is expected to ask administrators running the carrier for a “substantial” delay to the Sept. 15 deadline, one of the sources said.
It would be the sixth delay since Ferrovie expressed its interest in investing in the carrier at the end of last year.
Ferrovie, infrastructure group Atlantia and U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines have been discussing a joint plan for Alitalia for nearly two months, but they are at odds over highly-profitable North American routes, three sources familiar with the matter said.
The Italian partners in the consortium want Alitalia to have more freedom to expand its North American routes compared to what Delta is currently offering under a new cooperation agreement dubbed Blue Skies that it has set up with Air France KLM and Britain’s Virgin Atlantic.
How Alitalia would share the revenue coming from North American routes with Delta and other partners in the Blue Skies alliance is also under negotiation.
“The role of Alitalia in the Blue Skies alliance is a point of contention,” one of the sources said.
Long-haul flights to the United States and Canada account for more than one third of Alitalia’s revenue and are considered key to reviving the Italian carrier, which was put under special administration in 2017 after workers rejected the latest in a long line of rescue plans.
Administrators appointed by Italy’s government have cut costs and renegotiated plane leasing contracts to make Alitalia more efficient, but the carrier still burns cash and had been kept afloat thanks to a 900 million-euro bridging loan granted by Italy’s treasury.
Alitalia had only 410 million euro left in its coffers in July and would need fresh funds by the end of the year when it is expected to post a loss, according to another source.
Delta and Ferrovie declined to comment. (Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – British Airways pilots are to go on strike for three days in September, their union said on Friday, in a dispute over pay that could disrupt the peak summer holiday season.
Last month, the pilots overwhelmingly voted for industrial action and the airline, which is part of IAG, failed in a court bid to stop them.
“The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has today given notice to British Airways that it will call on its members to strike on 9th, 10th and 27th September 2019,” the union said in a statement.
“It is clear, following discussions with members over the last few days, that BA’s most recent offer will not gain the support of anywhere near a majority of its pilots.”
British Airways said the strike action was unjustifiable as their pay offer was fair and that the strikes would destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of customers.
“We are now making changes to our schedule. We will do everything we can to get as many people away on their journeys as possible,” the airline said in a statement.
“However, it is likely that many of our customers will not be able to travel and we will be offering refunds and re-bookings for passengers booked on cancelled flights.”
The airline said it was exploring options to supplement its fleet with aircraft and crew from other airlines, known as wet-leasing, and working with partner airlines to schedule larger aircraft to take more customers.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison)
New contract reaffirms long-standing relationships with Abellio and with Eversholt Rail
Derby Etches Park depot to maintain Bombardier Class 222sfor East Midlands Railway mainline services until 2022
Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation has announced today that it has signed a new Train Services Agreement (TSA) with Abellio and Eversholt Rail for the new East Midlands Railway franchise in the United Kingdom. Under the new agreement which lasts from today until December 31, 2022, Bombardier will maintain Bombardier class 222 diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) trains at Derby Etches Park depot for use on East Midlands Railway mainline services. The new agreement follows Bombardier’s previous role in maintaining the 125 miles per hour trains for the former East Midlands Trains franchise. The contract is valued at approximately £133 million GBP ($161 million US, €145 million euro).
Phil Hufton, President, Bombardier Transportation UK said, “We are delighted that we have reached agreement with Abellio to maintain the Class 222 fleet for East Midlands Railway’s mainline services. This important contract win is testament to our team at Derby Etches Park and their hard work and professionalism in continually delivering one of the highest performing and most reliable Intercity fleets.”
Steve Timothy, Client Relations Director, Eversholt Rail said, “We are pleased to be working in partnership with Bombardier Transportation to support the delivery of our Class 222 trains for the Sheffield – London mainline service to Abellio East Midlands Railway from 19th August”.
Under the Train Services Agreement, maintenance of the 27-strong fleet of Class 222 trains will take place at Derby Etches Park depot, where 130 staff are employed, with heavy component maintenance taking place at Bombardier Crewe.
LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Investigators probing an engine explosion on an Air France A380 in 2017 are studying a possible manufacturing flaw in a recently salvaged cracked part in a move likely to trigger urgent checks on dozens of Airbus superjumbos, people familiar with the matter said.
The focus of a two-year-old investigation into the mid-air explosion over Greenland, which left the plane carrying more than 500 passengers with the front of one engine missing, has switched to the recently recovered “fan hub,” the people said.
The titanium alloy part is the centrepiece of a 3-metre-wide fan on engines built for the world’s largest airliner by U.S.-based Engine Alliance, co-owned by General Electric and United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney.
