Nigeria gripped by general strike

LAGOS : Police used tear gas on strikers manning a barricade Thursday in Nigeria's economic capital Lagos as the second day of a general strike brought parts of Africa's largest oil producer to a standstill.

With oil production and exports so far unaffected, unions called on their members to set up "compliance squads" to ensure the strike achieved its aim of paralyzing the economy, after negotiations with the government broke down.

The police used tear gas at a barricade on the northern outskirts of Lagos, dispersing a mixture of union officials, students, residents and local thugs to clear a road, an AFP reporter said.

"We are barricading the road to enforce compliance with the strike," Idris Aloma of the National Union of Road Transport Workers said earlier.

"Some can not be fighting for the good of all while others would be going to work and about their normal business as if everything was okay," he told AFP.

He said barricades would be extended to all the major junctions in Lagos. "There won't be movement until the strike is over."

However none of the major oil companies operating in the world's sixth largest exporter of crude oil has reported any disruption to production or exports.

"There is no effect that I can confirm, not yet anyway," Precious Okolobo, a spokesman for the biggest operator Royal Dutch Shell said.

Union leaders have vowed to press ahead with their action until the government of President Umaru Yar'Adua, who was only sworn in late last month, reverses a decision to hike petrol prices by 15 percent.

"We are pressing forward with the strike", Owei Lakemfa, spokesman for the umbrella Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) told AFP, amid signs early Thursday the shut-down way having an effect.

Fuel soared to three or four times its normal price on the black market, meaning higher public transportation costs.

Banks, schools, petrol stations and businesses were closed in many parts of the country.

Lagos' main port Apapa was still open but only just ticking over as Nigerian Port Authority workers and customs staff followed the strike.

The majority of domestic flights have been cancelled or disrupted, airlines and travellers said.

International flights were obliged to make a refuelling stop elsewhere in the region: KLM in Accra, Iberia in Niamey and British Airways in Palma de Mallorca.

Neither the NLC or the white-collar Trade Union Congress (TUC) said they were expecting to hold further talks with the government.

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European Stocks Fall, Led by BA, Merck KGaA, Pearson; ICI Gains

European stocks fell for the first time in four days on speculation gains last week were overdone given prospects for earnings growth.

British Airways Plc led airlines lower as oil jumped to a nine-month high. Merck KGaA dropped the most in two months before GlaxoSmithKline Plc releases details on a lung-cancer vaccine. Imperial Chemical Industries Plc surged 16 percent, sending the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Chemicals Index to a record, after Akzo Nobel NV made an offer for the company.

Takeover speculation and evidence inflation in the U.S. remains in check last week sent Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index to its biggest gain since March 23.

``We had a solid week last week and people may be starting to consider how far this bull market can run,'' said Henk Potts, who helps oversee $45 billion at Barclays Stock brokers in London.

Pearson Plc fell after the Wall Street Journal said the company was in talks with General Electric Co. to make a joint offer for Dow Jones & Co.

The Stoxx 600 lost 0.4 percent to 397.72 as of 4:20 p.m. in London. The index climbed 3.7 percent last week. The Stoxx 50 fell 0.4 percent today, as did the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the nations sharing the euro.

Profit growth for Stoxx 600 companies is expected to slow to 7.1 percent in 2007, according to FactSet Research Systems Inc. in London. The index has rallied 9.1 percent so far this year.

`Overstretched'

Indexes extended losses after the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond, which influences, interest rates on mortgages and corporate loans, traded near a five-year high.

``There is a lot of merger-and-acquisition activity around and enough liquidity to push equities higher,'' said Andy Lynch, who helps manage about $11 billion at Schroder Investment Management in London. Some ``equities may be looking a little overstretched.''

Deals in Europe have topped $1.2 trillion so far this year, compared with a record $1.6 trillion in 2006, based on data compiled by Bloomberg.

National benchmarks retreated in 13 of the 18 markets in western Europe. France's CAC 40 lost 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.3 percent. Germany's DAX was little changed.

Shares of ENI SpA and Enel SpA weighed on indexes as they were among stocks that traded without the right to the latest dividend.

Air France-KLM Group, Europe's biggest airline, retreated 2 percent to 36.03 euros. Lufthansa AG, the No. 2, lost 1.1 percent to 20.67 euros. British Airways, Europe's third-largest airline, slid 1.8 percent to 438 pence.

Crude oil rose to a nine-month high in New York on concern that U.S. refiners aren't keeping up with increased gasoline demand. The contract for delivery in three months gained 1.4 percent to $68.96 a barrel in New York.

Telefonica, Merck KGaA

Telefonica, Spain's largest telephone company, lost 1.4 percent to 16.52 euros. Telecom Italia SpA, Italy's biggest telephone company, fell for the first time in five days, dropping 1.3 percent to 2.11 euros. The Stoxx 600 Telecommunications Index has climbed 8.6 percent this quarter, compared with 6.5 percent for the broader index.

Merck, the German drugmaker that sells the Erbitux cancer treatment, declined 1.8 percent to 104.68 euros. Rival GlaxoSmithKline Plc today may provide analysts with details on the success of its lung-cancer vaccine, subject of the largest late-stage study of a treatment for the disease. Glaxo is competing with Merck to produce the first lung-cancer vaccine.

ICI Gains

ICI added 91 pence to 640 pence after Akzo Nobel, the world's largest maker of paints and coatings, said it made an offer for the U.K. company that was rejected.

Akzo offered 7.2 billion pounds ($14.2 billion) for ICI, which was turned down for being too low. Shares of Akzo Nobel declined 1.3 percent to 60.78 euros.

``I am sure there is a deal to be done,'' said Schroder's Lynch. ``Akzo can probably afford to go higher. They have got a lot of cash on the balance sheet.''

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Chemicals Index climbed 1.6 percent to an all-time high. Shares of Akzo Nobel declined 1.8 percent to 60.50 euros.

Pearson fell 0.9 percent to 865.5 pence. Under the plan, GE's CNBC unit, Pearson's Financial Times and Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, would be merged in a closely held venture, the Journal said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The talks between GE and Pearson are exploratory and may collapse, the newspaper said.

Andrea Grinbaum, a spokeswoman for Dow Jones, and Gary Sheffer, a spokesman for Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE, declined to comment on the report. Roy Winnick, a spokesman for the Bancroft family, said he ``can't comment on rumors.'' Pearson spokesman Luke Swanson didn't immediately return phone messages.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net
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We would love Belfast link restored: BA boss

British Airways would love to revive its service from Belfast to London Heathrow, the airline's chief executive officer has said.

