Aviation

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 …

Bloomberg For Embraer Commercial, the escalating rift between the US and China is making things difficult. That’s because the commercial plane-making unit of Embraer SA counts China as its biggest market and is in the process of being taken over by the US’s top exporter, Boeing Co. The unit, which will be renamed Boeing Brasil Commercial, is seeking antitrust approval …

Seoul / Emirates Business The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will host the 76th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from June 22-23, 2020. This will be the third time that the Netherlands will host the global gathering of aviation’s top leaders (Following events held in …

Bloomberg Airline entrepreneur David Neeleman said he’d be at the front of the line for a proposed new longer-range Airbus SE jetliner if it’s launched at next month’s Paris Air Show, as widely expected. “We’d definitely be interested in that airplane,” Neeleman said of the Airbus A321XLR, which wouldn’t start deliveries until 2023. “I wish it was coming sooner,” he …

Bloomberg AirAsia Group Bhd, Southeast Asia’s largest budget carrier, wants to sell more than cheap flight tickets. AirAsia is talking to potential partners to build an e-commerce app that it wants to see overtake the size of its airline business, Group Deputy Chief Executive Aireen Omar said in an interview. The carrier, which is seen getting about 1 billion ringgit …