Aviation

Bloomberg Step inside the cockpit of an empty commercial aircraft and the pilot controls are yours. You don’t need a key or any special passcode to power up the plane and fly it away, whether it’s a small regional jet or a giant twin-deck Airbus A380. The suicide-by-plane at Seattle’s Sea-Tac International Airport, which ended when a rogue airline employee …

Bloomberg Floating almost motionless at an altitude of 70,000 feet, Airbus SE’s Zephyr spy drone has extended the record for the longest flight within the Earth’s atmosphere to 25 days, two-thirds more than the previous best. The first production version of the solar-powered pseudo-satellite spent more than three weeks in the stratosphere on its maiden trip after taking off from …

Bloomberg Jet Airways India Ltd. was once at the forefront of India’s rapidly growing market for air travel, but a challenge from budget carriers and surging fuel prices are backing the airline into a corner. Shares of the carrier, part-owned by Etihad Airways PJSC, plunged 8.5 percent in Mumbai after the company postponed announcing its first-quarter earnings. That’s less than …

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc’s worsening spat with pilots and cabin crew has created confusion among panicked customers as they race to salvage travel plans disrupted by strikes. Travellers holding tickets from affected airports told of an online race to find alternative journeys with the Irish airline or switch to rival carriers, only to see prices spiralling higher as hundreds of …

Bloomberg The Chinese Communist Party is probing the chairman of the Shanghai Airport Authority for alleged corruption as President Xi Jinping continues his more than five-year-old crackdown on graft. Wu Jianrong, 56, has come under under suspicion of violating party rules and state laws, according to a statement posted on the website of the party’s disciplinary watchdog in Shanghai that …

Bloomberg Uganda’s fledgling national airline will be a candidate for an initial public offering and closer cooperation with other carriers if the launch goes as planned. Uganda Airlines, which last month signed deals for Airbus SE wide-body jets and Bombardier Inc. regional planes, is due to begin operating 19 routes in January, Transport Minister Monica Azuba Ntege said in an …

Bloomberg UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson pitched a strong British military and a new concept fighter jet it’s developing while brushing aside concerns about US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric against NATO during a visit to Washington. Speaking at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council, Williamson said he’d like to see the US consider purchases of the “Tempest” jet the …

Bloomberg Frankfurt Airport reopened after a partial evacuation caused by a French family being mistakenly waved through security despite a positive test for explosives, according to police. The four-person family was questioned and allowed to continue travel after the mistake by a security assistant, the Frankfurt airport police said on Twitter. Police had cleared some areas in the airport’s Terminal …

Bloomberg More passengers, higher ticket prices and a cargo rebound couldn’t save Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. from slumping into yet another loss. For Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hogg, that means his restructuring efforts need to strengthen further to turn the tide. After back-to-back annual losses, the carrier is midway through a transformation program under Hogg, who has been cutting jobs …

Bloomberg It’s turning out to be a bumpy road to recovery for Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. Just when the premium airline was showing signs of a rebound, crude oil played spoilsport again, denting early gains from a transformation plan that CEO Rupert Hogg considers crucial to survival. More uncertainty lies ahead for the world’s third-largest cargo carrier as a global …