Aviation

  Pretoria / Bloomberg South African Airways SOC Ltd. said the airline subsidized its low-cost entity Mango Airlines by sub-leasing planes at a discount to market value, a move that may have given the carrier an advantage in the country’s highly competitive budget market. The state-owned carrier sub-leased Mango all 10 of its aircraft “at a significantly discounted cost” while ...

  Bangkok / AFP King Power, the Thai duty-free conglomerate behind the remarkable rise of English football champions Leicester City, said on Tuesday it had bought a $225 million stake in Thai Air Asia, the country’s largest budget airline. The purchase allows King Power’s billionaire owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha to further tap into Thailand’s booming tourism industry and expand beyond his ...

  Sydney / Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd. could be China’s next investment target after conglomerates from the country bought stakes in the Australian carrier’s closest domestic rival, Credit Suisse Group AG said. Separate investments in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. by HNA Group and Nanshan Group in the past two weeks have put around one third of the airline in Chinese ...

  Kuala Lumpur / AFP Rayani Air, Malaysia’s first Islamic-compliant airline, has been shut down, regulators said on Monday, months after it was suspended from flying for breaching aviation regulations. The carrier launched only in December with Muslim flight crew wearing the hijab while non-Muslim members were forbidden from wearing revealing clothing. In-flight meals were completely halal and alcohol consumption banned. ...

  Mumbai / Tribune News Service The Wadia group-owned budget airline GoAir is likely to start international services by early next year, civil aviation secretary R.N. Choubey said. Meanwhile, GoAir’s 20th aircraft, Airbus A320neo, landed at the Delhi airport on Monday. A domestic airline needs a 20-aircraft fleet to fly abroad, and GoAir inducted its 20th Airbus A320neo plane this ...

  New Delhi / Tribune News Service The Indian government has proposed a slew of amendments to the civil aviation rules, including reducing cancellation charges, increasing compensation if a passenger is prevented from boarding, and streamlining the process of refunds. The proposed amendments, which have been discussed with airlines, were uploaded on the website of the Directorate General of Civil ...

  Paris / Bloomberg Air France, hobbled by a strike involving more than a quarter of its pilots, said about 80 percent of its flights would operate on Saturday and Sunday. Air France-KLM Group’s French arm will maintain more than 80 percent of scheduled long-haul flights and about 70 percent of European services on Sunday, it said in a statement, ...

  New York / AFP The Swiss pilot readying to cross the Atlantic in a solar-powered plane on the next leg of a record-breaking, round-the-world mission says he is making science fiction reality. Bertrand Piccard, a psychiatrist and balloonist, will next command Solar Impulse 2 when meteorologists determine the best five-to-six day window for the ocean crossing from New York ...

  New York / AFP The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft flew by the Statue of Liberty early on Saturday, ending the US portion of its bid to circle the globe using only solar power. “It’s absolutely incredible,” Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg said over a live video feed as the iconic statue lit up the night below him. “It’s a dream here.” ...

  La Paz / AFP Latam Airlines Group SA, the biggest carrier in South America, said a slump in Brazilian traffic means it’s likely to cancel or delay some of the 53 wide-body jet orders placed by constituent units before a 2012 merger. Latam is reviewing some of the 27 Airbus Group SE A350s going to Sao Paulo-based TAM and ...