So... Who is next?

[NickN]

Airlines going out of business has become as familiar as the change of weather lately.

Any tips on who you think might be next to go?

[Montague S]

Alitalia...

[Kieran Wells]

Originally Posted by Montague S

Alitalia...

Agree - they may have a little under 2 weeks left, with them apparently losing $1.6millionUSD per day i read earlier today...

[Rod Sloan]

Freedom Air...










oops..no..already gone.

Bye Bye Jetstar Asia

[Michael Morrison]

I suppose it really comes down to what airlines have huge debts and cant refinance them int he current tight credit environment.... With this, id say the airlines in EU / USA are more exposed due to the down turn and hieghtened competiiton. Airlines in our part of the world are still making some decent profits

[NickN]

Well the Air France / KLM takeover of Alitalia has failed so I suppose that might see them go next!

It's a real shame too, Alitalia was an icon back in the 70s and 80s.

[Nick W.]

Italisn Government has started to push the point with the aviation industry. Although there are numerous other carriers in Italy, Alitalia is arguable the figurehead of their airline industry, hence they would not want to see them go.

BRDO, Slovenia, April 5 (Reuters) - The Italian government urged Alitalia's unions to signal within the next two days that they are willing to soften their line with Air France-KLM, after the collapse in talks to buy the ailing Italian airline.
The Franco-Dutch carrier walked out of negotiations with Alitalia's unions to buy the state's 49.9 stake in Italy's largest airline, saying requests by labour leaders were unacceptable.
"My appeal (to unions) is to do something new today, or tomorrow at the latest," Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa told a reporters in Solovenia, after a meeting of the European Union finance ministers.
Air France-KLM's board meets on Monday, and the Italian government said it hoped the Franco-Dutch carrier would not completely write off the takeover of Alitalia, which the officials believe offer the airline its best chance of survival.
"I hope Air France-KLM won't shut the door for good," Enrico Letta, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Romano Prodi, told reporters in the northern Italian lakeside town of Cernobbio.
"And this of course hinges on the unions showing a responsible attitude."
JOB CUTS PLANNED
Air France-KLM planned to cut 2,100 jobs at Alitalia with more redundancies at its ground service unit.
Alitalia's board is due to decide on April 8 whether to ask for protection from creditors, with the government scrambling to keep it flying despite a haemhorrage of about 1 million euros ($1.57 million) a day.
Once a proud symbol of Italy's post-war economic boom, Alitalia has been felled by tough competition, soaring fuel prices and frequent labour strikes. It has posted a profit only four times in the past 15 years.
Still, plans to privatise the airline have stirred nationalist sentiment just ahead of April 13-14 general elections, and turned Alitalia into a top campaign issue.
Opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi, tipped to become Italy's next prime minister, has appealed to Italian businessmen to come forward and save Alitalia from French control.
But Berlusconi's future finance minister if elected, Giulio Tremonti, seemed to leave an opening for Air France-KLM when speaking to reporters on Saturday.
"Why not?", Tremonti told reporters in Cernobbio. "If it preserves the identity, strength and value of Alitalia."
Confusing matters, Italian media reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources, that one possibility for Alitalia could be a bidding consortium including Germany's Lufthansa and U.S. private equity firm Texas Pacific Group.
AGI news agency said the bidders may include Alitalia's closest domestic rival, Air One.
A senior labour leader, Raffaele Bonanni of the Cisl union, had been quoted on Friday suggesting that unions would favour a takeover by Lufthansa.
A Lufthansa spokesman said there was "no news" since the airline most recently denied it planned to bid for Alitalia on Thursday. It was not immediately possible to reach officials at Texas Pacific Group or Air One. (Additional reporting by Valentina Za in Cernobbio and Georgina Prodhan in Paris; Writing by Phil Stewart and Valentina Za)

[Greg F]

In My opinion in Australia

Tiger - Unsustainable Low Fares. Backed by Singapore Air, If it doesn't work or make money the pin could easily be pulled. Fighting for Terminal space and affordable airport costs.. A little rocky at the moment

JetStar - Low Cost slightly higher than tiger. Backed by Qantas (QF can offload flights & destinations etc to JQ. Also no great issue with airport space, just share/piggy back with QF)

Virgin Blue - To me they seem a little lost... They are heading away from LCC more so to the Qantas end... They have ridiculous running costs and have just purchased less efficient aircraft the E-Jets, carrying less passengers... Kind of the old Ansett CRJ move.. Risky in 'my opinion'

Qantas - I hope that they keep pushing the fleet renewal, some of the QF jets are looking rather tacky and old. As far as maintenance issues, I think the media have blown it way out of proportion.

So basically 'in my opinion' I see in Australia Tiger is the most likely to depart, but I also am concerned for DJ... I mean toll are trying to sell it and even Branson doesn't want it back... He is very smart with his $$. High Costs.. They "Virgin" are sitting where Ansett was, the meat in the sandwich..

DJ > AN > QF whereas today its like TT,JQ > DJ > QF..
'which way do Virgin go?' they are heading QF's Way, and QF is slooowly ditching services and giving to JQ....

What does everyone else think?

I really agree with Tiger leaving over the next finacial year, if no profit is made. Tiger should have come 4 years ago, and it would have been king. Jetstar are flying high, but Virgin is the one to watch with the regional move and premium economy focus.

I must say Tiger is the one to go next, those Unsustainable Low Fares are just stupid, I wont be booking to far ahead with Tiger