Aviation

Bloomberg Just as a tide of cancelled orders has prompted Airbus SE to halt production of the A380 superjumbo, Japan’s biggest airline is betting it can succeed where others have failed — by filling the luxurious double-deckers with tourists flying to Hawaii. Starting May 24, ANA Holdings Inc. has scheduled three flights a week from Tokyo to Honolulu on the ...

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary waded into the row over the UK’s Brexit logjam, saying controversy over the so-called Irish backstop has been exaggerated. The backstop, which keeps the UK in a customs union with the European Union unless a future trade deal makes border checks unnecessary, won’t be a problem so long as Britain moves ...

Bloomberg Aviation regulators warned Southwest Airlines Co. and its mechanics’ union that their contentious contract talks and legal fight are putting the carrier’s safety at risk. The Federal Aviation Administration sent the letter to Southwest and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, urging the two parties to work cooperatively on safety issues. Southwest flies the most passengers on domestic flights of ...

Bloomberg As seats shrink and fees multiply, it’s hard to find value from an airline these days. Except when redeeming frequent-flyer points. The six largest US carriers grew more generous from 2013 to 2018 as they sought to encourage mileage redemption. The average price, in loyalty miles or points, for a domestic rewards ticket declined 13.5 percent over that time, ...

Bloomberg General Electric Co.’s jet-leasing business, often called the “crown jewel” of its financial arm, drew some fresh criticism from one of the top analysts covering the stock. J.P. Morgan analyst Stephen Tusa said the unit has been selling off aircraft and buying new ones in a manner that is leaving it with lesser quality assets, as it tries to ...

Bloomberg Recorded conversations by pilots on a cargo jet carrying packages for Amazon.com Inc. that crashed last month near Houston reveal they began losing control of the aircraft about 18 seconds before it slammed into a shallow bay, investigators said. The communications captured on the cockpit sound recorder were “consistent with a loss of control of the aircraft,” according to ...

Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. plans to challenge Hawaiian Airlines for control of Hawaii’s island-hopping market shortly after beginning flights to the state from the mainland. The short, high-demand, inter-island flights are squarely within Southwest’s wheelhouse, Southwest revenue chief Andrew Watterson said in an interview. “We see that big market with higher price points and it’s short haul, which is what ...

Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is in talks to buy shares in Hong Kong’s only budget airline from Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co., as Asia’s biggest international carrier seeks to gain a foothold in the region’s booming low-cost travel market. Cathay is in “active discussions” about an acquisition involving Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd., the marquee carrier said in a ...

Bloomberg JetBlue Airways Corp. pumped up speculation that it will announce plans to order long-range aircraft and start trans-Atlantic flights, inviting employees to a special event next month. The carrier said it would hold a “chat about JetBlue’s vision and strategy” on April 10, followed by a party in New York. The announcement spurred a flurry of speculation on social ...

Bloomberg Japanese heavy-machinery maker IHI Corp said employees didn’t properly check so-me aircraft engines, the latest quality-control issue to dent the reputation of the country’s manufacturing sector. Shares of IHI, which makes engine components found on Airbus SE and Boeing Co. jets, dropped as much as 5.2 percent after the company confirmed Japan’s Transport Ministry had inspected its aircraft-engine business ...