Aviation

Bloomberg United Continental Holdings Inc. is seeing improved average airfares as US rivals offer fewer bargain-basement ticket prices. “It’s not really that fares have gone up much, it’s that the $25, $30 fares that were prevalent a year ago are much more narrow today,’’ United President Scott Kirby said. The improvement is helping United weather higher fuel costs, Kirby said. ...

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc is locking the cabin door on traditional carry-on suitcases for its non-priority customers and forcing them to check the luggage for a fee — or go with a smaller bag — to save time loading passengers on and off flights. Starting on November 1, Europe’s biggest discount airline will only allow travellers who pay for priority ...

Bloomberg Aimia Inc. soared after a group led by Air Canada agreed to buy its Aeroplan business for $345 million in cash, ending a takeover battle for one of Canada’s most popular loyalty programs. Air Canada and its banking partners sweetened their bid for Aeroplan, winning over Aimia’s board and an activist shareholder that was seeking a higher price. Air ...

Bloomberg Air China Ltd.’s parent is seeking private money for an air-cargo and logistics venture with planned total investment of $1.5 billion as part of Beijing’s mandate for state-owned firms to diversify their ownership. China National Aviation Holding Co., the state-owned controlling shareholder of Beijing-based Air China, is among companies looking for private partners under the nation’s so-called mixed-ownership reform, ...

Sharjah / Emirates Business Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC), has announced that it has signed an agreement with SAP — a global market leader in enterprise application software for a new cloud-based Human Resources system. The new system “SAP SuccessFactors” will provide Air Arabia with advanced capabilities across all HR functions. ...

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc reached a new labour deal with protesting Irish pilots after a marathon negotiating session, pointing to the end of a dispute that’s disrupted travel for thousands of passengers across Europe. Shares of Ryanair rose the most in three months in Dublin, where the company is based, following 22 hours of discussions. The accord will now be ...

Bloomberg The head of Boeing Co.’s 737 jetliner programme and site manager for the Seattle-area factory where the popular narrow-body plane is manufactured will retire at the end of the year. Scott Campbell is stepping down after three decades at Boeing, a career that encompassed all of the company’s current commercial aircraft product lines. He’ll be replaced by Eric Lindblad, ...

Bloomberg Air Canada has a succession gap now that its No. 2 executive is leaving to run Europe’s largest airline. But the Canadian carrier has a deep management bench that will minimise disruption, say Cowen & Co. and RBC Capital Markets. Chief Operating Officer Ben Smith will leave Air Canada on August 31 to take charge at Air France-KLM, the ...

Bloomberg Labour unions are lobbying shareholders at strike-ravaged Ryanair Holdings Plc to pressure the airline into abandoning a business model they say is based on browbeating staff to keep down costs. Other discount carriers manage to turn a profit while maintaining a healthy working environment, the Belgian, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian unions said to investors, adding that Ryanair has been ...

Bloomberg Air France-KLM Group is close to naming a CEO after a three-month search, with Ben Smith from Air Canada emerging as a leading candidate, according to a person familiar with the matter. The board will meet later this week and could finalise a decision then, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a non-public matter. Smith, ...