Aviation

  SYDNEY / Reuters Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker on Tuesday said he expected US President Donald Trump would eventually relax a travel ban targeting seven predominantly Muslim countries, New Zealand media reported. The travel ban, Trump’s most controversial act since taking office last month, was halted temporarily on Friday following a ruling by a US judge, but ...

  TAICHUNG / AP Seeking to revive its long-dormant aerospace industry, Taiwan on Tuesday launched a $2.1 billion investment in the production of air force jet trainers to be designed and manufactured on the island to counter Chinese military and diplomatic pressure. President Tsai Ing-wen presided over a ceremony in the central city of Taichung to inaugurate the project, which ...

  Bloomberg Singapore Airlines Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest carrier, posted a 36 percent drop in third-quarter profit as passenger numbers declined and the company wrote down the value of a budget unit’s brand. Net income in the three months through December fell to S$177.2 million ($125 million) from S$274.9 million a year ago, with the drop attributed to a S$79 ...

  Bloomberg JetBlue Airways Corp. cut back on 2017 expansion plans, joining other U.S. carriers in the effort to keep the number of seats and flights in check to gain more control over pricing. The New York-based carrier is trying to catch up with larger U.S. airlines, which have been slowing growth to stanch bleeding in the closely watched measure ...

  Bloomberg Korean Air Lines Co. ended last year with a credit rating downgrade and debt-to-equity ratio approaching 1,000 percent — the worst among Asian full-service carriers. Investors of the money-losing airline face an even bleaker 2017 as a weaker won raises the cost of repaying foreign debt. The Korean currency is projected to weaken around 7 percent against the ...

  Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc reported an 8 percent drop in third-quarter earnings and said it’s “cautious” about meeting full-year targets as a capacity glut and stuttering economies cause fares to tumble. Profit after tax fell to 95 million euros ($102 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31 from 103 million euros a year earlier, Dublin-based Ryanair said in ...

  DUBAI / Reuters After years of delays, China’s first large homemade passenger jetliner will take to the air for its maiden flight in the first half of this year, state media reported on Monday. State-owned aircraft maker Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., or Comac, based in Shanghai, has nearly completed work on the 175-passenger C919, the ruling Communist ...

  Bloomberg The White House announced a contract for 90 F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp. valued at as much as $8.2 billion, boasting of savings after President Donald Trump chided that the Pentagon’s costliest program was “out of control.” Based on the per-plane cost, the savings will be $728 million compared with the previous contract, according to a Pentagon ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Qatar Airways launched its first service to Auckland, New Zealand on Sunday with the return leg set to be the longest scheduled commercial flight by flying time, according to the airline’s website. Flight QR920 departed Doha’s Hamed International Airport, a spokeswoman confirmed, and was scheduled to arrive in Auckland on Monday at 0730 local time (1830 ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Swiss luxury watchmaker and aviation chronograph specialist, Breitling announced that French pilot, Mika Brageot, will be making his Master Class debut in Abu Dhabi at the season opener of the 2017 Red Bull Air Race World Championship from February 10-11. The Abu Dhabi race, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, will see Brageot and ...