MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) said Tuesday that it plans to sell the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay properties to a joint venture of MGM Growth Properties LLC (NYSE: MGP) and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. for $4.6 billion.
The Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust will purchase $150 million in MGM Growth Properties Class A shares. MGP will own 50.1% of the joint venture, and BREIT will own 49.9%.
MGM Resorts will enter into a long-term triple net master lease for the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay and will continue to manage and be responsible for the properties on a day-to-day basis, with the joint venture owning the properties and receiving rent payments.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.
“We are pleased to announce this partnership with BREIT, which illustrates the numerous opportunities available to grow our business and emphasizes the strong institutional demand for gaming real estate assets,” MGP CEO James Stewart said in a statement.
“Along with the contemplated cash redemption of $1.4 billion of MGM’s operating partnership units as announced by MGM, we expect this transaction to be accretive to AFFO while allowing us to maintain pro rata net leverage of 5.6x.”
MGM shares were down 0.45% at $33.22 at the time of publication Tuesday. The stock has a 52-week high of $33.87 and a 52-week low of $23.68.
$125 Million Maintenance facility showcases commitment to Houston through new infrastructure investment to support long-term growth for Southwest
Southwest Airlines opens new hangar facility at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston
DALLAS, Jan. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today officially opened a new maintenance facility at William P. Hobby International Airport, highlighting the importance Houston holds for the nation’s largest domestic airline* and underscoring its commitment to Safety while investing in the Bayou City.
The 240,000 square foot maintenance complex, now the largest in the airline’s network, includes offices, training facilities, warehouse space, and a 140,000 square foot hangar. This allows for the nearly 400 Houston based Technical Operations Employees to work simultaneously on up to six 737 aircraft indoors and has space for an additional eight aircraft outside the hangar bays. It replaces Southwest’s smaller Technical Operations facility at Hobby Airport, which opened in 1988.
“This state-of-the-art hangar will support our Technical Operations Team’s unwavering commitment to Safety and maintaining our fleet to the highest standards,” said Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chairman and CEO. “I’m very proud of our hundreds of Technical Operations Employees in Houston for the work they do every day to support our growing operation from Houston’s Hobby Airport, which includes almost 200 departures per day during peak seasons to nearly 70 destinations across the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.”
A Boeing 737 sits inside Southwest’s new hangar at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston
“We thank Southwest Airlines for its nearly 50-year partnership and commitment to the Houston community,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “Between the direct employment of 5,000 local residents, continued growth in flight activity, and this investment in infrastructure, the airline represents $3 billion in economic impact for Houston each year, and that’s something that makes us proud and thankful.”
“Having similar values allowed McCarthy Building Companies and Southwest Airlines to form an integrated team to address the many entities and hurdles involved with constructing such a high profile project at a major airport. This was instrumental in the success of this project and the teams’ ability to deliver it on time,” said Jim Stevenson, McCarthy’s Houston Division President. “We are proud of our partnership with Southwest and pleased to be part of this important maintenance hangar project that will have such a high impact on its operations.”
The airline is currently investing in aircraft maintenance build-outs at Baltimore/Washington International Airport and Denver International Airport, as well as an expansion of its maintenance facility at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport. Including the projects in Denver and Baltimore, the airline expects to have eight maintenance hangars throughout the United States.
Broadcast-quality photos and videos are available for download at the carrier’s online newsroom, swamedia.com/houstonhangar.
(Left to Right: Mario Diaz, Director, Houston Airport System, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chairman and CEO, Original Houston Technical Operations Employees Brad Shelton, Paul Mould, B.J. Ritter, and Landon Nitschke, Southwest Airlines SVP of Technical Operations)
President Trump accused Iranian general Qassem Soleimani of planning “imminent and sinister attacks” Friday in his first televised remarks since thedeadly airstrike that killed the generalat Baghdad’s international airport.
“We took action last night to stop a war,” Trump said during brief remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “We did not take action to start a war.”
Without divulging details about what led to the early morning airstrike that killed Soleimani and nine others, the president said the United States “caught” the general “in the act and terminated him.”
“Soleimani made the death of innocent people his sick passion,” Trump added, saying that “what the U.S. did yesterday should have been done long ago.”
The killing of Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Tehran, which has careened from one crisis to another since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.
Senior State Department officials described the killing as a defensive strike supported by solid intelligence and claimed Soleimani was planning imminent attacks against United States interests and personnel in the region.
