Aviation

  Washington / AFP An experimental, solar-powered aircraft took off from Tulsa in the midwestern US state of Oklahoma early on Saturday, kicking off the latest phase of its record-breaking quest to circle the globe without consuming a drop of fuel. Swiss businessman Andre Borschberg, who has teamed up with adventurer Bertrand Piccard for the Solar Impulse 2 project, piloted the …

  Dubai / Bloomberg Etihad Airways is confident that Air Berlin Plc and Alitalia SpA are making progress in their turnarounds as the UAE carrier seeks to stem losses at the European affiliates. Etihad wants to strengthen ties between the Italian and German airlines’ route networks and cooperate in other areas to enable them to compete with mainline operators such …

  Washington / Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc. is stepping up efforts to reduce delays at U.S. airport security checkpoints after bottlenecks caused passengers to wait for hours and miss some flights this week. The carrier will spend $4 million to hire more contractors to assist Transportation Security Administration personnel with non-screening functions, Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom said in …

  Dubai / Emirates Business Gulf Air and TransSys Solutions announced that they have partnered to enhance Oracle E-Business Suite capabilities and features to utilise latest technologies such as mobility and interface to Hybrid Cloud. The agreement was signed by Dr Jassim Haji, Director Information Technology, Gulf Air and PrabuBalasubramanyan, Executive Director, TransSys Solutions. As part of Gulf Air’s digital …

  New York / Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co.’s growth plans may be jeopardized by a lawsuit filed by its pilots union over flying Boeing Co.’s newest 737 jetliner, Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, representing 8,300 aviators, on Monday asked a federal court to block the carrier from flying the 737 Max until the plane …

  Doha / Bloomberg Qatar Airways Ltd. increased its stake in British Airways owner IAG SA for the second time in less than three weeks, as the Persian Gulf carrier seeks to benefit from closer ties with its European partner. The move lifts Qatar Airways’ holding in IAG to 15 percent from a stake of close to 12 percent, which …

  London / Bloomberg Comair Ltd., the South African operator of British Airways flights, won a court ruling to continue flying in the country amid a legal investigation into whether the company breaches airline foreign-ownership limits. The High Court of Pretoria granted an interdict to the Johannesburg-based carrier that ensures its license won’t be withdrawn by the Air Services Licensing …

  Singapore / Bloomberg Singapore Airlines Ltd., seeking to restructure its budget airline business, established a new holding company to manage its two low-fare carriers amid speculation of a consolidation in the region. Budget Aviation Holdings Pte will control long-haul carrier Scoot and short-haul carrier Tiger Airways, allowing for greater integration and sharing of operations and planning, Singapore Air said …

  Sydney / AFP A two-hour flight from Sydney to London is a step closer to reality after the latest successful test on Wednesday of hypersonic technology in the Australian desert. A joint US-Australian military research team is running a series of 10 trials at the world’s largest land testing range, Woomera in South Australia, and at Norway’s Andoya Rocket Range. …

Lagos / AFP A lack of jet fuel has led to the disruption of local and international flights in Nigeria, airlines said on Wednesday, warning travellers of cancellations. Arik, the country’s largest airline, said in a statement that scarcity of aviation fuel in the last few weeks had reached “alarming” levels due to an ongoing shortfall in imports. “Due to the …