Willie Walsh told the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce yesterday that everything hinged on the proposal for a third runway at Heathrow.

Mr Walsh, who formerly ran Aer Lingus, said he knew that many people in the business community in Northern Ireland wanted BA to restore its Aldergrove to Heathrow service.

The Belfast Shuttle was axed in 2001, a decision that the company blamed on 9/11. The Belfast slots at Heathrow were then re-allocated to long-haul routes.

Referring to the decision to "suspend" the route, Mr Walsh said: " It was a difficult decision at the time.

"The route remains one that we would consider reviving if infrastructure constraints allowed us to. The blunt truth is that there are not enough runway slots at Heathrow to support this kind of regional service.

"We would love to change this situation and are pressing the Government very hard to increase runway capacity."

By Robin Morton
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Quiet Hotels Important to Business Travelers, Families

Some people travel for business and others for pleasure. Whatever the reason for hitting the road, travelers have increasingly sophisticated expectations when it comes to the quality of a hotel.

Hotel guests look at many variables, from the property's amenities to the friendliness of the staff and, of course, price. But the one attribute prized over all others is a restful environment, a place where travelers can relax and rejuvenate for the next day, whether that means a high-powered business meeting or a power tour of the local tourist attractions.

Business travelers know that they pay a price for not being at their best while on the road. Numbers collected by British Airways bear out this common wisdom. Twenty-three percent of those polled said they fell asleep in a meeting, 18 percent said a presentation went badly, and 14 percent missed a meeting or flight.

And just ask any parent what happens when their kids don't get a good night's sleep while traveling. Cranky kids can turn a family vacation into a nightmare.

AmericInn makes a quiet hotel its priority. The company uses a proprietary construction system called SoundGuard which reduces sound by using masonry block, sound-deadening foam and heavy sheetrock between rooms and floors. Buildings are also constructed to minimize noise intrusion from outside as well as from public spaces within the hotel, including separating the pool and recreation areas from the residential portion of the hotel.

That means guests won't be kept awake by their neighbors in the next room, or be woken too early when the alarm clock in the room above theirs goes off. It also means that parents don't have to continually remind the kids to "keep it down."

Copyright © 2006, ARA Content

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Upstart airlines are catering to business travelers

Outside the Silverjet airport lounge in Newark Liberty International's Terminal B, a bleary-eyed man in a dark blazer, who had just flown in from England, bumped into a middle-aged New Jersey couple. They were pushing a wheelcart stacked with suitcases and golf clubs to check in for their overnight flight to Luton Airport near London, on the same plane the man in the blazer had just arrived on.

He gave them a cordial welcome, grabbed two of their suitcases and led them to the baggage check. The couple had no idea he was the upstart airline's chief executive officer, Lawrence Hunt.

Hunt, a 41-year-old Englishman and serial entrepreneur who has started and sold a couple of software companies, is the hands-on head of one of several new airlines carving out niches in a surging trans-Atlantic travel market.

So far, his latest venture is doing pretty well. The early success of these premium travel ventures underscores the belief that many business travelers are looking for lower-cost alternatives to business-class seating on large network airlines. The New York-to-Europe travel market is where new airlines want to be.

"The trend for growth today is in international rather than domestic markets, and the battle will be London to New York and London to other big cities,'' said Dr. Alan Bender, an airline economist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Bender cited globalization and newer agreements such as the recent "Open Skies'' accord behind the jump in business travel. The Open Skies agreement loosens some of the restrictions that countries have on foreign carriers next year.

Silverjet Plc began offering daily flights in January between Newark and Luton, which is about a 30-minute drive from the center of London. The British carrier is offering round trips for a little more than $2,000 on average on a plane with 100 seats that can recline to lie flat. That's less than half of what Continental Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic typically charge for similar accommodations.

"What we set out to do is drastically reduce fares for premium travelers," Hunt said in an interview.

In April, its third full month of operation, the plane ran about 62 percent full on average. A second flight will begin this summer.

Meanwhile, a French business-class-only carrier, L'Avion, started service in January between Newark and Paris' Orly Airport, and reports that it has been achieving "better-than-expected" load factors -- the proportion of seats filled -- exceeding 60 percent.

At John F. Kennedy International Airport, Eos Airlines and MAXjet Airways have been running business-class-only service to London Stansted Airport since late 2005.

According to the latest statistics from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, trans-Atlantic traffic has already grown at Newark by nearly 40 percent to about 6.4 million passengers coming and going in the 12-month period that ended Feb. 28. Traffic overall grew 22 percent to 35.7 million.

Continental, which handles more than two-thirds of the passengers at Newark, is largely responsible for the surge, adding routes to nine European cities in the past three years, including destinations such as Edinburgh, Scotland; Barcelona, Spain; and Belfast, Northern Ireland, cities the carrier believes are underserved.

This year, Continental from Newark is adding flights on its Madrid, Lisbon and Edinburgh routes, just for the summer travel season. But it is also adding a third daily year-round non-stop to Paris, and a new year-round route to Athens that begins Friday.

In the fall Continental expects to start a daily non-stop to Mumbai, India -- following a launch by Indian carrier Jet Airways of flights from Newark to Mumbai with a stop in Brussels, starting Aug. 5.

"It's a strong market right now, which gives us the motivation to add the capacity," said David Messing, Continental spokesman. "It's not a market where capacity is not being absorbed."

Continental forecast that its second-quarter seating capacity will have increased by 11.4 percent on trans-Atlantic routes. In addition, to adding the route to Greece, and the increased frequencies, the Houston-based airline is using larger aircraft on some routes.

By RICHARD NEWMAN. E-mail: newman@northjersey.com
Staff Writer Carol Fletcher contributed to this report.
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Can I combine air miles from different companies?

I have over 160,000 frequent flier miles on Delta and 100,000 miles on American Airlines. And yet over the last two years, I have not found a way to use the miles, unless I double them. For two people traveling to Europe, it used to cost 25,000 miles each way. So we could have made the round-trip for 100,000 miles. Now the price has double to 200,000 miles. Is there any way to combine Delta and American miles for award travel on a partner airline? Andrea Spurling, New York.

