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- <text id=92TT1720>
- <title>
- Aug. 03, 1992: One If by Land, Two If by Sea ...
- </title>
- <history>
- TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1992
- Aug. 03, 1992 AIDS: Losing the Battle
- </history>
- <article>
- <source>Time Magazine</source>
- <hdr>
- THE WEEK, Page 25
- BUSINESS
- One If by Land, Two If by Sea...</hdr><body>
- <p>A chunk of USAir gives British Air a foothold in the American
- market
- </p>
- <p> The encounter this time was far friendlier than at Lexington
- and Concord. In one of the biggest cross-border deals to date,
- British Airways agreed to acquire a 44% equity stake in USAir
- for $750 million. If approved, the transaction will result in
- the largest airline alliance ever and could accelerate
- worldwide consolidation of the industry. The most immediate
- impact, though, will be to rescue the Arlington, Va., carrier
- from a cloudy financial future. After expanding rapidly in the
- late 1980s, USAir was blown off course by the economic recession
- and a slowdown in air travel. It has lost more than $800 million
- since 1989, including $149 million so far this year.
- </p>
- <p> The main winner will be British Airways, now the world's
- biggest international carrier. The transaction fulfills its
- long-held desire to enter the American market, fly into more
- U.S. cities and pick up more American travelers for its
- transatlantic flights. Although foreign ownership of American
- airlines is limited to a 49% stake and 25% of voting stock,
- European and Asian carriers have rushed to make deals. KLM Royal
- Dutch bought 20% of Northwest in 1989, and in 1988 Pan Pacific
- Hoteliers Inc., a subsidiary of Japan Airlines, took a 20%
- position in Hawaiian Airlines.
- </p>
-
- </body></article>
- </text>
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