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 ...

  Caracas / AFP Julio Ribas suffers from high blood pressure. If only Venezuela’s currency were as high, he might be able to afford some medicine for it.Venezuela is short of drugs, and to buy some from abroad, Ribas needs dollars — but those are in desperately short supply too. Ribas is just one of the countless casual victims of ...