Aviation

BEIJING / Bloomberg China’s airlines are reaping the benefits of a policy not to hedge in the oil market, unlike some of their rivals across Asia Pacific. The ’Big Three’ — Air China Ltd., China Southern Airlines Co. and China Eastern Airlines Corp., will probably report next week at least a 70 percent surge in net income for 2015 amid ...

SYDNEY / Reuters Richard Branson-backed airline Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd said it tapped its top shareholders for a A$425 million ($320 million) loan facility, a step that is expected to help it cut its reliance on the bond market for funds. The loan facility goes some way to address investor concerns that its cash reserves have declined sharply in the ...

DALLAS / Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. pilots are seeking pay raises that would give them the highest compensation in the industry plus a bigger company contribution to retirement savings, according to a contract proposal presented to the carrier. The pay increases would average 4.1 percent annually for a compound gain of almost 33 percent over seven years under the plan ...

MOBILE / AP A European aircraft maker Airbus conducted the inaugural test flight on its first US-made jetliner, calling the exercise a success after the plane flew for hours over the Gulf of Mexico. The A321 passenger jet took off and landed at Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, site of the company’s new plant near downtown Mobile, Alabama. The three-hour flight ...

Bloomberg Lining up Continental former Chief Executive Officer Gordon Bethune as part of a board slate for United Airlines is merely a ruse by two hedge funds to “smash and grab from United’s coffers,” according to the carrier’s pilot union. The funds enlisted Bethune “to play on employees’ good will and feelings of nostalgia,” leaders of United’s chapter of the ...

Bloomberg Nigeria, reeling from the slump in oil prices, has asked domestic and international airlines for discounts as it seeks to cap travel expenses that are its biggest source of overhead costs, the Finance Ministry said in a statement that was issued last week. A “conservative” 5 percent reduction on airfare tickets would save the West African government about 4 ...

Bloomberg Fraport AG, the operator of Frankfurt airport, fell the most in 4 1/2 years after saying terrorist attacks in Turkey will hurt its business there as travellers avoid the country. Fraport dropped as much as 8.5 percent, the steepest intraday decline since August 2011, and was trading down 8 percent at 51.81 euros as of 1:08 p.m. in Frankfurt ...

Bloomberg French aviation authorities have asked airlines to cancel more Paris and Marseille flights as a two-day strike by air-traffic controllers disrupts services for passengers across France and in other European cities. Orly airport south of the French capital was particularly hard hit by labour disruptions, the Direction Generale de l’Aviation Civile said in a statement. Even before the latest ...

Bloomberg Malaysian airline tycoon Tony Fernandes, chief executive of budget carrier AirAsia Bhd, said he’s applied for a version of Indian citizenship, a status that may allow him to fully own his local unit and skirt some aviation rules that restrict foreigners. “There will be a big party when I get my approval,” he told reporters in the southern Indian ...

Bloomberg Aviation enthusiasts, developers and anyone looking for a parking spot for the private jet, take note: Atlantic City is selling a century-old former airport for a fraction of what it could have received eight years ago. Bader Field, which spurred the first use of the word “air-port” in a 1919 newspaper, will go up for a minimum bid of ...