It had sat buried in Greenland’s ice sheet since September 2017 when one of four engines on Air France flight 66 abruptly disintegrated en route from Paris to Los Angeles. It was prised from the ice in June after a high-tech aerial radar search.
Confirming the focus of the probe after Reuters reported the plans for inspections, France’s BEA air accident agency said it had discovered a “sub-surface fatigue crack” on the recovered part and the engine maker was preparing checks.
The people familiar with the matter linked the crack to a suspected manufacturing flaw and said the checks – to be carried out urgently on engines that have conducted a certain number of flights – would affect dozens of the double-decker jets.
The people said the suspect part was fabricated on behalf of consortium member Pratt & Whitney, which declined to comment.
Engine Alliance is one of two engine suppliers for the Airbus A380 in competition with Britain’s Rolls-Royce.
Its engines power a total of 152 aircraft or just over 60 percent of the 237 A380s in service.
Besides Air France, other airlines operating the A380 with Engine Alliance powerplants include Dubai’s Emirates, Qatar Airways, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Korean Air.
The checks will involve taking some planes out of service outside their usual maintenance schedules, one source said.
Investigations are not complete and are likely to tackle other features such as the loads or physical forces at play. Experts say air accidents are rarely caused by isolated factors.
Europe’s Airbus declined to comment.
SIOUX CITY REMEMBERED
Nobody was hurt in the September 2017 incident, in which the Air France superjumbo diverted safely to Goose Bay in Canada.
Although rare, uncontained engine failures, in which shrapnel capable of puncturing the fuselage exits an engine at extremely high speeds, automatically raise alarm.
The checks come weeks after relatives marked 30 years since an engine failure left a United Airlines DC-10 with almost no control, culminating in the death of 111 out of the 296 people on board during an attempted landing at Sioux City, Iowa.
U.S. investigators cited a defective titanium alloy part and weak inspection procedures, although they also praised the “highly commendable” performance of the crew of flight 232.
The July 1989 crash sped up improvements in manufacturing methods for titanium alloy. Experts say hidden internal defects in such parts are unusual but remain difficult to detect.
Titanium alloy is used widely in aerospace, which is the metal’s biggest customer due to its strength compared to the weight of each part and its ability to handle high temperatures.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Elaine Hardcastle)
LONDON (Reuters) – Jaguar Land Rover (TAMO.NS) is making a multi-million pound investment to build electric vehicles in Britain, in a major boost for the UK government and a sector hit by the slump in diesel sales and Brexit uncertainty.
Britain’s biggest car company, which built 30 percent of the UK’s 1.5 million cars last year, will make a range of electrified vehicles at its Castle Bromwich plant in central England, beginning with its luxury sedan, the XJ.
“The future of mobility is electric and, as a visionary British company, we are committed to making our next generation of zero-emission vehicles in the UK,” Chief Executive Ralf Speth said on Friday.
The announcement gives a boost to Britain’s automotive sector hit this year by Honda and Ford’s (F.N) plans to close factories.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has highlighted the dangers of a no-deal Brexit and the need to maintain frictionless trade with the European Union, echoing warnings from the industry that just-in-time production could be hit by customs delays and additional bureaucracy.
But it has signed a deal with workers at the Castle Bromwich factory to go from a five-day to a four-day working week with the same amount of hours which should allow the plant to operate more efficiently.
Three of JLR’s four European car plants are in Britain, giving it limited capacity elsewhere on the continent.
The other, in Slovakia, only opened last year and is still being ramped up with other models allocated there.
“We are making this investment because the ongoing Brexit uncertainty has left us with no choice, we had to act, for our employees and our business,” JLR said.
“We are committed to the UK as our home and will fight to stay here but we need the right deal.”
Both candidates to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, have both said they are prepared to take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 without a deal, although it is not their preferred option.
Brexiteers have argued that the EU’s biggest economy Germany, which exports hundreds of thousands of cars to Britain ever year, would do its utmost to protect that trade
Friday’s announcement comes after a turbulent few months for Jaguar which announced around 4,500 job cuts earlier in January and posted a 3.66 billion pound ($4.5 billion) loss in 2018/19.
The carmaker is undergoing a turnaround designed to offer an electrified option to all of its new models from 2020 as it seeks to move away from its reliance on diesel vehicles which are being increasingly shunned by buyers.
Jaguar also called on the government to bring giga-scale battery production to the country so that Britain is not left behind in the rush to produce low and zero-emissions vehicles and technology.
Britain’s business minister Greg Clark said the government was doing all it can to meet that goal.
“We are determined to realize that ambition,” he said.
($1 = 0.7952 pounds)
Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Michael Holden and Jane Merriman
FILE PHOTO – A car hangs on the wall of Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich manufacturing facility in Birmingham, Britain, November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Staples
