Aviation

SINGAPORE / Reuters Indonesia is about to roll out its first passenger plane, one of several smaller, homegrown aircraft being studied in Asia, designed especially for short hops across the region’s emerging markets, where air travel is booming. State-owned aerospace firm PT Dirgantara Indonesia’s 19-seat N219, which cost $400 million and took just over five years to make, is scheduled ...

Bloomberg Virgin America Inc. received takeover offers from JetBlue Airways Corp. and Alaska Air Group Inc. after the carrier backed by billionaire Richard Branson put itself up for sale, according to people familiar with the matter. Discussions between Virgin America and the two bidders are ongoing, and a deal could be announced as early as next week, the people said, ...

Bloomberg Brussels Airlines NV, which lost its main airport hub after the worst terrorist attack in Belgium’s history, has decamped to four other cities to maintain service, even using buses to get people to flights at alternative airports. After the bombing, which killed 11 at the airport, the carrier shifted some airplanes and crew to Frankfurt and Zurich, to maintain ...

Bloomberg Skymark Airlines Inc. exited bankruptcy administration and forecast its first operating profit in three years after reducing its fleet, cutting routes and getting new funding. The carrier expects to report 1.5 billion yen ($13 million) in operating profit and sales of 70 billion yen for the year ending March 31, Skymark said in a statement on Monday. Skymark also ...

Bloomberg Indian airport operator GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd. said it sold a stake in its Bengaluru aerodrome to Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., helping cut debt. The shares rose. Fairfax will buy 33 percent of Bangalore International Airport Ltd. for 21.49 billion rupees ($322 million), GVK said in a statement to the Mumbai stock exchange on Monday. GVK, which also ...

MUSCAT / Reuters Oman’s Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) will raise fees charged for air traffic through the sultanate, the authority’s chief executive Mohammed al-Zaabi told the official Oman News Agency. The decision is part of a series of steps by Oman to strengthen state finances as it grapples with a big budget deficit caused by low oil prices. ...

Bloomberg European planemaker Airbus has unveiled a new cabin brand designed to help cost-conscious airlines carry more passengers on long-haul flights while avoiding additional discomfort. The move reflects the rivalry between major planemakers to jazz up interiors and give airlines more flexibility on cabins as the industry struggles to capture more traffic without angering passengers. Airbus said the “Airspace by ...

Bloomberg Virgin America’s IPO was opportune. Selling now would continue that streak of good timing. The $1.5 billion US airline backed by billionaire Richard Branson is working with an adviser to evaluate a full or partial sale after receiving takeover interest. It would be a quick turnaround for a company that went public less than 18 months ago. Virgin soared ...

DUBLIN / Reuters Founder Pat Byrne and private equity backers have repurchased Irish regional airline CityJet from German owners Intro Aviation for an undisclosed sum, the company has recently announced. The regional airline, which carried around 2 million passengers last year, was bought from Air France-KLM in 2014 by Intro Aviation. CityJet operates eight routes into the small London City ...

Bloomberg Hainan Airlines Co., the biggest private airline in China, reported a 15.9 percent jump in full-year profit as cheaper oil prices drove down costs and passenger numbers increased. Billionaire Chen Feng’s airline reported net income of 3 billion yuan ($460.6 million) last year compared with 2.6 billion yuan in 2014, the Haikou, Hainan-based company said in a Shanghai stock ...