Aviation

Frontier to buy discounter Spirit airlines for $2.9bn

  Bloomberg Frontier Group Holdings Inc agreed to buy Spirit Airlines Inc. for $2.9 billion in cash and stock, uniting two ultra-low-cost carriers targeting the recovering US leisure-travel market. Spirit shares rose the most in 14 months. Spirit investors will receive 1.9126 Frontier shares and $2.13 in cash for each Spirit share, according to a statement Monday. The deal implies ...

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Danish fund sells $3m Wizz Air stake in spat over labor practices

  Bloomberg A Danish pension fund said it will exit its $3 million stake in Wizz Air Holdings Plc after talks failed to resolve concerns surrounding the discount carrier’s labor practices. AkademikerPension, which manages around $23 billion, said Monday that it will sell the stock after Wizz rebuffed a plea for it to recognize staff rights concerning freedom of association ...

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‘Bleisure’ trips boom as travelers mix work and play

  Bloomberg It’s an age-old question: “Business or pleasure?” For airline passengers these days, the answer increasingly is both. The growth in so-called “bleisure” trips blending personal getaways with remote work has helped fill seats on planes during the coronavirus pandemic and marks a shift in travel patterns for an industry used to clear divisions between briefcase-toting road warriors and ...

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Boeing’s bet on jet-building frenzy depends on suppliers

  Bloomberg For Boeing Co., the pandemic was just one item on the long list of its existential concerns over the past four years. But after a talent exodus, the twin tragedies of its 737 Max jets falling from the sky, and stiff competition from rivals (on top of Covid’s blow to air travel), the company is gearing up for ...

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Kenya to inject $176m into struggling national airline

  Bloomberg Kenya plans to inject 20 billion shillings ($176 million) of capital into the country’s cash-strapped national airline, which is battling to survive after years of losses and a mounting debt pile. The funding, detailed in supplementary budget documents submitted to parliament, “is dependent on certain restructuring milestones,” Kenya Airways Plc Chairman Michael Joseph said by text message. The ...

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Billionaire Bhatia to helm IndiGo after swing to profit

  Bloomberg Rahul Bhatia, the billionaire co-founder of IndiGo, is taking on a newly-created executive position of managing director at the company, after the biggest budget carrier in Asia by market value posted a surprise quarterly profit. The appointment of Bhatia, which is effective immediately, signals a truce with fellow co-founder Rakesh Gangwal, who had accused Bhatia of corporate governance ...

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Kenya Air picks advisers to evaluate debt restructuring

  Bloomberg Kenya Airways Plc has selected financial advisers at Seabury Consulting to help the airline evaluate options to restructure its debt load, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The airline, in which the Kenyan government has a 48.9% stake, faces mounting debts and depressed passenger demand amid pandemic-related travel restrictions. A representative for Kenya Airways said the ...

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Sydney Airport $17b sale to funds approved

  Bloomberg Sydney Airport shareholders overwhelmingly approved a A$23.6 billion ($17 billion) deal to sell the company to a consortium of funds, transferring Australia’s main international gateway to private ownership after the pandemic hammered earnings. Some 96% of votes cast at a shareholder meeting on Thursday backed the sale to a group led by IFM Investors Pty for A$8.75 a ...

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United explores minority stake sale of MileagePlus

  Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings Inc. is exploring a potential sale of a minority stake in its frequent-flier program MileagePlus, according to people familiar with the matter. United is working with financial advisers who have begun contacting potential investors including private equity firms, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Any minority stake in ...

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Lockheed, Airbus take on Boeing with made-in-USA tanker

  Bloomberg Get ready for the tanker wars, part two. Airbus SE is teaming up with Lockheed Martin Corp. to take on Boeing Co.’s troubled aerial tanker with an American-made version of the European company’s A330 jetliner. The wide-body plane was at the heart of a proposal that first beat, then on appeal lost out to, Boeing’s KC-46 tanker in ...

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