Renewed agreement continues long-term partnership with one of the ten busiest airports in the United States
Latest contract highlights Bombardier’s comprehensive mobility solutions for transit systems worldwide
Mobility solution provider Bombardier Transportation announced today that it renewed a contract with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to provide operations and maintenance services for the Authority’s automated transit system (AirTrain JFK) at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The contract is valued at approximately $309 million US (277 million euro) and covers a period of five years.
“We greatly appreciate the confidence the Port Authority has placed in us and look forward to continuing our 16-year partnership in providing safe, reliable, customer-friendly, 24/7, 365-day service to AirTrain JFK’s growing ridership,” said Elliot G. (Lee) Sander, President, Americas Region, Bombardier Transportation. “We’re proud to offer a convenient and efficient mobility solution for JFK’s passengers and employees, not only within the airport, but between the airport and the city’s transit systems,” he continued.
Bombardier’s scope of work under the contract includes: 24-hour train operations and passenger assistance; maintenance of the vehicle fleet; maintenance of the tracks and power supply and signalling systems; and maintenance of all facilities on the system such as stations and platforms.
Bombardier was a member of the consortium responsible for designing and supplying the AirTrain JFK system, including the fleet of 32 metro vehicles, today branded as BOMBARDIER MOVIA, and has been operating and maintaining the system since its opening in December 2003. The system currently serves a total ridership of over 20 million passengers annually.
Bombardier has been designing, building, operating and maintaining automated transit systems for airports and cities around the world for nearly 50 years. In the United States, the ten busiest airports have chosen Bombardier for their transportation systems.
MOVIA metro vehicles on AirTrain at JFK International Airport
Air Caraïbes (a member airline of Groupe Dubreuil) has taken delivery of its first A350-1000, the largest member of Airbus’ new-generation A350 XWB Family, making it the first French operator of the type. The airline plans to operate its A350-1000s alongside its three A350-900s and six A330s on routes from Paris to the French Caribbean. The new aircraft will seamlessly integrate into Air Caraïbes existing fleet thanks to Airbus’ unique fleet commonality and provide the airline with additional flexibility. In total, Groupe Dubreuil has three A350-1000s on order.
Air Caraïbes’ A350-1000 are configured in a three-class layout with 429 seats (24 “Madras” Business, 45 in “Caraïbes” Premium Economy and 360 in “Soleil” Economy). All A350 XWBs are equipped with a quiet and comfortable Airspace cabin with a new lighting system, which strengthens the sense of passenger wellbeing and relaxation on long-haul flights.
The A350 XWB features the latest aerodynamic design, a carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. Together, these features translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency with a 25% reduction in fuel burn and emissions. The A350 XWB’s Airspace cabin is the quietest of any twin-aisle and offers passengers and crews the most modern in-flight products for the most comfortable flying experience.
At the end of November 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 959 firm orders from 51 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever.
A logo of low cost carrier Spirit Airlines is pictured on an Airbus plane in Colomiers near Toulouse
(Reuters) – U.S. budget carrier Spirit Airlines Inc <SAVE> said on Monday it will buy 100 Airbus <EADSY> A320neo-family jets to be delivered through 2027, with options to purchase up to 50 additional aircraft.
The deal includes a mix of Airbus A319, A320, and A321 models, the company said.
The purchase agreement finalizes an October provisional deal for the aircraft, when Spirit picked European planes despite Washington imposing tariffs on them.
Depending on the number of each variant of the A320 single-aisle family chosen, the deal could be worth $11 billion to $12 billion at the most recent 2018 Airbus list prices, but industry sources say such deals typically involve discounts of at least 50%.
Washington has imposed 10% tariffs on some of the planes Airbus offers to U.S. carriers, as part of a long-running transatlantic trade dispute over aircraft subsidies.
Spirit currently operates an all-Airbus fleet of 140 jets.
Aircraft are typically ordered several years in advance, meaning any planes ordered now would only be covered by tariffs in the event of an extended transatlantic tariff war. Airbus jets assembled at a plant in Alabama are not currently included.
(Reporting by Rachit Vats in Bengaluru and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Lisa Shumaker)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump called Boeing <BA> Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg this week to ask about the status of 737 MAX production, two people briefed on the matter confirmed.
The call on Sunday was brief and Muilenburg assured Trump that the planned production halt was temporary and that the company would not be laying off any workers. The production halt, set to begin in January, was announced by Boeing Monday after a board meeting.
Boeing and the White House declined to comment on the call, reported earlier by the New York Times.
Separately, S&P Global Ratings on Thursday downgraded Boeing’s credit rating to “A-” from “A” and lowered the short-term rating to “A-2” from “A-1.”
The change “reflects the uncertainty over when the 737 MAX will return to service, the risk to the supply chain from the planned production halt, and possible long-term impact to Boeing’s competitive position.”
