Bloomberg It’s taken five years, but the merger that created Latin America’s largest airline might finally be bearing fruit. Latam Airlines Group SA, once the world’s most valuable carrier, is in its strongest financial condition since predecessor Lan Airlines bought Brazil’s TAM in 2012, said Chief Financial Officer Ramiro Alfonsin. The airline has had to navigate Brazil’s worst recession in …

Bloomberg Air Berlin Plc’s insolvency could open the way for Deutsche Lufthansa AG to add new hubs for inter-continental flights while allowing short-haul discount specialist EasyJet Plc to boost its presence in the German capital. The ailing carrier’s Berlin and Dusseldorf bases would provide Lufthansa’s lower-cost Eurowings arm with a chance to expand a long-haul network currently limited to Cologne-Bonn …

Bloomberg Indian airport operators surged after the country’s top court allowed them to use airport land for commercial purposes, rejecting the government’s objections. Private airport operators can now take advantage of a new civil aviation policy unveiled last year that liberalised norms, allowing commercial use of airport land, a two-judge bench headed by J. Chelameswar ruled, upholding a previous lower …

Bloomberg Jack Ma is ahead of Jeff Bezos in one area: grocery stores. For years, it looked to some like Ma’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. was simply following in the footsteps of Bezos’ Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest e-commerce company. Just like Seattle-based Amazon, China’s online shopping giant started a cloud-computing business and created original entertainment content. But when Amazon’s …

Bloomberg Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. saw some rare analyst love this week, but it wasn’t enough to shift it from its unenviable position as the world’s least favoured airline stock. The Hong Kong-based carrier’s biggest half-yearly loss in two decades saw some analysts boost their ratings on the shares this week—on expectations things can only get better for the beleaguered …

DUBAI / WAM The Zayed Giving Initiative (ZGI), has launched a programme to mark World Humanitarian Day, which was on August 19, to promote the culture of volunteer work and humanitarian giving among the youth of various nationalities. Dr Adel Al Shameri, CEO of ZGI, said the new initiative will feature a package of charitable projects that will be implemented …

Dubai / Emirates Business DLD has strengthened partnerships with government entities as part of ongoing efforts to integrate Dubai’s various institutions, improve government performance, achieve highest standards of excellence, ensure customer satisfaction. Hamdan Hamad Al-Madhani, Director of Rental Relationship Regulation Department at DLD, said: “To achieve the desired level of integration, a workshop was organised where representatives from any DLD …

FUJAIRAH / WAM The newly established Fujairah Terminals, under the management of Abu Dhabi Ports, welcomed its first container feeder vessel, the Dubai Alliance. This is the first ship to arrive at the terminal, which is wholly owned by Abu Dhabi Ports, the master developer, operator and manager of commercial and community ports within the emirate of Abu Dhabi, Fujairah …

ABU DHABI / WAM Abu Dhabi City Municipality (ADM) has carried out a comprehensive campaign at old and new Al Falah as well as surrounding areas in collaboration with strategic partners. The campaign aimed to verify that stipulations set for protecting the appearance of the city are implemented, and removal of all distorting elements is carried out. The campaign focused …

DUBAI / Emirates Business The GCC projects market had a muted performance in the first half of 2017, but is expected to perform better in the second six months of the year as the region’s economies continue to adjust to lower oil prices. According to the latest data from MEED Projects, the region’s leading projects tracking and analysis service, $56bn …