Dutch state buys stake in Air France-KLM to ‘increase influence’

DutchNews, February 27, 2019

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The Dutch state has bought a large minority shareholding in the holding company of Air France-KLM in order to exercise more influence on the company, finance minister Wopke Hoekstra told a news conference on Tuesday evening. 

In total, the Netherlands has bought 12.68% of the company for €680m on the open market, but plans to raise this to 14% – in line with the stake held by the French government. 

The aim, Hoekstra says, is to better guarantee Dutch public interests. ‘The position of Schiphol and KLM are of great importance to the Dutch economy and employment,’ he said. ‘It involves thousands of direct and indirect jobs.’ 

In addition, KLM’s destination network is one reason so many foreign firms decide to relocate to the Netherlands, he said. 

The Dutch move, which apparently was not shared with the French authorities ahead of time, follows a turbulent period for the company. 

Holding chief Ben Smith is known to be keen to see Air France and KLM unify through common aircraft orders, alliances and flight programmes but the plans have caused unease in the Netherlands. 

‘Over the past few years it has become obvious that important decisions about KLM strategy are being taken at a holding level,’ Hoekstra said on Tuesday evening. ‘At the same time, talks about strengthening existing agreements… and the make-up of the board, have been difficult.’ 

KLM also reports better financial results compared to Air France, which has been hit by strikes, even though it is much smaller. 

France 

French economic affairs minister Bruno Le Maire told Les Echoes that the shares had been bought up without prior knowledge of the Air France-KLM board or the French government.

The French government has a 14.3% stake in the holding, which was created in 2003 when the two airlines merged. The Dutch state retains a 5.9% stake in KLM itself. 

‘The big question is, what will you achieve with this,’ aviation economist Eric Pels told broadcaster NOS. ‘It cost a lot of money, you don’t have a majority and you can’t sit in the chief executive’s seat. Operational decisions, the day to day affairs, are not taken together with shareholders.’

Wopke Hoekstra and Bruno Le Maire answer questions . Photo: AP Photo/

Christophe Ena via HH

Related Articles:

France, the Netherlands make up after Air France-KLM share purchase - New
Dutch state increases stake in Air France-KLM to 14%, as questions remain

Fasten your seatbelts and expect severe turbulence! France warns that the Dutch government's purchase of a major stake in Air France-KLM "benefits nobody"https://t.co/ncLzBsAzow pic.twitter.com/fDBBRxGK3z

— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 28, 2019

BMW, Daimler to invest 1 bn euros in joint carsharing scheme

Yahoo – AFP,  February 22, 2019

BMW CEO Harald Krueger and Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche announced the
 plan to combine their companies' carsharing schemes on Friday (AFP Photo/
John MACDOUGALL)

Berlin (AFP) - German auto giants BMW and Daimler said Friday they would invest one billion euros ($1.1 billion) in combining and extending their carsharing schemes DriveNow and Car2Go, in future offering a slew of "mobility services", including for electric cars.

"We are pooling the strength and expertise of 14 successful brands and investing more than one billion euros to establish a new player in the fast-growing market for urban mobility," Dieter Zetsche, chief executive of Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler said in a statement.

The two high-end manufacturers will organise their "mobility" businesses around five joint ventures.

Customers will be able to book shared cars, hail rides from taxis and chauffeur services, find and pay for parking spots and electric car charging points and plan "multimodal" journeys -- pulling in alternatives like public transport and bike rentals.

All five strands will follow BMW's naming scheme with titles like Park Now and Charge Now.

"These five services will merge ever more closely to form a single mobility service portfolio," BMW CEO Harald Krueger said.

Still further in the future, the two firms will offer "an all-electric, self-driving fleet of vehicles that charge and park autonomously and interconnect with other modes of transport," he added.

BMW and Daimler's carsharing and other services like Park Now or MyTaxi today boast a combined 60 million customers, the companies said.

The new joint venture will be based in German capital and tech industry hub Berlin, and create "up to 1,000" jobs worldwide, they added.

Singapore Airlines denies snooping with seatback cameras

Yahoo – AFP, 21 February 2019

Singapore Airlines says the cameras on its latest inflight entertainment systems
have been disabled

Singapore Airlines insisted Thursday that cameras on its planes' entertainment systems had been disabled after an outcry online from worried passengers who spotted the tiny lenses peering at them.