The short answer is no. But you can redeem Delta Air Lines Skymiles on any of the 10 Skyteam Alliance partners that include Air France, KLM, Alitalia, Continental Airlines, and Northwest Airlines; and American AAdvantage miles on any of 20 Star Alliance partners, including British Airways (though not to London), United Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, and Air New Zealand. And you may not need as many miles as you think for round-trip tickets from New York to Paris or London. Depending when you want to travel and how flexible you are prepared to be a round-trip economy ticket with Delta from New York to Paris will cost from 50,000 to 250,000 miles. A similar ticket on American from New York to London will cost 40,000 to 150,000 miles. Click on to 'awards' at each airline site to see how many miles you need for free flights and upgrades.

My wife and I, both 73 years old, were ousted from our pre-assigned seats in the emergency exit row when we checked in for an American Airlines from Buenos Aires to Miami, because we are "seniors." I am an MD and we are both in top shape - we exercise, lift weights three times a week and play tennis. Samuel Borushek, Chicago:

I'm afraid you fell foul of the emergency exit rule exercised by many airlines by which exit rows are reserved for able-bodied passengers who would be capable of helping to open the doors in event of emergency. Ageism has extended to a presumption that older travelers are invariably infirm!

However, it is possible to reserve such roomier economy seats in advance, albeit sometimes for an extra charge.

Air Canada, for example, charges passengers in its lowest fare category, Tango, 15 Canadian dollars for an advance seat assignment, but has not yet taken to selling specific seats on its aircraft. And Northwest Airlines offers Coach Choice on its domestic network, by which passengers can book certain aisle and exit-row seats for $15 extra per flight segment. Coach Choice seats "are offered to all passengers 24 hours prior to departure; WorldPerks and SkyTeam Elite members 36 hours before departure."

KLM now offers passengers traveling from Singapore, Manila, and Curacao to Amsterdam the chance to reserve economy class seats with guaranteed extra legroom for a fee of 50 euros per seat on each flight.

In Europe, EasyJet, which has "free seating" (ie a mad scramble for the best seats), has introduced a Speedy Boarding option allowing passengers who have paid a £5 supplement to be first to board.

It is not easy to figure out the best and worst seats from airline seating plans, but some Web sites offer help. Skytrax Research (www.airlinequality.com) compares seat dimensions and gives seating tips for more than 325 airlines on long-haul flights. Aircraft seat plans at www.seatguru.com show you which seats to ask for, and which to avoid, on more than 30 airlines, including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Air France, British Airways, Continental, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Northwest, Qantas, SAS, United and US Airways. The site lists aircraft for each airline and gives color-coded seat descriptions (green designates a "very good seat," yellow, "be aware!" and red, a "poor seat."

Other useful Web sites include Lovemyseat.com, which gives seat charts, scores and reviews for 80 airlines, and Flatseats.com, which compares first- and business-class lie-flat seats and gives "sleep ratings" for airlines around the world.

Many airlines, such as British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic, allow you to check in online, even to print your own boarding card so that you can go straight to the gate when you arrive at the airport.

But this doesn't ensure you'll get a good seat, such as one in the emergency exit row with its extra legroom or an aisle seat where you can stretch at least one leg from time to time.

The snag is that normally you can only check in and book your seat 24 hours in advance by which time the best seats have mysteriously disappeared, and you are stuck in a dreaded middle seat or crushed in an especially narrow row back of the cabin by the lavatories.

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British Airways, a well integrated brand campaigns

Google is using British Airways as an example of how integrated brand campaigns could run across its media properties.

The airline recently overlaid the price of air fares to destinations such as Spain over its Google Earth satellite imaging website. TV, online branding and search advertisements ran as part of the campaign.

Google's vice-president for Asia-Pacific and Latin American operations, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, confirmed the company's trials to auction audio and print advertising for radio networks and newspaper groups in the US would be extended to Australia.

"That is an example of one of the most innovative campaigns we have run," Ms Singh Cassidy said.

By Lara Sinclair

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Long wait to join the club class

HAMISH Taylor made his name introducing flat beds into British Airways. Back then the concept of sleeping horizontally while flying 35,000 feet above the Atlantic was not only seen as radical, it catapulted the airline into a whole new league.

Ten years on, from his base on the north side of Edinburgh, Taylor is again attempting to blow away the competition. For the past two years he has been busy raising money for a business class-only airline, Fly First, that will operate a 48-seat aircraft between London Luton and Newark, near New York. The idea is simple: because the economy passengers - paying loss-leading low fares - are absent, the traveller pays less for the privilege of lying back in business class. There is only one snag: this time Taylor has been beaten to it.

Since he first mooted the idea in 2005 the skies have filled up with competitors. With the low cost sector reaching saturation, analysts now say that the next battleground will be the battle for the big spenders.

Last month Maxjet, one of three airlines that now shuttles well-heeled passengers across the Atlantic, announced it will float on the Alternative Investment Market. This follows last year's flotation of Silverjet, an airline that flies 100 business class travellers, on the very route Taylor wants to crack: Luton to Newark. Meanwhile Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, has also said he is considering all-business class flights between the United States and continental Europe.

Taylor is in the final stages of fund raising. A document, seen by Scotland on Sunday, says the company is planning an autumn launch. Privately, Taylor admits an announcement in 2008 is more likely.

But many are now asking whether Taylor has left it too late. Can Fly First muscle in on a market that some analysts say already appears overcrowded? Tiny new airlines face massive hurdles to survive, having to compete against the frequent-flyer programmes and other perks offered by the major carriers. How will Taylor make Scotland's first business class airline pay?

"Of course we are disappointed that other people beat us to it because we were in the market first," he admits. "But at the same time there is a lot we can learn from those already operating. It is not always a bad thing to be second."

One clue lies in Silverjet's business plan. Last year its founder and chief executive Lawrence Hunt raised more than £25m in a public offering on the London Stock Exchange. He combined it with money from venture capitalists, and bought the operating licence of an existing airline. The start-up has been costly - he recently raised an additional £25m in a second offering - but speaking from his office in Manhattan he says the potential is enormous.

"Inevitably, we are going to see more growth in business class airlines. There are 4.2 million people a year that fly between London and New York. For us to make a 20% operating profit we only need to sell 50,000 seats of those 4.2 million, in other words just over 1%, so there is plenty of room. But it is a question of whether you can get that price advantage and also radically change that customer experience."

It is a view echoed by Jim Smith, editor of Jane's Transport Finance. "There's going to be massive growth in this sector," he says. "When you look at the price of a business class-only airline seat to New York compared with a business seat on a major carrier you are not paying an awful lot more for something that is infinitely better.

