Bloomberg IndiGo has told its pilots to stop pushing engines on its new Airbus SE jets to the limit when the planes are climbing, after India’s aviation regulator said the practice may have contributed to turbines failing in the air. All the budget airline’s A320neo aircraft now use a lower thrust setting following take off, according to a spokeswoman from ...
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Modi mulls easing foreign control rule to aid Air India sale
Bloomberg India is considering amending a rule to allow overseas control of local airlines, according to a person familiar with the matter, which may help its indebted national carrier lure a foreign suitor after multiple failed attempts for a sale. At a meeting in early November, India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade asked the aviation ministry if ...
Read More »South African airways in limbo as state considering bailout
Bloomberg South African Airways (SAA) said it’s waiting for the government to tell it whether it will provide the national carrier with the money needed to keep flying, rendering it unable to publish its results for the year through March. “SAA cannot finalise its annual financial statements within the prescribed time until the going concern status is confirmed,†the carrier ...
Read More »Italy to approve $442mn loan to keep Alitalia flying
Bloomberg Italy is set to approve a new 400 million-euro loan for failed airline Alitalia, people familiar with the situation said. The government will give the green light to the funding at a cabinet meeting, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations. The new loan throws a lifeline to Alitalia as government continues to ...
Read More »FAA rebuffs Boeing with vow to scrutinise all 737 deliveries
Bloomberg US aviation regulators will conduct the final approval of factory-fresh Boeing Co 737 Max jets rather than allowing company employees to handle routine sign-offs before the planes are delivered. The plan amounted to the latest signal from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that it intends to retain full control over all aspects of the grounded jetliner as Boeing prepares ...
Read More »Modi mulls to exclude $7bn of Air India debt
Bloomberg India is considering a plan to exclude more than half of Air India Ltd’s $11 billion of debt in the government’s latest attempt to lure investors to the struggling carrier, people with knowledge of the matter said. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s administration plans to ask proposed investors to take over 300 billion rupees of the airline’s debt, which are ...
Read More »Storms to disrupt travel for Thanksgiving in US West
Bloomberg A cluster of powerful storms is set to disrupt Thanksgiving holiday travel for the Western US, with heavy snow cancelling flights in Denver and a higher risk of mudslides in parts of California. Winter storm warning and advisories cover the West from Oregon to Arizona and a flash flood watch stretches from north of Anaheim to the border with ...
Read More »Order to ground Airbus stalls growth at IndiGo
Bloomberg An order for IndiGo to ground some of its Airbus SE A320neo planes for engine upgrades could impede the expansion of one of the world’s fastest-growing airlines. For every addition to its fleet, IndiGo must ground an A320neo plane that hasn’t had its Pratt & Whitney engines modified, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said following a series ...
Read More »Nigeria airline CEO indicted by US for money laundering
Bloomberg Allen Onyema, the Nigerian businessman who owns the country’s largest airline, was indicted by US authorities on charges of fraud and money laundering. He allegedly moved “more than $20 million from Nigeria through United States bank accounts in a scheme involving false documents based on the purchase of airplanes,†according to a statement by the US Department of Justice ...
Read More »Italy stuck with Alitalia as Lufthansa, Atlantia balk
Bloomberg Italy risked failure in its latest attempt to bail out bankrupt airline Alitalia, after two companies involved in the rescue got cold feet, raising the prospect of at least a temporary nationalisation of the carrier. State rail operator Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane SpA (FS) said that conditions aren’t in place to form a group to save the airline from ...
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