Travellers took to Twitter and other social media to raise the alarm over the cameras at the bottom of seatback screens on a number of the Singapore flag carrier's newer aircraft.

"Just found this interesting sensor looking at me from the seat back on board of Singapore Airlines. Any expert opinion of whether is a camera?" passenger Vitaly Kamluk tweeted.

His tweet was accompanied by photos of the monitor with the embedded camera.

Another passenger urged the airline in a tweet to "notify all your passengers and get their consent, particularly EU residents, that you are doing this, why, what are you doing with the data and how long you keep it".

The airline confirmed that some of its latest inflight entertainment systems did have fixed cameras -- but assured passengers that they had been disabled.

"These cameras have been intended by the manufacturers for future developments. These cameras have been permanently disabled on our aircraft and cannot be activated on board," the airline said in a statement.

"We have no plans to enable or develop any features using the cameras."

US airlines to offer non-binary gender options

Yahoo – AFP, February 19, 2019

Beginning June 1, 2019, members of Airlines for America, a trade group that
 represents most leading US carriers, will allow consumers to pick "unspecified" and
 "undisclosed" in addition to the traditional two gender options of "male" and
"female" (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

New York (AFP) - US carriers will soon offer passengers additional options besides "male" and "female" when they buy tickets, an airlines trade association said Tuesday.

The shift comes as a handful of US states permit citizens to identify by non-binary genders and as a minority of countries within the European Union permit citizens to self-identify by their gender preference.

Beginning June 1, members of Airlines for America, a trade group that represents most leading US carriers, will allow consumers to pick "unspecified" and "undisclosed" in addition to the traditional two options.

"US airlines value a culture of diversity and inclusion, both in the workplace and for our passengers and we work hard each day to accommodate the needs of all travelers, while delivering a safe, secure and enjoyable flight experience," the group said.

Implementation of the shift will be up to members of the group, which is also known as A4A. Members of the association include American Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

United Airlines, another member, said on Twitter, that "In the coming weeks, customers will be able to select the gender with which they most closely identify during the booking process."

Delta Air Lines, which is not in A4A, also plans non-binary gender options during the booking process, a spokeswoman said.

Seven states in the US and the District of Columbia allow citizens to define as "X" gender, in addition to male and female, said Gillian Branstetter, media relations manager at the National Center of Transgender Equality.

The group applauded the airline announcement.

"Non-binary people face unnecessary, invasive, and discriminatory scrutiny by airlines, airports and security services alike," said Arli Christian, state policy director for the National Center for Transgender Equality.

"A4A's work is in line with other states who offer gender neutral designations on IDs and is an important step toward ensuring safe and smooth travel for all passengers regardless of their gender."

Among the 28 EU member states and three European Free Trade Association states, seven countries currently have or will soon have a model that lets adults self-define their gender, according to a November 2018 European Commission report on trans and intersex equality. However, only one jurisdiction -- Malta -- permits non-binary recognition.

EU countries, as well as the EU itself, "are firmly grounded in a binary conception of sex," said the report.

"While public awareness if improving, trans and intersex people continue to suffer disproportionate social and legal burdens," the report said.

Cyclists face €95 fine for using their phone while cycling

DutchNews, January 31, 2019

Cyclists caught using their mobile phone without a hands-free kit face a fine of €95 from July 1, the Parool said on Thursday, quoting sources in The Hague. 

The ban on using a mobile phone while cycling is due to be discussed at Friday’s cabinet meeting and ministers are expected to vote in favour of the fine, the paper said. 

The size of the fine is in line with other penalties for cyclists, which include €100 for cycling while drunk and €95 for cycling through a red light. Motorists face a €240 fine for using their phone while driving. 

Transport minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen published draft legislation in September making it an offence ‘to hold a mobile electronic devices while driving all vehicles [so including bikes]’. 

The words ‘mobile electronic device’ rather than mobile phone were deliberately chosen to take developments in the future into account. 

Nearly half of cyclists are said to use their phones while cycling, and phones are said to have played a role in 20% of bike accidents involving the under-25s, the transport ministry said last year.