Virgin Blue Airlines Group
(ASX:VBA) has announced plans to form a joint venture with Delta Air Lines that will expand both carriers reach between the U.S. and Australia and the South Pacific.
Virgin says the two airlines are seeking regulatory approval for their joint venture, and in the meantime will move forward to implement codesharing and frequent flyer program reciprocity.
Delta’s executive vice president for network and revenue management, Glen Hauenstein says together Delta and Virgin Blue will be a stronger and more effective competitor by offering customers greater choice of destinations, frequencies and schedules.
Virgin CEO Brett Godfrey says the two airlines make a tremendously exciting fit.
Virgin Blue and Delta will today file antitrust immunity applications with the U.S. Department of Transportation and with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Virgin Blue’s 2008 net profit more than halved from its high in 2007 of $215.8 million.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ASX:ANZ) has reportedly cut an additional 248 jobs across its operations in Australia in an effort to downsize its Australian workforce.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that staff at ANZ’s mortgage fulfillment centres in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart were told yesterday that their jobs would now be outsourced.
The paper reports an ANZ spokesperson saying that close to 150 jobs are to be outsourced to companies such as U.S. Iron Horse, and a further 40 to got to the company’s technology and operations centre in Bangalore.
In March this year the bank announced that close to 500 jobs had moved offshore to Bangalore over the past year. Looking back over the past five years, ANZ’s profit highlight was in 2007 posting profit of $4.2 billion.
Infrastructure services company Service Stream Ltd (ASX:SSM) the company says it expects to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of around $30 million for the 2009 financial period, on revenue of $550 million.
The company also says CEO Patrick Flannigan will step down from the role at the end of July.
Service Stream says further softening in the economy led to delays in work expected in the final quarter of the 2009 financial year.
Saying that the major item has been a delay in the commencement of certain capital projects which were budgeted as new business and growth opportunities for the company.
Service Stream says the while it anticipates that substantial new business opportunities remain across all its operating divisions, over and above its existing and ongoing customer activities, these opportunities are likely to be deferred into the 2010 financial year. Service Stream’s 2008 net profit was $18 million.
