Aviation

  Bloomberg Anti-terrorist officials in the US are considering expanding the restrictions on carrying electronic devices in airline cabins beyond the handful of Middle East airports currently covered. Asked if the laptop ban could be expanded to other countries or electronic products, Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan told reporters that the agency is in discussions with airlines and ...

  Bloomberg US airlines climbed to a two-month high after beleaguered United Continental Holdings Inc. won support from one of its biggest shareholders and American Airlines Group Inc. signaled that it’s gaining additional control over fares. United shares could jump to $135 by 2020, or even higher under certain circumstances, said Brad Gerstner, chief executive officer of Altimeter Capital Management. ...

  SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI / Reuters India’s record jet fuel exports may fall this year as an expanding middle class and cheaper air travel boost local consumption, refinery executives and analysts said, potentially raising ailing profit margins for the fuel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month launched the first flight under the Regional Connectivity Scheme that is designed to spur air ...

  Bloomberg Warren Buffett, the top investor in United Continental Holdings Inc., faulted the airline for a confrontation last month with a passenger who was ripped out of his seat and dragged off a plane after refusing to give up his spot for a crew member. “Obviously, it was a terrible mistake,” Buffett said on Monday in a televised interview ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business The Etihad Aviation Group Board of Directors on Monday appointed Ray Gammell as interim Group CEO, and confirmed that James Hogan, current President and Group CEO, will leave the company on July 1. Consistent with the company’s leadership transition plan, Gammell will assume full management responsibilities from today. Gammell is Etihad Aviation Group’s current ...

  Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. plans to shift its domestic reservation system to a new platform on Tuesday, attempting to avoid the havoc that plagued similar transitions at other carriers. “These are very complicated,” said Bob Edwards, a former chief information officer at United Airlines who supervised the merger of reservation systems for United and Continental in 2012. “All of ...

  Bloomberg WestJet Airlines Ltd. plans to order as many as 20 Boeing Co. 787-9 Dreamliners valued at $5.4 billion, adding the wide-body to its fleet as Canada’s second-biggest carrier expands long-distance service. The move takes a page from Air Canada, which has relied on the Dreamliner’s fuel efficiency to lower operating costs. The order also helps clarify WestJet’s strategy ...

  Bloomberg Qatar Airways Ltd. signed an agreement with FIFA to sponsor two World Cup tournaments until 2022, filling a spot left vacant by Emirates when it quit its sponsorship following corruption allegations at soccer’s global governing body. The state-owned carrier will become FIFA’s official partner and airline for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and 2022 World Cup in ...

  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 ...