Aviation

  MILAN /Reuters Loss-making airline Alitalia, which asked to be put under special administration, had debts of around 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) as of the end of February, Italy’s government said. In a document marking the opening of the special administration process and the appointment of three commissioners to run the airline, the government said Alitalia had current liabilities ...

  Bloomberg A record plane-buying spree is poised to land Singapore Airlines Ltd. in an unfamiliar territory. Southeast Asia’s biggest carrier is expected to turn to a net-debt position as early as 2018 — for the first time in 13 years — as the company borrows money and sells bonds to meet capital expenditure needs, analysts say. Singapore Air, which ...

  Bloomberg Rolls-Royce Holdings will bid to power a new short-haul jetliner being designed by Boeing as the UK engine maker seeks to re-enter a market it quit in 2011. Rolls is preparing a pitch to Boeing as the U.S. manufacturer works on the business case for a so-called middle-of-market plane, Chief Executive Officer Warren East said in comments after ...

  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 ...