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International Business News

India's Hinduja group eyeing France's Valeo

AFP, Mumbai
Indian conglomerate Hinduja is in talks to buy a controlling stake in France's automotive supplier Valeo for up to 1.5 billion dollars, a newspaper report said Monday.
Officials from Hinduja's bus and truck maker Ashok Leyland met representatives from Valeo in Paris last week to discuss the offer, the Business Standard newspaper said.
A Hinduja group spokesman in Mumbai said the report was "speculative" and declined further comment.
Valeo has 125 production sites and a presence in 28 countries.
US slowdown takes growing toll on passenger flights: IATA
AFP, Geneva
The US economic slowdown is taking a growing toll on the airline industry' as passenger occupancy rates hit the lowest level for four years, the top industry association said on Monday.
The global passenger load factor (PLF) fell to 73.3 percent in February, down 0.6 percent from the previous year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement.
"Things are slowing down," said IATA director general , Giovanni Bisignani.
"Load factors tell the story. They fell in the four largest carrier regions showing the growing impact of the US economic slowdown on the airline industry'," he added.
The weak US dollar is boosting exports and outbound business flights, he noted, while conversely the strong euro is damaging the competitiveness of European carriers.
Transatlantic air travel is set to undergo a sea-change in the coming months as the long-awaited "Open Skies" agreement between the United States and European Union comes into force, IATA noted. The agreement took effect on Sunday.
"US-EU Open Skies will be yet another variable in a very' complicated question," Bisignani said.
The agreement, which allows many more airlines to fly between the two continents, should boost figures in the short-term, with 25 percent more weekly flights to the US out of London Heathrow alone, IATA said.
"Consumers will benefit from greater choice and lower fares due to intensified competition. We expect a counter-cylical boost in April traffic as a result. The question will be how much and for how long," Bisignani asid.
He called for further deregulation of ownership rules, "so that airlines can merge or consolidate where it makes businesssense".
Air France, Delta launch three new transatlantic routes
AFP, London
Airlines Air France and Delta launched three transatlantic routes out of London's Heathrow airport on Monday in a joint venture which takes advantage of the "Open Skies" agreement to free up the market.
From Monday, the French national carrier and the US airline will run daily non-stop flights between Heathrow and Los Angeles LAX and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson as well as twice daily flights to New York JFK.
Air France will operate the Los Angeles flights, while Delta will operate the New'York and Atlanta ones.
The move, announced by the two at a press conference in London, has been made possible by the "Open Skies" accord between the US and the European Union.
This overturns rules under which only British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines and American Airlines could fly between Heathrow and the US and allows the airlines to tap into the lucrative transatlantic business market.
The announcement comes four days after the chaotic opening of Heathrow's newTerminal 5, which was dogged by problems with the luggage handling system. Some passengers at the terminal are still experiencing problems.
"Air France's decision to launch a new transatlantic route to and from the UK marks a totally new phase in the developing world air transport sector," said Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, deputy CEO ofAir France-KLM
"Thanks to the new open skies agreement, our ambition in the years to come is to rank among the leading world players on this market."