Bloomberg White House officials are discussing temporarily allowing cash-strapped airlines to keep some taxes and fees they collect from passengers as a way to help as travel plummets due to the spread of coronavirus. The option is being discussed for the 7.5% tax on airline tickets, which provides a substantial part of the $16 billion a year collected for a …

Bloomberg Federal aviation officials are investigating the cause of a 12-inch-long crack that developed in the top of a Southwest Airlines Co jet during flight, leading to a gradual loss of cabin pressure. Pilots on Southwest Flight 1685 from Las Vegas to Boise, Idaho, descended to 22,000 feet last week after receiving a pressure-drop alert for the cabin, the Dallas-based …

Bloomberg Air France-KLM is building up cash reserves and preparing a crisis plan to cut costs in response to a dramatic slump in flight reservations through the peak season and President Donald Trump’s ban on trans-Atlantic travel. The carrier is facing “an unprecedented situation” due to the coronavirus pandemic, Chief Executive Officer Ben Smith told staff in an internal video …

Bloomberg Ever since mid-January, Adnan Durrani, chief executive officer of frozen-food company Saffron Road, knew the coronavirus outbreak was poised to create a spike in demand. For the past six weeks, his factories have been running at full capacity in order to keep items like frozen chicken pad thai and sesame ginger udon bowls on the shelves at Kroger, Walmart …

Bloomberg American Dream — the New Jersey mega-mall that was slated to open its stores and a huge water park on Thursday — will postpone its grand opening, another setback for the $5 billion project. Some entertainment elements at the mall, such as the indoor ski slope and ice rink, that had opened late last year will close starting from …

Bloomberg The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, saying cases outside China have risen 13-fold. The US’s top infectious-disease specialist told lawmakers the pathogen is 10 times more deadly than the seasonal flu. Britain announced a $39 billion stimulus package, hours after the Bank of England cut interest rates. German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to do “whatever …

Bloomberg Los Angeles is aiming to become the first city in the nation to use renewable hydrogen to produce electricity, with the goal of ending the use of carbon-based natural gas entirely. The city has a two-step plan to replace 1,900 megawatts of coal-fired generation produced at a Utah power plant owned by the Intermountain Power Agency. The first step: …

Bloomberg Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd, South Africa’s indebted power utility, won a High Court ruling against the nation’s energy regulator, which had blocked the company from recovering some costs it says it incurred during the 2019 financial year. Eskom had asked the National Energy Regulator of South Africa for an 18.9% tariff increase to allow it to generate 219.5 billion …

Bloomberg PG&E Corp reached a deal with the US Federal Emergency Management Agency over $3.9 billion in relief Washington provided after the utility’s power lines sparked devastating wildfires. The settlement, which requires court approval, calls for FEMA to reduce its claim to $1 billion and allow victims of wildfires blamed on PG&E equipment to be paid in full first, lawyers …

Bloomberg Mexico’s finance minister said the country’s oil income is completely covered by its sovereign oil hedge. The timing couldn’t be better for the Latin American producer amid the biggest plunge in oil prices in almost three decades as Saudi Arabia and Russia vowed to pump more oil in a battle for market share. Mexico’s oil income is 100% covered …