Aviation

  London / Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. said it’s talking with Airbus Group SE about the planemaker’s proposal for a bigger version of the newest A350 wide-body, a model which needs to attract a strong set of initial customers to get the go ahead. Cathay, which already has 48 A350s on order, is keen on a so-called stretched variant ...

  New Delhi / Tribune News Service Air India will offer discounted tickets for students travelling for educational purposes on all its domestic flights during the lean season of July and August. Students can fly for Rs.3,500 for distances up to 1,000 km and at Rs.5,500 for over 1,000 km. Tickets must be booked between June 1 and August 31 ...

  San Jose / Tribune News Service Two weeks before Air China would start whisking Bay Area travellers from Mineta San Jose International Airport to Shanghai, the airline unexpectedly pulled its plans to launch new service here. “We know at this time that Air China will not meet their proposed launch date of mid-June 2016,” said airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes. ...

  Oslo / AFP Irish no-frills airline Ryanair announced on Wednesday it will shut down one of its Norway bases, condemning to closure an airport in the Oslo region, in protest against a disputed new tax. “The Oslo base will close in October,” Ryanair’s chief commercial officer David O’Brien told reporters as an 80 Norwegian kroner ($10, nine-euro) passenger tax came ...

  Mumbai / Tribune News Service India’s domestic air traffic market grew the fastest in the world for the 13th consecutive month in April, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its report. The market grew at nearly 22%, it said. “India’s domestic traffic soared 21.8%, marking the 20th month of double-digit traffic growth and the 13th consecutive month ...

  Shanghai / Bloomberg With its ubiquitous Phantom drones, Chinese manufacturer SZ DJI Technology Co. brought aerial photography to millions. Now, with dozens of competitors biting at its heels, the world’s biggest producer of consumer drones needs to prove that its products are more than just glorified selfie sticks. “Right now, DJI is the king of the drones-are-cool market, they ...

  Sydney / AFP Chinese aviation and tourism giant HNA is buying a 13 percent stake in Virgin Australia, the airline said on Tuesday, just a week after the Hainan company scooped up part of Portuguese national airline TAP. HNA, led by Chinese billionaire Chen Feng and best known as the parent of Hainan Airlines, will pay Aus$159 million (US$115 million) ...

  Dublin / Bloomberg Airline chiefs from around the world have begun gathering for their annual meeting against a background of increasing concern about a slowdown in demand just as carriers pile on capacity to exploit low oil prices. Only a few months ago, this week’s International Air Transport Association symposium in Dublin looked set to be dominated by talk ...

  Kuala Lumpur / Bloomberg AirAsia Bhd. received an offer valued at about $1 billion for its aircraft-leasing business, Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes said, prompting the shares to reach a new 14-month high in Kuala Lumpur trading. Asia’s biggest discount carrier intends to divest the fully-owned unit called Asia Aviation Capital Ltd. at some point, Fernandes said in an ...

  Frankfurt / AFP Airbus chief Tom Enders conceded in a newspaper interview on Sunday that some of the “massive problems” dogging the European airplane manufacturer’s new military transporter, the A400M, were of the group’s own making. “We underestimated the engine problems,” Enders told the Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag. At the start of the programme, Airbus had “let itself be ...