Aviation

Bloomberg Niki Lauda, the Austrian race-car driver who survived a near-fatal crash to win three Formula 1 world championships and went on to found his own airline, has died, German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported. He was 70. Lauda died in his sleep surrounded by family, a family spokeswoman told DPA in a statement. He received a lung transplant ...

Bloomberg Europe’s biggest insurers are on the hook for as much as $450 million from a pair of airline crashes involving Boeing Co 737 Max planes. Munich Re reckons it could pay $168 million, an estimate that Chief Financial Officer Christoph Jurecka called “very conservative.” Swiss Re expects to pay up to $135 million; Hannover Re says it will pay ...

Bloomberg Rakesh Gangwal, one of the founders of IndiGo, has no desire to take control of India’s biggest airline, according to a statement by Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta. “I am categorically and clearly stating that there is no interest or desire whatsoever on the part of the RG Group to take control of the company,” Gangwal said in a ...

Bloomberg Thomas Cook Group Plc’s crisis deepened as the debt-laden travel group warned of another tough summer and said it will get a 300 million-pound ($385 million) rescue loan only if it makes progress with the sale of its airline. The stock fell to the lowest since 2012 and the bonds hit a record low after the world’s second-biggest tour ...

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co, which has tied all of its future growth to the grounded Boeing Co 737 Max, says the aircraft’s return to the skies this summer is still within reach. “I’m not predicting, but I’m hopeful,” Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said following the carrier’s annual shareholder meeting in Denver. “Is it possible? Absolutely.” The largest operator ...

Bloomberg EasyJet Plc rose after saying it’s taken steps to reduce the impact of air-traffic disruptions this summer, offsetting an expected slump in fares and uncertainty surrounding Brexit. The discount carrier has made changes to optimise scheduling and doubled the number of backup planes on standby, which will help it avoid costly delays and cancellations from air-traffic control strikes and ...

Bloomberg IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, fell the most in a year amid reports its billionaire founders have hired law firms after differences cropped up between them. Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal are trying to sort out disagreements about the carrier’s future strategy and clauses in the company’s shareholder agreement, the Economic Times newspaper reported, citing unnamed people close to the ...

Bloomberg China’s biggest airlines are considering banding together to seek compensation from Boeing Co for the disruption caused by the grounding of the US aircraft manufacturer’s 737 Max, people with knowledge of the matter said. Air China Ltd, China Southern Airlines Co and China Eastern Airlines Corp are exploring their legal options on how to coordinate their claims, according to ...

Bloomberg Air Canada said it’s in exclusive talks to buy one of the country’s largest travel tour operators, Transat AT, for about $387 million amid a wave of consolidation in the Canadian airline industry. The country’s largest airline said in a statement it was prepared to pay C$13 a share for the Montreal-based company, a 23 percent premium to Transat’s ...

Bloomberg Low-cost airlines, the pioneers of brief discomfort at bargain prices, have struggled to master long-haul flights. Now one of the world’s most successful budget carriers is considering cut-price business class seats as a way into the Europe-Asia market. India’s IndiGo is mapping out an ambitious long-distance network. The airline aims to start one-stop trips further into Europe within six ...