Aviation

  Bloomberg China successfully completed the first test flight of its home-built modern passenger jet, bolstering President Xi Jinping’s ambition of turning China into an advanced economy. Amid cheers from onlookers, the C919 airliner took off from Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, the home base of its builder Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., or Comac. The jet landed back ...

  Bloomberg Canada is considering the sale of at least a minority stake in Toronto Pearson International Airport that values the country’s busiest airport at about C$5 billion ($3.7 billion), according to people familiar with the matter. The stake sale, just one of many options laid out in a report to government prepared by Credit Suisse Group AG, would free ...

  Bloomberg British Airways (BA)-owner IAG SA posted record first-quarter earnings as expenses fell and joined Air France-KLM Group in signaling that increased demand from business travelers is poised to boost prices. Operating profit before one-time items rose 9.7 percent to 170 million euros ($187 million), aided by lower labor and fuel costs, IAG said. A slide in fares slowed, ...

  Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd. predicted rivals would slow capacity growth by more than half, easing competition for the Australian flagship carrier on international routes. Overseas carriers are projected to increase capacity by about 5 percent in the fiscal second half ending June, Sydney-based Qantas said in a statement . That compares with the 11 percent capacity growth that Qantas ...

  Bloomberg Delta Air Lines Inc. is considering postponing delivery of 10 Airbus SE A350 jetliners valued at about $3 billion, even as the carrier prepares for the first arrival of the new flagship aircraft, people familiar with the plans said. While Delta will take five A350-900s this year as planned, it wants to postpone deliveries slated for 2019 and ...

  Bloomberg Air France-KLM Group showed signs of a turnaround, with ticket-price declines almost halted in the first quarter as bookings increased and business-class fares surged. The positive demand-trend continued into April, and Europe’s biggest carrier is also benefiting from an increase in cash flow, reduced costs and a declining fuel bill, it said in a statement Thursday. The advances ...

  Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc. is about to give coach passengers even less legroom. The company will shrink the space between most rows to 30 inches (76 centimeters) on its newest Boeing Co. 737 jetliners, spokesman Joshua Freed said. That’s an inch less than on its existing 737-800 planes. At least three rows on the new 737 Max jets ...

  Bloomberg Oman Air Transport plans to move ahead with a multi-billion dollar order for wide-body jets early next year even though it won’t now break even in 2017 as the low oil price curbs growth in the Gulf. The carrier is now aiming to end losses by the end of next year, contingent on demand not deteriorating further, Chief ...

  Geneva / Emirates Business The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released demand growth results for global air freight markets showing a 14% expansion measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) compared to the same period last year. This was the fastest pace of growth recorded since October 2010. Freight capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometers (AFTKs), grew by 4.2% ...

  Bloomberg Boeing Co. is making ‘steady progress’ to complete the terms of an 80-jetliner sale to Iran Air and expects to deliver the initial planes next year, the first US aircraft exports to Iran since the country’s revolution in 1979. “That remains on track,” Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg told reporters Monday following the planemaker’s annual general meeting in ...