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 ...
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Qatar Air becomes World Cup sponsor for FIFA
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 ...
Read More »Stricken Alitalia debts totalled $3.3bn at end of February
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 ...
Read More »Singapore Air may land unusual net-debt spot
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 ...
Read More »Rolls-Royce seeks short-haul return on Boeing’s planned 797
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 ...
Read More »China’s new jet completes first flight
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 ...
Read More »Toronto Airport is worth $3.7 billion in possible sale
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 ...
Read More »BA owner IAG posts record Q1 profit as fares rally
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, ...
Read More »Qantas Airways says overseas rivalry easing
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 ...
Read More »Delta mulls delaying $3bn Airbus order
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 ...
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