Aviation

Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet has signed off on a plan to sell all or part of Air India Ltd, a debt-ridden, state-run carrier with the most unusual baggage. The airline’s balance sheet includes commercial space near London Heathrow, land in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Nairobi, all bought during the heydays when the airline commissioned paintings by Indian modern ...

Bloomberg Air France has a week to gain support from pilots for its plan for a new lower-cost airline to win back market share from competitors, with a key union demanding guarantees on the number of flights the carrier will operate. SNPL union has put Air France’s latest proposal for pilots, which includes the plan for the new airline, to ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Etihad Holidays has launched operations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain to provide a wide choice of package holiday options to travellers in the four countries. The move follows the successful introduction of Etihad Airways’ holiday division in the UAE, UK, Germany, India and North America. Launched in 2004, Etihad Holidays offers dynamically packaged ...

Bloomberg Chinese aircraft builder Comac won approval from the nation’s aviation regulator to start mass production of its homemade ARJ21 regional jet, paving the way for deliveries to customers. The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued production certificates for the 90-seater Advanced Regional Jet, state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., or Comac, said in a statement, adding it aims ...

Sharjah / Emirates Business Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) launched its inaugural flight to Sohar, making it the first international flight to commence operations at the Sohar Airport. The Air Arabia flight will operate three times a week, on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, departing from Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) at 08:00 ...

DUBAI / Reuters Wataniya Airways is to resume flights on Tuesday for the first time since ceasing operations in 2011, according to state news agency KUNA. Wataniya halted operations after three years in business due to its financial situation and political instability in the Middle East. The Kuwaiti airline will restart with a scheduled service on July 11 to Tbilisi, ...

Bloomberg The national carriers of Jordan and Kuwait announced that passengers will once again be allowed to carry personal electronics, including laptops, on board US-bound flights, ending a ban that had been imposed in March. The US had issued the ban over concerns IS extremists and other extremists could hide bombs inside laptops. Royal Jordanian said it had implemented “enhanced ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Musafir.com, the UAE’s first homegrown premium-experience travel website has been recognised as the ‘Best Online Travel Agency’ in the Middle East at the first-ever Arabian Travel Awards held at JW Marriott Hotel Dubai. Musafir.com competed against a number of leading travel service providers in the Middle East to showcase its industry-leading technology, customer service and product ...

Bloomberg Air France-KLM Group signaled that a turnaround that began early this year is continuing as summer bookings rise and tourists from Asia and the US return to France after staying away in 2016. “The second quarter is good and the bookings for this summer are also quite positive compared to last year,” Jean-Marc Janaillac said in an interview at ...

Bloomberg South Korea’s police raided the head office of Korean Air Lines Co. in Seoul to probe alleged misuse of company funds, the first crackdown on a major local conglomerate after President Moon Jae-in came to power in May. Police are investigating allegations that Chairman Cho Yang-ho, the head of Hanjin Group that controls Korean Air, had interior work done ...