"It used to be that you put on a suit, you put on a tie to travel; now it's no longer a glamour form of travel and business customers are sick and tired of being treated like cattle. If you have a few extra pounds in your pocket then you will go for it. I see a big market for these business-only flights."

Business class-only airlines are not new. Lufthansa, Swiss, KLM, Alitalia and others have flown smaller aircraft for that purpose on trade routes such as Stuttgart to Detroit. What's new is the hunger for private investors into the transatlantic market. Along with Silverjet, Eos and Maxjet, in January L'Avion began a service between Paris and New York.

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BA to get option to take over Iberia

British Airways will be guaranteed the right to take over Iberia under a crucial agreement among the consortium bidding for the Spanish flag carrier.

British Airways will be guaranteed the right to take over Iberia under a crucial agreement among the consortium bidding for the Spanish flag carrier. According to sources close to BA, the company has agreed with its partners that it should have the option to take sole control of the rival airline in three to five years.

A source close to the airline said: "It is part of the deal they are working on with Texas Pacific and the other Spanish investors. "

British Airways is thought to be keen to postpone a potential takeover of Iberia while it restructures its business and completes its move into Terminal 5. With Iberia going through a similar process of change with the expansion of Madrid airport and a raft of low-cost airlines competing for European traffic from Spain, BA executives are understood to be happy to leave the current Iberia management in place for the short to medium term.

The source said: "Now is not the time to take on the challenge of restructuring another business. BA has enough to do in the UK. If they don't want it they could sell it to another partner or they may even look to refloat the business in a few years' time."

By Jonathan Russell, Sunday Telegraph
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007.

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British Airways Doesn't Expect Private-Equity Bids

British Airways Plc Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh dashed speculation about a private-equity bid, saying the airline isn't attractive as a buyout target and hasn't been courted.

``We haven't been approached by anyone; I haven't seen any activity that would suggest people are actually looking at British Airways,'' Walsh said in an interview. Asked whether a private- equity bid might take place, Walsh said: ``No.''

Shares of British Airways, Europe's third-largest airline, rose the most in six months on May 29 on speculation of an offer from a buyout firm. The London-based airline is attractive because first-class and business-class travel is growing, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts said on May 17.

``It is true the straightforward things have been done and assets have been sold, but there may be interest in the airline anyway,'' said Gert Zonneveld, an analyst at Panmure Gordon in London with a ``hold'' rating on the stock. British Airways may be a target because it holds more than 40 percent of the takeoff and landing slots at Heathrow Airport, he said.

The airline sold regional subsidiary BA Connect in November to U.K. regional carrier Flybe and disposed of an 18.25 percent stake in Qantas Airways Ltd. for 430 million pounds in September 2004. It has also closed down ticket-sales offices and saved costs by moving bookings to the Internet.

The shares fell 2 pence, or 0.4 percent, to 468 pence at 12:56 p.m. in London. The stock has dropped 3 percent since May 29 and 11 percent so far this year, giving the carrier a market value of 5.39 billion pounds ($10.7 billion). The 10-member Bloomberg Europe Airlines Index has risen 7.8 percent this year, led by a 42 percent gain at Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA.

Iberia Bid

British Airways, which owns 10 percent of Iberia, said on May 22 that it would support a takeover bid for the Spanish airline led by TPG Inc., the U.S. private-equity company previously known as Texas Pacific Group.

A formal bid for Iberia, Spain's biggest airline, ``is a long way away,'' Walsh said in an interview yesterday in his office. ``We haven't had access to the information. We have made the request to the board of Iberia.''

British Airways has cut its workforce by 23 percent to 49,957 employees since 2000 and reduced debt to 991 million pounds from a peak of 5.7 billion pounds in 2001.

The company's remaining primary assets are a fleet of 242 planes, the headquarters at Waterside near Heathrow and the holding in Iberia.

Biggest Shareholders

``If you turn the clock back, I'd say maybe there might be private-equity interest in British Airways because what private equity would do is they would look at what is non-core and look to monetize that,'' Walsh said. ``And that's exactly what we've done.''

The largest British Airways shareholder is Standard Life Plc, a U.K. insurer, with a 7.1 percent stake, followed by Barclays Plc with a 6.8 percent holding and Amvescap Inc., an investment firm, with 6.7 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The airline reported its first loss in eight quarters May 18 after setting aside 350 million pounds to pay antitrust fines related to fuel charges and canceling flights because of a labor dispute. Walsh succeeded Rod Eddington as chief executive in October 2005. Shares of British Airways have increased 61 percent since he took the post.

Buyout firms are attracted to carriers like Qantas Airways and Iberia because they have assets in addition to their fleets. Recent discussions British Airways had with TPG were purely about forming a group for a potential bid, Walsh said.

Qantas Attraction

``If you look at Qantas, it is a very different company; they've got a lot of activities that I would describe as non- core,'' Walsh said. ``If you look at Iberia, there are a lot of activities that are non-core, and that's what private equity looks at.''

The interest in Iberia is not a defensive move aimed at protecting routes operated jointly by the airlines, he said.

``We have a strategic stake in the company that has value,'' he said. ``We want to make sure we look at every option to maximize the benefit of that in the interests of our shareholders.''

Iberia is ``clearly too expensive'', Wolfgang Mayrhuber, chief executive officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe's second- largest airline, told NZZ am Sonntag newspaper on Apr. 8. Walsh said the comments had no influence on British Airways strategy.

``It's a bit like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder,'' Walsh said. ``It may have a different value to different people.''

The airline will order 34 long-haul aircraft by September or October, he said. The airline is considering Airbus SAS A380s and A350 XWBs and from Boeing Co., 777s, 787s or 747-800s.

Credit-default swaps based on 10 million euros of British Airways debt fell 2,000 euros to 78,500 euros, according to Deutsche Bank AG.

By Emmet Oliver
To contact the reporters on this story: Emmet Oliver in London at eoliver4@bloomberg.net .

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BA and Vodafone brighten the market

The FTSE 100 awoke after the bank holiday weekend in a buoyant mood, boosted by more talk of buyout interest in British Airways and robust results for Vodafone.

The mobile phone giant's shares closed up 8.3p, or 5.5%, to 159.7p after it flagged up good progress in fast-growing emerging markets and posted overall results at the top end of market expectations. There was more support from vague market talk of bid interest from AT&T, helping make Vodafone the day's top performer.

British Airways continued its ascent on Friday's news that a couple of directors and Goldman Sachs had all increased their stakes. That, along with speculation of bid interest in the airline, continued to buoy BA's shares today - they were up 21.5p, or 4.7%, to 482.5p.

