Aviation

  Bloomberg South African Airways (SAA) completed a flight using jet fuel made from a tobacco plant, its first contribution to the global push to power more air journeys from renewable resources. SAA used 6,300 liters of bio jet fuel for the one-way trip to Cape Town from Johannesburg, the state-owned carrier said. The initiative was carried out in conjunction ...

  New York / AP Losing near-monopoly control over Newark Liberty International Airport is going to cost United Airlines $412 million, or $264 million after taxes. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it would lift all the restrictions at Newark, essentially opening it to as many flights and airlines that could secure gate space at the airport. The new flight ...

  Washington / AP Congress passed an aviation bill last week that attempts to close gaps in airport security and shorten screening lines, but leaves thornier issues unresolved. The bill also extends the Federal Aviation Administration’s programmes for 14 months at current funding levels. It was approved in the Senate by a vote of 89 to 4. Responding to attacks by ...

  Bloomberg Asia’s hunger for travel gave a lift to Airbus Group SE and Boeing Co. during the recently-held Farnborough Air Show. Carriers in China and Vietnam ordered new planes while those in India and Malaysia zeroed in on the manufacturers’ workhorse single-aisle jets. Xiamen Airlines agreed to buy 30 Boeing 737 Max 200s worth $3.39 billion at list prices, ...

  Bloomberg At last week’s Farnborough Air Show, an Indian carrier placed a $7.7 billion order while an additional $72 billion of contracts are in the offing. The next challenge: Finding landing and parking slots for these planes. As air travel heats up in the world’s fastest-growing major aviation market, infrastructure has failed to keep pace with traffic growth fuelled ...

  Miami / AFP A SpaceX rocket blasted off on Monday toward the International Space Station, carrying a load of supplies for the astronauts living in space, including equipment to enable future spaceships to park at the orbiting outpost. “Falcon 9 is on its way,” said a commentator at SpaceX mission control as the white rocket launched under a dark night ...

  Cairo / AFP The final leg of an unprecedented world tour by a solar-powered plane was postponed due to the pilot’s health, he said in a message on Twitter. The Solar Impulse 2 had been scheduled to leave Cairo for Abu Dhabi. “I’m sick. Stomach upset. I prefer to postpone the take-off @solarimpulse. I cannot go flying for 48 ...

  Miami / AFP SpaceX is poised to launch its unmanned Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station on Monday, carrying a key piece of equipment that was lost last year in a rocket explosion. The international docking adapter will function as a parking spot for space taxis, enabling commercial spaceships carrying astronauts to latch on securely to the orbiting ...

  CHICAGO / AP Chicago is planning a multibillion dollar effort to expand the city’s O’Hare International Airport that includes more gates, larger terminals and upgraded amenities. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the latest modernisation plans this week. They include new gates in O’Hare’s international terminal, which has not been expanded since it opened 23 years ago. The planning process is expected ...

  Bloomberg Avianca Brasil is pushing ahead with plans to overhaul its aircraft fleet as the closely held carrier shakes off worries over the deep Brazilian recession and looks ahead to projections of rapid growth in Latin American air travel. Synergy Aerospace Corp., the airline’s owner, agreed to buy 62 narrow-body planes from Airbus Group SE’s A320neo family, the companies ...