Aviation

  Doha / Bloomberg Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker branded Delta Air Lines Inc. “wicked” over what he said was the US carrier’s part in ruining the Middle Eastern company’s first flight from Doha to Atlanta. Qatar’s Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet wasn’t allocated a gate when it arrived at the world’s busiest airport this week, forcing passengers ...

  Tribune News Service Airlines could help reduce lengthy security lines by suspending checked baggage fees this summer or diverting fee revenues to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), some aviation experts and congressional members contend. Long security lines at major airports have led to thousands of missed flights in recent weeks, and some say TSA’s screening problems stem, in part, ...

  Paris / Bloomberg Airbus Group SE is exploring ways of carving out extra space on its A380 superjumbos in order to boost capacity and enhance margins for operators, among them modifying the staircases that connect the double-decker jet’s two passenger floors. Feedback from existing A380 customers suggests that curved steps located toward the rear of the world’s biggest jetliner ...

  Berlin / AFP Dwarfed by huge jets all around, the mini-plane Thor was nonetheless an eye-catcher at the Berlin air show this week — the small Airbus marvel is the world’s first 3D-printed aircraft. Windowless, weighing in at just 21 kilos (46 pounds) and less than four metres (13 feet) long, the drone Thor — short for “Test of ...

San Francisco / AFP Avianca Holdings SA jumped the most on record amid reports that Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. are weighing bids for the Latin American airline. Avianca is exploring strategic options including a full or partial sale, according to people familiar with the matter. Avianca has recently begun working with a financial adviser to ...

  Paris / Bloomberg Airbus Group SE will continue building the older variant of its single-aisle A320 aircraft until at least 2019, two years later than intended, as glitches with the re-engined Neo version curb handovers of the new plane. Customers due to take the New Engine Option jets next year will be invited to swap to the less expensive ...

  Dubai / Bloomberg Emirates, the largest operator of Airbus Group SE’s A380 superjumbo, has all but given up on getting an upgrade of the double-decker with new engines and is instead making a more modest pitch to the planemaker: please don’t drop the program altogether. “I can’t force Toulouse to do anything,” Emirates President Tim Clark told reporters on ...

  Sofia / Bloomberg The Bulgarian government started a tender for a 35-year concession to operate Sofia Airport, the country’s biggest, demanding at least 660 million lev ($382 million) in initial payment. The concessionaire will be required to invest at least 307 million lev in the airport, which includes building a new terminal with an annual capacity of 3 million ...

  DOHA / Tribune News Service Qatar Airways’ bumpy trip to Atlanta continued on Wednesday when its first flight had to settle for a parking place on the tarmac instead of a regular gate. The Middle Eastern carrier launched its Atlanta-Doha service with a double-decker Airbus A380, the world’s largest airliner. The inaugural flight landed about 4 pm, but the ...

  Shanghai / Bloomberg The Chinese are spending more time at airports and on aircraft as flight delays worsen. The average delay for flights last year was 21 minutes, 2 minutes worse than in 2014, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a report dated May 30 on its website. Air traffic control issues was the biggest reason for ...