This helped the FTSE 100 notch up a 36 point gain to 6606.5.

Plenty of analyst comment provided some of the bigger moves on the market. An upgrade from Deutsche Bank boosted Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier. It added 16p, or 2.4%, to 675.5p after Deutsche analysts raised their recommendation from "hold" to "buy".

It was comment from UBS that sent BSkyB shares higher. They gained 20.5p, or 3.2%, to 660.5p after the investment bank said a survey it commissioned showed better than expected market opportunities in pay TV.

British American Tobacco added 47p, or 2.9%, to £16.97 after a positive note from Dresdner Kleinwort, which cited "strong potential" for upgrades to 2008 earnings, cashflow and returns to shareholders.

"We think consensus 2008 earnings estimates will edge up and consensus targets will also be raised further. At 1800p we have one of the highest price targets, and we do not see our target as stretching," said Dresdner's Charles Manso de Zuniga.

However, the FTSE 100's gains were somewhat capped by a fall for pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline. It was the FTSE 100's biggest faller, losing 28p, or 2.1%, to £13.06 amid reports that doctors in the US were avoiding its diabetes drug Avandia after a study linked it to an increased risk of heart attack and death.

The negative sentiment spilled over to other drugs companies, with Shire down 8p at £11.64, but AstraZeneca managed to shake off earlier losses by the close to be up 10p at £27.03.

Royal Bank of Scotland was also on the top losers board after the bank's consortium trumped Barclays' offer for ABN Amro with bid proposals valuing the Dutch bank at €71.1bn (£48.1bn). RBS shares dropped 5p to 637.5p while Barclays climbed 13.5p to 733.5p.

Elsewhere in banking, Standard Chartered rose 45p, or 2.8%, to £16.80 after it announced it would launch a private banking service for wealthy individuals with $1m and more in 10 new markets, including Shanghai and London, by the end of June.

In the food sector, Twinings and Ovaltine owner AB Foods was up 6.5p to 932p following the news it was buying Indian food company Patak's.

Meanwhile sugar group Tate & Lyle was up 2.5p to 604.5p - bargain hunters moved in after its shares fell on last week's warning that its Splenda sweetener would manage only a lacklustre growth in profits.

The wet bank holiday weekend aroused some gloomy sentiment around some retailers. Next was down 7p at £22.00, while Debenhams dipped 3.5p to 134p. But embattled SCS Upholstery managed to reverse its morning losses to end up 14.5p, or 5.2%, at 296p. After being hit by a low shopper turnout during the hot Easter weekend, the group had been pinning its hopes on better conditions over the May bank holidays.

Among the midcaps, plumbing specialist BSS Group fell back despite a 28% leap in pre-tax profits to £47.3m in the year to March 31. The shares slipped 4.75p, or 1%, to 487p as traders cashed in on a 50% rise over the past 12 months.

Dairy Crest was the FTSE 250's biggest faller after it confirmed reports it was having to recall packs of Clover spread because of mould. The group said it was too early to quantify the financial impact of the recall but it expected the costs to be covered by insurance with an excess of around £1m. Dairy Crest's shares were down 24p, or 3.4%, at 677p.

On Aim, software specialist Zoo Digital jumped almost 20% after the group unveiled a deal with toymaker Mattel to make a range of DVD games, including a High School Musical DVD board game. It did not reveal what the deal was worth but Zoo's shares rose by 5.5p to 37p.

Elsewhere on the junior stock market, TV company Shed Productions edged up 1p to 96p on the back of its half-year results. Roddy Davidson at Altium Securities flagged up Shed's positive outlook statement alongside the results.

"These cap a fairly challenging first half during which the prime objective has been to replace the contribution from two large shows, Footballers' Wives and Bad Girls, that were decommissioned last year," he said in a research note. "A first pass analysis suggests that this objective has been largely achieved, with turnover ahead by 4% on a like for like basis."

Biofuels Corporation was headed in the other direction, down 4.5p, or 27.7%, at 11.75p after it said it was consulting Barclays about ways to restructure its debt. It warned shareholders that given debt was around £100m, any restructure would mean they would "very likely see their shareholding significantly diluted". In addition, any restructuring could lead the company to seek a cancellation of its listing.

Britain's biggest maker of biodiesel suffered a big blow to its share price in March after it warned full-year figures would be well below expectations.

By Katie Allen

Source: business.guardian.co.uk Read More..

The re-opening of City Derry airport

The City of Derry Airport now re-opened the commercial flights.

The Airport Authority has worked over the weekend to complete the remedial works agreed with the British Civil Aviation Authority. It's said by Derry City Council on City of Derry airport to re-open by RTE News. Further more, the British Airways will operate the flights to Glasgow and Dublin.

On the last Friday, the City of Derry airport was forced to close at midnight because of safety concerns expressed by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority. All of the Ryanair flights to and from the airport has cancelled and British Airways has diverted its services to Belfast. This decision follows an inspection that the authority has identified problems such as poor runway drainage. So it was committed to maintaining the highest safety standards, the management said ( Derry airport closed over safety concerns by RTE News ). Read More..

BA brings private equity rivals together to launch Iberia offer

British Airways has brought together a pair of rival private equity firms to form a bidding consortium that could launch an offer for Iberia, the Spanish airline, as soon as this week.

The carrier has been in talks for several weeks with Texas Pacific Group after the US buyout giant made a €3.4bn (£2.3bn) approach to the Spanish carrier in late March.

BA had also been in discussions with Apax Partners, which had been trying to form a rival bidding group. By bringing them together, BA reduces the possibility of a bidding war.

BA dare not overpay for Iberia after it reported its first quarterly loss in two years. The company blamed its poor performance on disruptions from a threatened cabin-crew strike and softening demand due to new air travel taxes and the weakened dollar.

Willie Walsh, the chief executive, also said that the group had set aside £350m to pay for possible fines stemming from an investigation into price fixing.

BA owns 10 per cent of Iberia and has first right of refusal to buy an additional 30 per cent stake, making its participation crucial to any suitor. The other members of the bidding group are the Spanish investment group Ibersuizas and Vista Capital.

The British airline had been expected to decide on a bidding partner up to two weeks ago, but put this off as the possibility of new bidding consortiums emerged. BA is keen to protect its privileged position in Iberia under its new owners and so wanted to make sure that it sided with the group most likely to prevail in the battle.

