Aviation

  Bloomberg Airbus Group SE is setting up its second academy to train pilots in Asia, where a rash of startup airlines and new aircraft coming in is causing a surge in demand for captains and first officers. Airbus is opening the center in Singapore in partnership with Singapore Airlines Ltd. The facility — with eight simulators — will add ...

  DALLAS / AP Norwegian Air Shuttle has won preliminary approval to expand flying between the US and Europe using an Irish subsidiary. The decision by the US Department of Transportation was a setback for the major US airlines and their labour unions, who said the subsidiary will be an unfair, low-wage competitor on key trans-Atlantic routes. The decision followed ...

Bloomberg Airbus Group SE is poised to win an order for at least 30 A321 single-aisle jetliners from Delta Air Lines Inc. valued at $3.5 billion or more at list prices as part of a wider fleet overhaul at the US carrier, according to people familiar with the plan. Details of the transaction are still being worked out and Atlanta-based ...

  Madrid / AFP Spanish judicial authorities revealed that the ‘ghost airport’ of Ciudad Real, a symbol of the country’s financial excess in the boom years, had been sold off for 56 million euros ($62 million). Spain’s construction and property sectors boomed until the downturn hit seven years ago and one victim was the airport, initially touted as an alternative ...

  Bloomberg Allegiant Airlines, which came under special scrutiny by federal safety regulators last year, said operations are improving after it increased spending on safety management, training facilities and younger aircraft. “We’re investing in everything we know to invest in,” Chief Operating Officer Jude Bricker told reporters. “Most of the indicators we watch are positive. Everything is moving in the ...

  FRANKFURT / Reuters Lufthansa is in talks with the owners of Scandinavian carrier SAS and Brussels Airlines to expand the number of destinations it flies to and grow its low-cost Eurowings business, people close to the German airline said. Two sources said that Lufthansa had been in talks with the owners of SAS since the autumn, which could lead ...

  DUBLIN/ Reuters Ryanair is all set to launch its first loyalty scheme in decades, introduce customer satisfaction surveys and allow “one-tap” upgrades using mobile phones as it extends its efforts to rid itself of a reputation for poor service. The Irish low-cost airline, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, has seen profits and passenger numbers soar since Chief Executive Michael ...

  Riga / AFP Latvia’s airBaltic, which will be the first airline to operate Bombardier’s CS300 plane commercially, said it had increased its order with the Canadian manufacturer from 13 to 20 aircraft. “This brings the total order for 20 planes to a book price of around $1.5 billion” (1.3 billion euros), airBaltic spokesman Janis Vanags said. The Latvian flag ...

Bloomberg Airbus Group SE lost an order for two A380 superjumbos from Indian Ocean carrier Air Austral, which had aimed to fit the planes with the highest-capacity seating layout in the history of civil aviation. The aircraft, whose planned 840-seat configuration had led them to be widely labeled by the media as “flying sardine cans,” were removed from Airbus’s order ...

Zurich / Bloomberg Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. agreed to buy Swiss airline catering company Gategroup Holding AG for 1.4 billion francs ($1.5 billion), as billionaire Chairman Chen Feng continues on an acquisition spree of aviation-related assets around the world. Gategroup shares jumped the most in almost seven years. Shareholders would get 53 francs a share as well as the ...