Qantas has launched an aggressive online petition as it ratchets up its campaign to get the federal government to block Air New Zealand, Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines taking increased stakes in Virgin Australia via the latter’s $350 million rights issue. The website fairgo4qantas.nationbuilder.com went live on Tuesday morning and uses unprecedentedly strong language in arguing
Forget the corporate rhetoric from Borghetti and Joyce in their latest public exchanges on Virgin’s rampant capital-raising efforts this year, what is becoming clear is that the majority foreign-owned carrier Borghetti leads is staving off a financial cold, writes Julian Green. In the last 12 months, Virgin Australia has raised more than $1 billion in
In the next step of its global expansion campaign, Etihad will enter the European regional market after its acquisition of a 33.3 per cent stake in Swiss carrier Darwin Airline. The carrier, which will be branded as Etihad Regional, will align its network to connect passengers from secondary European markets onto the main networks of
Qantas has launched a loyalty program aimed at small and medium business as part of efforts to shore up marketshare for non-corporate account business travel. Dubbed Aquire, the new stand-alone program allows businesses to accrue Acquire points through a range of business transactions. Those points can then be converted on a one for one basis
Virgin Australia’s $350 million rights issue, which has seen major institutional investors Air New Zealand, Etihad, Singapore Airlines and the Virgin Group take up their entitlement shares in the airline, has sparked a pointed reaction from Qantas and counter arguments from Virgin. The rights issue, which so far has raised $281.4 million from Virgin Australia’s
Air New Zealand shares are in a trading haft after the New Zealand government announced it is selling down its stake in the kiwi carrier from 73 per cent to about 53 per cent. Shares in Air New Zealand were trading at NZ$1.65 before the trading halt, valuing the 20 per cent stake at about