The formation of the consortium will be a disappointment for the board of Iberia, which is keen for a proper bidding war to increase the price.

A nucleus of investors who together control 25 per cent of Iberia - banks BBVA and Caja Madrid, department store El Corte Ingles, and tobacco distributor Logista - are understood to have invited alternative offers. As yet, none has surfaced.

By Danny Fortson

Source: news.independent.co.uk Read More..

British Airways facing big fines

British Airways was braced yesterday for multimillion-pound fines and legal action after admitting it broke competition rules.

The airline said it had set aside £350m as its "best estimate" to cover potential claims stemming from the discovery last year that senior staff had discussed long-haul fuel surcharges with rivals.

The UK's Office of Fair Trading and the United States Department of Justice have been investigating alleged price fixing on long-haul fuel surcharges since June.

If found guilty of operating a price-fixing or market-sharing cartel, an airline can expect to be fined as much as 10 per cent of its worldwide sales.

The £350m charge was taken in annual results yesterday, which showed profits of £611m against £616m a year earlier. At an operating level, profits for the year were down 13 per cent at £602m.

The fall came after a £350m rise in fuel costs, as well as the impact on revenues caused by increased security measures, fog and cabin crew disputes.

Profits were down by 68 per cent to £31m in the final quarter of the year after threatened industrial action caused passengers to switch to other airlines.

Chief executive Willie Walsh admitted it had been a challenging year for both the airline and passengers.

He said: "We know at times it has been a frustrating year for our customers, caused by disruption and overly-restrictive UK Government security measures on hand baggage."

BA said it was on track for operating margins of 10 per cent in the current financial year - triggering bonus payments for staff - but shares still fell amid cautious comments on current trading.

The company left guidance for revenue growth unchanged at between five per cent and six per cent, although it said it expected to be at the lower end of this range. It reported weakness in non-premium segments, most notably on the North Atlantic sector.

In October, BA's commercial director Martin George and communications chief Iain Burns quit the company. Mr George admitted that within his department "there may have been inappropriate conversations" in violation of company policy in relation to long-haul fuel surcharges.

BA admitted in its full-year results that it had broken competition law.

It said: "BA has a long-standing, clear and comprehensive competition compliance policy.

"This policy requires all staff to comply with the law at all times. It has become apparent that there have been breaches of this policy in relation to discussions about these surcharges with competitors.

"As a result it is now appropriate for the company to make a provision of £350m in its full-year accounts, which represents the company's best estimate of the amounts that could be required to settle all known claims in relation to these matters."

BA said fuel and oil costs, at £1.93bn, increased by 22 per cent in the year, even though
it was helped by a weaker US dollar. The annual bill is set for a further rise of £100m this year, to more than £2bn.

Analysts at Collins Stewart estimated last August's security disruption knocked £130m from the profits announced yesterday, while the threatened cabin crew dispute cost £80m.

Fog disruption over the Christmas period also hit profits.

Meanwhile, BA said it had not yet made a decision about the future of its 10 per cent stake in Iberia, the Spanish airline currently the subject of private equity takeover interest.

BA has ruled out making a bid of its own, but said it could work in conjunction with a buy-out group.

It has also announced plans to upgrade its Gatwick-based short-haul fleet by replacing the oldest 14 Boeing 737s with Airbus A319 aircraft. The move is in addition to eight new Airbus A320 aircraft scheduled for delivery between next year and 2010.

Source: www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk Read More..

British Airways Posts Loss on Fines, Labor Dispute

Bloomberg - British Airways Plc reported its first loss in eight quarters after setting aside 350 million pounds ($691 million) to settle antitrust fines and canceling flights because of a labor dispute. The stock fell to a six-month low.

Europe's third-largest airline had a fourth-quarter net loss of 128 million pounds, or 11.1 pence a share, compared with a profit of 80 million pounds, or 7 pence, a year earlier. Sales fell 5.9 percent to 1.93 billion pounds.

Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said today the company uncovered breaches of its own policies on consulting with competitors in setting fuel surcharges. The airline grounded 1,300 flights in the fourth quarter when cabin crews threatened to strike over pay and sick leave.

"The magnitude of the charge taken for the investigation is surprising, they are clearly flagging some negative issues to the market," said Gert Zonneveld, analyst with Panmure Gordon in London, with a "hold" rating on the stock. "Overall, it has been a tough quarter for them."

The shares fell as much as 24 pence, or 4.8 percent, to 477.5 pence and were down 3.7 percent at 12:28 p.m. in London. The stock has risen 66 percent since Walsh, 45, succeeded Rod Eddington, 57, as chief executive officer in October 2005.

The U.S. Justice Department, the European Commission and the U.K. Office of Fair Trading are investigating anti- competitive behavior linked to setting fuel charges on passenger and cargo flights. The 350 million-pound provision is the airline's "best estimate" of the cost to settle the cases, Walsh said.

Antitrust Investigation

Regulators are investigating whether the airline coordinated fare increases industrywide. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and United Airlines owner UAL Corp. were sued in New York federal court on June 26 for allegedly conspiring to fix fuel surcharges.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG agreed to pay $85 million to settle 80 U.S. class action suits linked to price fixing, the carrier said on Sept. 11. The airline also received conditional immunity from prosecution from the U.S. and EU, it said.

British Airways' revenue growth will be at the lower end of a 5 percent to 6 percent range in fiscal year 2008 because there is "weakness" in trans-Atlantic demand, the company said. Fuel costs will increase by 100 million pounds to 2 billion pounds.

The airline also said it applied for permission to fly to the U.S. from any city in the European Union when the "open skies" agreement comes in effect next year. The treaty between the U.S. and EU eases restrictions on the $18 billion trans- Atlantic market.

Wider Loss

The fourth-quarter loss was wider than the 67.5 million- pound median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The labor dispute cost 80 million pounds, the airline said. A U.K. increase in passenger taxes cost 11 million pounds.

Changes to the airline's pension fund resulted in a 396 million credit. The deficit in the fund has fallen to 1.6 billion pounds from 2.1 billion.

No final decision has been made on the future of the airline's 10 percent stake in Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA, British Airways said. It continues to examine all options including full disposal, the airline said. There will be no further investment in the Spanish carrier and no independent bid by British Airways, the company said.

The airline also ordered eight Airbus SAS A320s for delivery starting in 2008. The aircraft have a list price of $66 million each. The airline plans to replace 14 Boeing Co. 737s based at Gatwick airport in London.

