Aviation

Bloomberg As everyone learned when a passenger was forcibly removed from a United Express flight, social media and the ubiquity of mobile phone cameras have shifted the ground rules for airline customer service. The best and worst corporate interactions speed across the internet with potentially dire results for corporate targets of public anger. For air carriers in particular, “the world …

Bloomberg FedEx Corp. expects growing cross-border online transactions to be a driving force for its business in China as the company prepares to open one of its largest facilities in Shanghai. “Absolutely that’s an important part of it,” David Cunningham Jr., chief executive officer of FedEx Express, the world’s largest cargo airline, said in an interview in Shanghai. Cunningham said …

Bloomberg A Christmastime dropoff at the resort city of Acapulco led Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte SAB to its first decline in passenger traffic for the month of December since 2009. OMA, as the company is known for short, reported a 0.2 percent decrease in total passenger traffic for December, including a 9.8 percent slump in Acapulco …

Bloomberg Travellers from around the world faced more chaos after flooding at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport caused fresh flight delays and diversions amid operations already strained by a snowstorm and freezing temperatures. The meltdown, two days after the year’s first major snowstorm, left passengers to deal with long lines to rebook cancelled flights and to search through …

Bloomberg Chinese airline shares surged after the government gave airlines more freedom to set fares for domestic flights, easing state control over prices. China removed the caps on full fares and airlines can decide on prices for routes as long as they are served by at least five carriers, according to a joint statement by the Civil Aviation Administration of …

Bloomberg Airbus SE is discussing a large plane order from China during French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit this weekend, according to people familiar with the plans. The size of the order is in flux, while talks are focussed on Airbus’s A320 single-aisle and A330 and A350 wide-body jets, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing the …

Bloomberg After strong international tourist arrivals in 2017, Airports of Thailand Pcl surpassed Spain’s Aena SA as the world’s most-valuable airport services company. Powered by a 75 percent gain since May 1, the operator of Thailand’s main international airports also passed the 1 trillion baht ($31 billion) market capitalisation mark, joining only state-controlled energy company PTT Pcl above that milestone. …

Bloomberg The US agency overseeing aviation safety loses its chief at midnight with no replacement in sight—days after President Donald Trump took credit in a tweet for the airlines’ safest year on record. Federal Aviation Administration head Michael Huerta, who rose unexpectedly to lead the agency in 2011 after the sudden departure of his predecessor, will step down at the …

Bloomberg Steinhoff International Holdings NV, the South African retailer laid low by an accounting scandal, is selling one of its more high-flying assets as it seeks liquidity to keep itself alive. The owner of UK discounter Poundland and bedding supplier Mattress Firm in the US is in discussions with a potential buyer of a 2006 Gulfstream G550 private jet that’s …

Bloomberg British Airways owner IAG SA’s Irish and Spanish businesses spurred gains in passenger traffic at the company last year as expansion at the UK arm slowed. Dublin-based Aer Lingus, purchased by IAG in 2015, posted a 12 percent traffic increase, while the advance at Madrid-based Iberia accelerated to 7.6 percent, according to a statement from the group. London-based IAG, …