BAA Says No Airport Sale Plans

BAA, the owner of Britain's three biggest airports, is not planning to sell any airports and has not decided on any job cuts, the firm said on Thursday after a newspaper said it was planning 2,000 job cuts.

However, BAA, the airport unit of Spanish infrastructure and construction firm Ferrovial, said it was undertaking a review of back-office functions, which did not involve security or customer service staff at its airports.

"No conclusions have yet been reached, and the review is ongoing," BAA said.

The Times newspaper reported on Thursday that BAA, whose airports include London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, was looking to cut up to 2,000 jobs and may be preparing to sell one or more of its airports.

"Ferrovial have a huge debt burden, and they can't sustain that," The Times quoted a BAA source as saying. "They are really drilling down costs, and there is going to be a complete restructuring of the business, with a couple of thousand of jobs going. It cannot be the security staff, but every other element of the business is up for review."

Stephen Nelson, CEO of BAA, hit back on Thursday, calling the report exaggerated and misleading.

"No decisions have been taken around the loss of support jobs, and we do not recognize the specific number used by The Times," he said.

Ferrovial declined to comment on the matter on Thursday.

BAA has come under criticism for delays and ageing infrastructure at Heathrow and Gatwick. The British airport operator was bought by Ferrovial in a GBP10.1 billion pound (USD$20.4 billion), debt-fueled takeover last year. (Reuters)

Young management trainees run Gulf Air for a day

Young Bahraini management trainees will be given an opportunity of a lifetime by Gulf Air, allowing them to run the airline for a day. “The key ingredient for a successful organization is its people and these young Bahrainis are going to be the leaders who will fly Gulf Air into a promising future,” says Acting President and Chief Executive Bjorn Naf.

“Aviation is a very complex business and there is nothing better than letting them experience what it’s like being a CEO for a day for their national carrier so they can experience what its like to lead in such a challenging work environment,” says Mr. Naf, who devised the idea.

As part of the deal, young management trainees will spend a full day with the CEO of the company, including shadowing him at meetings with senior management and staff.

The move is part of Gulf Air’s commitment to providing a nurturing and supportive environment in which these individuals are recruited, trained and empowered to take up positions of leadership in the airline while fulfilling their personal aspirations.

The management trainees are part of Gulf Air’s 24-month Graduate Entry Management programme, which rotates young graduates through the business giving them an insight into complexity of the aviation industry. During this period, they are exposed and trained to acquire functional and management skills through performance management and formal training intervention. On completion, graduates are placed in junior management roles as the first step on a structured career track.

Norwegian to purchase great number of next-generation

42 new Boeing 737-800 airplanes have been ordered by Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA with Blended Winglets as the carrier revealed. The airplanes have a list price of USD 3.1 billion or just over NOK 18 billion. Parallel to this, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA has ensured purchase rights for an additional 42 airplanes of the same model from Boeing. These cost-efficient airplanes with leading-edge technology are significantly more environment-friendly than the existing airfleet.

This is the largest order in Europe received by Boeing for the company’s 737 series thus far in 2007. The new airplanes will supplement the 11 Boeing 737-800 airplanes Norwegian ordered from Boeing in May this year. The Boeing 737-800 model is a next-generation airplane, with a reduction in fuel consumption up to 33 per cent and reduction in NOx up to 43 per cent, compared with the oldest airplanes in Norwegian’s current airplanes fleet. The 737-800 has 189 seats, while the current 737-300 has 148 seats.

“The new airplanes will strengthen Norwegian’s competitive position in the Norwegian, Nordic and European aviation markets. Also, the airplanes are significantly more environment-friendly than the ones we use today. These airplanes will reduce Norwegian’s CO2 emissions and bring down fuel costs, while noise levels are considerably lower than for other airplanes,” says Bjorn Kjos, CEO of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA.

“We have explored different ways of financing, hereunder US ex-im financing of 85 per cent of the purchase price. These purchases will open up new opportunities, enabling us to fly longer distances and thus consider new, interesting routes,” says Bjorn Kjos, adding that the purchases will ensure greater flexibility when phasing out older airplanes and adapting to market trends.

The 42 airplanes will be delivered over a five-year period from 2009 through 2014, with around 10 airplanes each year. The company has entered into hedging agreements to cover a large part of the NOK/USD exposure in connection with the purchases.