Aviation

Bloomberg Ten months into the top job and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hogg’s to-do list hasn’t gotten any shorter. While its cargo business and passenger traffic, especially premium travelers, are recovering, inflated wage costs and ever-increasing competition from Chinese rivals are issues he has to contend with. Among these, fuel-hedging bets gone awry top the list: ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates has unveiled a brand new Business Class cabin and configuration on its Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, with new wider seats laid out in a 2-2-2 configuration for the first time. The airline has invested over US$150 million to refurbish the 10 existing 777-200LR aircraft in its fleet. The newly refurbished Emirates 777-200LR aircraft is set in ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE is preparing to announce jobs cuts at two troubled aircraft programmes that have been weighing on earnings for years. The planemaker’s management will meet with its European Works Council on Wednesday to explain reductions in the manufacturing rates of the A380 superjumbo and A400M military-transport programmes and “discuss associated implications for the workforce,” it said in a ...

Bloomberg Volantio Inc., the Atlanta-based startup that helped United Airlines Inc. manage its overbookings in the wake of the Dr. Dao scandal last summer, is telling investors it’s cracked a seemingly impossible code: generate more money for airlines while improving customer satisfaction. Eight months into its lifespan, the company—which helps airlines preventatively rejigger inventory by offering buyouts to flexible passengers—closed ...

Bloomberg Airline industry experts have been proclaiming the death of first class for years. While some airlines have done away with it altogether, others are doubling down with palatial suite-style seats, lavish amenities, and services that pamper, both on the ground and in the air. What’s ensued is a golden age of flying … for those who can afford it. ...

Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc. is crying foul over a planned $8.5 billion renovation of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, claiming a “secret provision” awards additional gates to United Continental Holdings Inc. in a terminal slated to be torn down. The arrangement favouring Chicago-based United was “inserted at the last minute,” American said. United called the claim “disingenuous,” denied there was ...

Bloomberg A venture of Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructure Ltd. submitted a $3 billion proposal to upgrade and expand the Philippine capital’s 70-year-old airport, challenging a $6.7 billion bid from a group that includes billionaires John Gokongwei and Lucio Tan. The GMR-Megawide venture, which is operating and expanding another airport in central Philippines, said it can increase the airfield ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE may need to stock up on the parts it needs to build wings at its UK plants to avoid the risk of delays to deliveries once Britain formally leaves the European Union. The European planemaker has warned that it can only ensure the UK factories remain untouched if its operations retain the same level of efficiency. “If ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump reached an informal deal with Boeing Co. on a fixed-price contract for the new Air Force One programme that will cost $3.9 billion. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said the agreement will save taxpayers $1.4 billion from the original estimate for buying and outfitting two presidential jets. But public estimates suggest the savings would be far ...

Bloomberg Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd., the airline part-owned by HNA Group Co., ditched the idea of a privatisation to end years of speculation that major shareholders would attempt a buyout. After discussions with the airline’s largest investors, Virgin Australia’s board said it had decided against a privatisation. The carrier, which has a market value of A$2.2 billion ($1.7 billion), raised ...