Threatened Strike

The flight attendants threatened to strike after Walsh tried to reduce sick leave and on-board staffing as part of a plan to save 50 million pounds. Traffic fell 15 percent in January and February. A settlement was reached Jan. 29, averting a walkout.

The airline has a target of achieving a 10 percent profit margin by fiscal 2008 through reducing expenses and increasing passenger traffic, particularly on routes to the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The margin was 7.1 percent in fiscal 2007, which closed March 31.

A decline of the dollar against the British pound led to a drop in traffic on trans-Atlantic routes. The dollar fell 13 percent against the pound in the quarter from the year-earlier period.

British Airways agreed on Feb. 7 to close its 2.1 billion pension deficit over 10 years. The airline will make annual payments of 280 million pounds during this period and a one-time contribution of 800 million.

Passenger traffic dropped 1.3 percent in the quarter. Load factor, or the average number of seats filled, fell, 1.6 percent.

"We would argue that the outlook for premium traffic, the main driver for the business, remains good as a result of continued underlying strength in corporate and banking sectors," said Andrew Light, an analyst with Citigroup Inc. in London who has a "buy" rating on the stock.

"Open Skies"

The shares dropped the most in 5 1/2 years on March 5 after the U.S. and EU reached a tentative agreement on easing restrictions on trans-Atlantic flights. The airline's future earnings might be hurt by new competition at London Heathrow, its main base, from U.S. carriers like Continental Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc.

"This ambitious 10 percent profit margin target is facing three threats: potential competition from open skies, a weaker dollar and rising fuel bill," Zonneveld said.

Fuel is the airline's second highest cost after employee salaries with costs increasing in fiscal 2007 by 22.1 percent to 1.9 million pounds and by 5.6 percent to 455 million pounds in the quarter. To deal with the rising price of kerosene, the airline has raised its fuel surcharge six times since the introduction of the first payment in May 2004.

In January the surcharge fell 14 percent for long-haul flights of less than nine hours from 35 pounds to 30 pounds. The price of Brent crude oil traded in London has risen 11 percent so far this year.

Fuel Charges

In April the charge was increased again to 33 pounds from 30 pounds because of "volatile" oil prices, the airline said.

The airline will move into Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow on March 27 where it will operate exclusively processing 30 million passengers a year. It will consolidate the carrier's operations now divided between Terminals 1 and 4 in one location. Walsh estimated on Feb. 7 the airline will need a decade to earn back its 350 million-pound investment in moving to Terminal 5.

"The most significant benefit is expected to be the improvement in British Airways product," said Tim Marshall, analyst with UBS in London who has a "buy" rating on the stock.

British Airways ranks behind Paris-based Air France-KLM Group and Cologne, Germany-based Deutsche Lufthansa AG in passenger traffic.

By Emmet Oliver
To contact the reporter on this story: Emmet Oliver in London at eoliver4@bloomberg.net .

Source: Bloomberg.com Read More..

British Airways posts 4Q loss

LONDON - British Airways PLC on Friday admitted anticompetitive behavior while posting a net loss for its latest quarter. The airline said it has earmarked 350 million pounds ($690 million) to cover fines that are likely to stem from an investigation into whether senior staff had discussed fuel surcharges on tickets with rivals, after acknowledging "breaches" of policy.

BA reported a net loss of 124 million pounds ($244.5 million) in the fourth quarter, compared to a net profit of 80 million pounds ($157.8 million) a year ago, after threatened cabin crew strikes in January and a new British tax on flights bit into the carrier's bottom line.

Revenue dropped 6 percent to 1.9 billion pounds ($3.8 billion) after thousands of passengers canceled their reservations before the strike was dropped, costing the carrier 80 million pounds ($157.8 million).

BA's stock was down 3.3 percent in midmorning trade on the London Stock Exchange.

BA noted that it had experienced "unprecedented disruption" over the whole year, including several labor disputes and a weaker U.S. dollar. A terrorist alert at Heathrow last summer grounded hundreds of flights and led to higher security costs.

Full-year profit was down 35 percent at 304 million pounds ($599.5 million), despite a 3.4 percent uptick in revenue to 8.5 billion pounds ($16.7 billion).

The carrier also has further threats looming in the form of fierce competition on its key trans-Atlantic route following the "open skies" agreement to liberalize the allotment of airport slots among international carriers.

"BA seems determined to do things the hard way and today's figures summarize a difficult year," said Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.

However, Hunter added that the shares had been supported by BA's focus on increasing margins, particularly via its "premium cabin" strategy and the potential offered by the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, which is due to open in March 2008.

The airline is being investigated by British and U.S. authorities over the allegations of price fixing. If found guilty of breaching antitrust rules, it could be fined either up to 10 percent of sales on its lucrative trans-Atlantic routes or 10 percent of its total group sales.

Two senior executives quit in October after being linked to the investigation. Chief Financial Officer Keith Williams said the investigations were "unlikely to be resolved for some time."

BA also announced that it had placed an order for eight Airbus A320 aircraft, for delivery in 2008-2010, as its renews its short-haul fleet.

On the Net:
Earnings Webcast: http://www.bashares.com

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: Yahoo! News Read More..

Frequent Travelers Oppose AirTran Takeover of Midwest

The increasingly competitive trading conditions faced by British Airways and BT will be in focus when the pair report results this week. SECURITY measures, fog and cabin crew disputes will affect annual results at British Airways on Friday. Charles Stanley stockbrokers is looking for profits of £550m, down from £605m a year earlier, but still above the recent average for the airline.

For next year, BA is forecasting revenue growth of between 5% and 6% based on a capacity increase of 1.3%, traffic growth of 2.4% and a 3.4% improvement in passenger yields.

The goal for BA is an operating margin of 10% in the year to March 2008, which would trigger bonuses for the airline’s 44,000 staff. It is unlikely to achieve the margin target for the financial year just completed.

Apart from labour relations, Charles Stanley analyst Tony Shepard said the biggest threat to BA remained competitive trading conditions.

He said, “The airline cycle has been very strong for the last two years and BA has done well to grow its premium traffic. Recently, easyJet shares took a tumble as it warned about lower summer passenger yields and both Ryanair and easyJet have increased promotional activity.”

During the industry upswing BA has paid down debt and made a one-off £800m cash injection into its pension fund deficit.

BA plans to renew its fleet from 2010 onwards and this will require a strong balance sheet as it starts to spend £1bn a year over a 10-year period, Mr Shepard said. It is also due to move into Heathrow Terminal Five in March 2008.

