Quoting PanHAM (Reply 43):
That structure won't work on international traffic rights, at least not for some destinaion countries and at the end of the day it would not meet regulatory requirements either. Not for the EU and probably not for several bi-laterals.They can try with a Holding structure but that must be owned over 50% by EU citizens. EY knew from the beginning that they are bending the rules. Now they are facing a Desaster at a time when Money is not flooding in as it used to be. |
Why?
EY holds 49% of
AZ,
AZ holds the majority of
AB,
EY informally tells the majority shareholder of
AZ to hold still and vote their way if they want to keep jobs at
AZ. Betcha government of Italy will pay closer attention than Angela.
Quoting steman (Reply 44):
If AB fails there will be a big hole to fill in TXL. Especially on long haul. It would be a shame if Berliners could not fly directly to North America and have to change plane in FRA or LHR or AMS.. |
EW could step into the void, great excuse for them. As for North America flights,
UA just recently upgauged their 752s to 763s in the summer and 764s in the winter on
TXL-
EWR. I was on that flight last month, very pleasant and no need to transfer in
FRA or
LHR or
AMS. And before someone says
EWR is terrible,
UA shifted the p.s. routes in October so now my
EWR-
LAX is guaranteed to be a flat bed seat as well.
It's got to be cost, their planes are full and their prices are only marginally cheaper than competitors, including legacies.
Quoting CARST (Reply 47):
To anyone saying this, have you ever flown on any European airline in the last five years? We have ONLY LCC-style airlines left. Seat-pitch in Economy on AB, LH, BA, name-whichever-airline-you-want, are all the same. Service is what? The same! No more free meals, no more luxurious seat-pitch. No real business class seats. No free-checked bags in the lowst price-bucket. |
I agree with you that most EU C cabin hard products are below par, but soft product in C is comparable to what you'd get in the U.S. - also, upgrade costs can be significantly less than in the U.S. - so yes, if you're flying deep discount Y all the time it's painful but so are
AC Tango /
DL basic economy fares.
Quoting CARST (Reply 47):
From what I hear, AB even thinks their cost-base is lower than EW |
Good for them, but that's probably incorrect.
Quoting CARST (Reply 47):
ABs number one problem is EY. They are loosing money on every connecting pax transported for EY. Not being allowed to develop freely within OneWorld has really stopped them from getting profitable. And don't forget, that the situation for AB wasn't looking so bad before the 2009 financial crisis. |
AB wouldn't exist in 2016 had it not been for
EY.
AB mgmt. didn't take on
EY because they like them so much, but because they needed the lifeline if they wanted to stay in the air. Fly them to
AUH and transfer to
EY in
AUH and fly onward. You'll see the difference between their product in both cabins and
EY product in both cabins. oneWorld hates
AB, especially
BA /
IB.
AA will sell you tickets that involve
AB,
BA /
IB won't. You'll have to go to
AB if you want a mixed ticket that contains
BA /
IB segments. And not being part of the TATL
JV hurts
AB as much as
SK not being part of A++
Quoting PanHAM (Reply 49):
EY burned so far 1 Billion € on AB, at leaqst that was the News today in Handelsblatt. I doubt that there have been enough flights on which EY yielded that amount in pro-Ratings for Pax beyond AUH. |
They say there's a sucker born every minute, in this case the joke is on
EY.
Quoting hugo (Reply 58):
Similar to what others have mentioned, Air Berlin has inconsistent business strategies that have confused the market. Nobody knows what it is and consequently, I think they have never resonated with the public. |
Yeah, and knowing that,
LH Group still heads down the same rabbit hole with
EW...
and when chatting about airberlin he straight out called them a competitor. Not a partner. Not a fellow OW member.
