Aviation

Bloomberg IAG SA Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said frustration with Airbus SE over late jetliner deliveries was a factor in his decision to place a $24 billion order for Boeing Co’s grounded 737 Max model. Cost and a desire to have a mixed narrow-body fleet weren’t the only considerations in the purchase, with IAG experiencing a 70-day delay on ...

Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings Inc is removing the Boeing Co 737 Max from its schedule through November 2, with flight cancellations growing each month the troubled jet remains out of service. United, the world’s second-largest carrier, currently has 14 of the 737 Max in its fleet and had planned to expand to 30 by year’s end. That means daily cancellations ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s CEO Carsten Spohr criticised competitors for offering unprofitable ultra-cheap fares as a price war squeezes industry earnings. Tickets costing less than 10 euros ($11) are “economically, ecologically and politically irresponsible,” he said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. “Flights for less than 10 euros shouldn’t exist.” Europe’s two biggest low-cost carriers are ...

Bloomberg Bjorn Kjos, a pioneer of low-cost travel as co-founder of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, is stepping down as chief executive officer after making progress toward resolving the carrier’s debt crisis. Kjos, who helped found Norwegian in 1993 and led its rapid growth, will leave the post immediately, the company said in a statement. Chief Financial Officer Geir Karlsen will ...

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc will need to pare back its growth plans for next summer if the grounding of the Boeing Co 737 Max drags on late into this year. Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary is set to meet with Boeing in the next two weeks, when the discounter will push for a specific date for the plane’s return to ...

Bloomberg When Italian rapper Fedez flew to Sicily to marry fashion star Chiara Ferragni, bankrupt Alitalia provided a special plane, complete with tailor-made tickets, a dedicated departure gate and onboard gadgets. The company’s largesse sparked protests in parliament and online — as well as demands from the government for an explanation. Alitalia said the flight, from Milan’s Linate airport to ...

Bloomberg A dispute between the founders of Asia’s biggest budget airline deepened after one accused the other of dubious governance practices, roiling the company’s shares and raising concerns that the feud will drag on. Billionaire Rakesh Gangwal informed IndiGo’s operator, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, that he flagged some of his governance concerns about co-founder Rahul Bhatia to the Securities and Exchange ...

Bloomberg Cancellation of plans for a third runway at London’s Heathrow airport could cost the UK economy more than 300,000 jobs, an industry study warned as would- be prime minister Boris Johnson said he’d review the project. As many as 120,000 posts would be put at risk by any erosion of Britain’s competitiveness in air transport, while a further 200,000 ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE booked a slew of jetliner deals from last month’s Paris Air Show, dragging the company out of one of the thinnest sales periods in its recent history. Toulouse, France-based Airbus signed contracts for 145 planes in June, taking the first-half total into positive territory at 88, as cancellations had previously outweighed new sales. The results outpaced arch-rival ...

Bloomberg Air France condemned the French government’s plan for a new tax on flights, saying the levy would hurt the airline’s ability to invest in less polluting planes and aggravate already high costs of operating in the country. “This new tax would significantly penalise Air France’s competitiveness,” the French arm of Air France-KLM said in a statement, estimating the extra ...