In a fiercely competitive market, former state telecoms business BT appears to be holding its own in the battle for broadband business.

BT Retail’s share of broadband net additions was 34% in the final three months of 2006, the highest for over two years. BT has faced up to cut-price offers from Carphone Warehouse, but the market is unlikely to get any easier with the entry of BSkyB and the creation of Virgin Media following the mergers of NTL, Telewest and Virgin Mobile.

Further details on BT’s performance will emerge on Thursday, when it is due to post annual results showing a rise in profits from £2.18bn in 2006 to £2.55bn this time. Shareholders may also get a return of surplus cash, possibly up to £2bn.

Jim McCafferty, a research analyst at Seymour Pierce, said recent signs from Virgin that it had failed to win market share during the first three months of 2007 suggested BT had maintained its strong market position.

He added, “We believe BT’s superior customer service and reliability will see it maintain this leadership.”

BT is also in the process of launching BT Vision, which involves a set-top box providing programmes on-demand via broadband. BT hopes its payment on-demand charges, rather than subscriptions, are a selling point to new customers.

New wave revenues, such as broadband and corporate IT services, now account for more than a third of the group’s revenues, offsetting sales declines in BT’s traditional fixed-line business.

It has also prompted BT to create a new structure aimed at driving its transformation into a software services company.

BT said around 20,000 people would move from elsewhere in the business to staff two new units, one responsible for the design and development of services and the other to handle their deployment and operation.

The company said the structure benefited customers by bringing them new services quicker, while ensuring that BT is able to accelerate its development as a networked IT services company by delivering products over broadband.

With talks over the future of VT Group’s shipbuilding operation, attention has been diverted from the continued strong performance of the company’s core business, involving support services in the fields of defence, communications and education and skills. This accounts for 80% of its work.

Southampton-based VT – formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft – said recently that trading in all its divisions had been in line with guidance at the time of its half-year results, when it boasted an order book of £3.5bn.

It is in discussions with BAE Systems over the combination of the pair’s surface ship and naval support businesses. BAE and VT already work together on Ministry of Defence contracts, with VT building the bow and mast sections for the Royal Navy’s Type 45 Destroyer programme at Portsmouth. The rest of the work and assembly is done by BAE at Glasgow.

Consolidation in the naval shipbuilding industry has the backing of the Ministry of Defence.

Analysts expect full-year results tomorrow to show an improvement in profits to between £70m and £73m, compared with £61.5m a year earlier.

Source: icwales.icnetwork.co.uk Read More..

BA under pressure from Iberia bid partners

Private equity interest in airlines has continued following the failed bid for Qantas with EXAS Pacific Group and Apax renewing their efforts to secure backing by British Airways in a takeover bid for Iberia.

BA already owns 10 percent of the Spanish airline but has ruled out making a bid on its own. Instead, the UK carrier will tie up with one of the consortiums in what could be a bid worth US$1.3 billion.

A decision could be made tomorrow.

Source: www.cargonewsasia.com Read More..

Quiet Hotels Important to Business Travelers, Families

(ARA) - Some people travel for business and others for pleasure. Whatever the reason for hitting the road, travelers have increasingly sophisticated expectations when it comes to the quality of a hotel.

Hotel guests look at many variables, from the property's amenities to the friendliness of the staff and, of course, price. But the one attribute prized over all others is a restful environment, a place where travelers can relax and rejuvenate for the next day, whether that means a high-powered business meeting or a power tour of the local tourist attractions.

Business travelers know that they pay a price for not being at their best while on the road. Numbers collected by British Airways bear out this common wisdom. Twenty-three percent of those polled said they fell asleep in a meeting, 18 percent said a presentation went badly, and 14 percent missed a meeting or flight.

And just ask any parent what happens when their kids don't get a good night's sleep while traveling. Cranky kids can turn a family vacation into a nightmare.

AmericInn makes a quiet hotel its priority. The company uses a proprietary construction system called SoundGuard which reduces sound by using masonry block, sound-deadening foam and heavy sheetrock between rooms and floors. Buildings are also constructed to minimize noise intrusion from outside as well as from public spaces within the hotel, including separating the pool and recreation areas from the residential portion of the hotel.

That means guests won't be kept awake by their neighbors in the next room, or be woken too early when the alarm clock in the room above theirs goes off. It also means that parents don't have to continually remind the kids to "keep it down."

The chain offers other in-demand amenities like free Internet access and free breakfast. The hotels feature oversize, indoor pools, whirlpools and a game area. Many also have a fitness area and sauna, yet another way to relax after a busy day.

With over 200 hotels in 21 states throughout the United States, AmericInn hotels are conveniently located in business hubs as well as close to major tourist attractions for families. Visit www.americinn.com/ara for locations.

Copyright © 2006, ARA Content

Source: www.sulphurdailynews.com Read More..

EasyJet shares continue dive

LONDON (Reuters) - Low-cost airline easyJet’s shares suffered a fourth day of losses on Wednesday, after it said passenger numbers were being hit by higher taxes and interest rates, and as rival Ryanair launched a price promotion.

EasyJet said it had more than halved its traditional first-half loss, meeting analysts’ expectations.

But its shares fell 5.5 percent by 2:53 p.m. (British Time), continuing a fall that started last week when rivals Ryanair and British Airways reported soft April trading.

EasyJet said it would try to offset the weaker market by lowering ticket prices and increasing promotions in the second half.

But Ryanair moved first, offering its biggest-ever promotion of 10 million seats over 5 weeks for little more than the cost of the airport tax.

"We continue to see pressure on yields in the summer," said easyJet Chief Executive Andy Harrison.

"Maybe a little is due to air passenger duty, maybe people are feeling the increase in interest rates, maybe at the margins some people are not flying due to the environmental debate," he told reporters.

Britain doubled air passenger duty in February, citing the need to tackle climate change and taking the tax on short-haul flights to 10 pounds.

EasyJet’s shares have fallen by about 19 percent in total since last Thursday, when Ryanair said the new taxes were hitting yields. EasyJet echoed those comments on Tuesday, saying revenue per seat had fallen in April.

"Today provides little new to calm the bears, who remain convinced that there will be a profits warning in June due to deepening weakness which management can’t see today," said analyst Chris Avery at JP Morgan.

EasyJet’s first-half pretax loss was 17 million pounds in the six months to March, down 58 percent from 40 million last year.

By Pete Harrison
Source: www.tiscali.co.uk Read More..