Aviation

Bloomberg Japan believes pilot disorientation, rather than technical problems, caused the loss of one of its stealth F-35A fighter jets earlier this year, Kyodo News reported. Findings compiled by Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force said the pilot was ordered to descend to a lower altitude to avoid a nearby US plane during a training session in April. He responded calmly, but ...

Bloomberg Boeing Co has been negotiating one of the largest orders ever of wide-body jetliners with Chinese airlines even as tensions between Washington and Beijing escalate, say people familiar with the talks. The discussions centre on about 100 twin-aisle jets: 787 Dreamliners as well as 777X planes, the newest long-range aircraft in Boeing’s lineup, said one of the people, who ...

Bloomberg House lawmakers demanded records from Boeing Co, one of its suppliers and US aviation regulators on why a cockpit alert that might have helped pilots in two fatal 737 Max crashes was installed with a defect that the planemaker didn’t plan to fix it until 2020. Representative Peter DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat who heads the House Transportation and Infrastructure ...

Bloomberg FedEx Corp said it wouldn’t renew its US air-delivery contract with Amazon.com Inc, paring a key customer relationship as the largest online retailer deepens its foray into freight transportation. The new focus will be on “serving the broader e-commerce market,” with US package volume from online shopping expected to double by 2026, FedEx said in a statement. The Amazon ...

Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc is taking a hard look at whether to buy Airbus SE’s proposed A321XLR aircraft, people familiar with the matter said. Any deal would be a big blow to struggling Boeing Co’s rival foray into mid-range flying. The US carrier sees the plane, which would have the longest range of Airbus’s single-aisle offerings, as a potential ...

Bloomberg South African Airways is in talks with its existing banks, new lenders and the government. But talking won’t pay off 12.7 billion rand ($842 million) of imminently maturing debt. The stricken state-owned carrier called a media briefing to “give assurances to stakeholders about the airline currently and into the future” following the surprise departure of Chief Executive Officer Vuyani ...

Bloomberg Consumer advocate Ralph Nader said the larger engines mounted to the Boeing 737 Max represented a design flaw and called for the plane to be permanently grounded. The 737 Max “must never fly again,” Nader said. “It’s not a matter of software. It’s a matter of structural design defect: the plane’s engines are too much for the traditional fuselage.” ...

Bloomberg Real-estate developer Group Mach Inc offered to buy tour operator Transat AT with potential support from the Quebec government, topping a friendly proposal by Air Canada that had been criticised by some shareholders. Mach is offering C$14 a share in cash for Montreal-based Transat, C$1 per share more than the Air Canada bid. The unsolicited proposal is worth more ...

Bloomberg Bombardier Inc climbed the most in three months on word that the company is in talks to sell its CRJ regional jet programme to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, a move that would end the Canadian industrial champion’s involvement in commercial aircraft. Both sides confirmed they were in discussions after the Air Current reported that negotiations were at an advanced ...

Bloomberg Airlines are calling on aviation regulators worldwide to work together to get Boeing Co’s grounded 737 Max back in the skies and to prevent the regulatory response from splintering and slowing the jet’s return. As aviation bosses met in South Korea for their biggest gathering since the two 737 Max disasters, Ed Bastian, chief executive officer of Delta Air ...