U.S. officials have repeatedly said they are waiting for additional answers from Boeing and have at time faulted the quality of submissions from the planemaker since the plane was grounded in March after two fatal crashes killed 346 people.
“We’ve had conversations about the importance of making sure that we are looking at complete documentation and not piecemeal documentation,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told Reuters in September. “It’s really better to be very methodical and very detailed rather than try to rush a partially completed product and then say, ‘We’ll get back to you with the rest of it.’”
Boeing has repeatedly said it is working with regulators to safely return the plane to service and acknowledged last week it would not occur until 2020.
Dickson said last week there are nearly a dozen milestones that must be completed before the MAX returns to service. Approval is not likely until at least February and could be delayed until March, U.S. officials told Reuters last week.
American Airlines Group Inc <AAL> and Southwest Airlines Co <LUV> have canceled flights into April because of the grounding.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Boeing suspends 737 MAX production starting in January due to certification in 2020
Reduced production output enables prioritization of stored aircraft delivery
No layoffs or furlough expected at this time
Safely returning the 737 MAX to service is our top priority. We know that the process of approving the 737 MAX’s return to service, and of determining appropriate training requirements, must be extraordinarily thorough and robust, to ensure that our regulators, customers, and the flying public have confidence in the 737 MAX updates. As we have previously said, the FAA and global regulatory authorities determine the timeline for certification and return to service. We remain fully committed to supporting this process. It is our duty to ensure that every requirement is fulfilled, and every question from our regulators answered.
Throughout the grounding of the 737 MAX, Boeing has continued to build new airplanes and there are now approximately 400 airplanes in storage. We have previously stated that we would continually evaluate our production plans should the MAX grounding continue longer than we expected. As a result of this ongoing evaluation, we have decided to prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft and temporarily suspend production on the 737 program beginning next month.
We believe this decision is least disruptive to maintaining long-term production system and supply chain health. This decision is driven by a number of factors, including the extension of certification into 2020, the uncertainty about the timing and conditions of return to service and global training approvals, and the importance of ensuring that we can prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft. We will continue to assess our progress towards return to service milestones and make determinations about resuming production and deliveries accordingly.
During this time, it is our plan that affected employees will continue 737-related work, or be temporarily assigned to other teams in Puget Sound. As we have throughout the 737 MAX grounding, we will keep our customers, employees, and supply chain top of mind as we continue to assess appropriate actions. This will include efforts to sustain the gains in production system and supply chain quality and health made over the last many months.
We will provide financial information regarding the production suspension in connection with our 4Q19 earnings release in late January.
LOS ANGELES, December 12, 2019 – Today Air Lease Corporation (“ALC”) (NYSE: AL) announced the delivery of one new Airbus A321-200neo aircraft on long-term lease to Air Macau. This aircraft, featuring Pratt & Whitney PW1133G engines, is the first of two A321-200neo aircraft confirmed to deliver to the airline from ALC’s order book with Airbus and the first A321-200neo to deliver to the airline.
“We are pleased to announce this first of two A321-200neo aircraft delivery to Air Macau today and be the first to introduce the A321neo to the airline,” said Jie Chen, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Asia – President, Air Lease Corporation Hong Kong Limited. “The ALC team has a long history of working with Air Macau and we are thrilled to continue to build our strong relationship with the airline by providing the most modern, fuel-efficient aircraft.”
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
FILE PHOTO: A passenger stands in front of a window where Qantas planes are parked at Melbourne Airport, Australia
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Qantas Airways Ltd <QABSY> said on Friday it has chosen Airbus SE <EADSY> as preferred supplier for jets capable of the world’s longest commercial flights from Sydney to London, beating rival Boeing Co <BA> after a hard-fought contest.
The choice of up to 12 A350-1000 planes fitted with an extra fuel tank for flights of up to 21 hours cements Airbus as the leader in ultra-long haul flying globally at a time when Boeing is battling delays on its rival 777X programme and a broader corporate crisis following two deadly 737 MAX crashes.
The Qantas flights would begin in the first half of 2023, but remain subject to reaching a pay deal with pilots, who would need to extend their duty times to around 23 hours to account for potential delays and switch between flying the A350 and the airline’s current A330 fleet. A final decision on an order is expected in March, the airline said.
Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said the airline “had a lot of confidence” in the market for non-stop services from Sydney to London and to New York based on two years of flying non-stop from Perth to London, where it has achieved a 30% fare premium over one-stop rivals in premium classes.
“The A350 is a fantastic aircraft and the deal on the table with Airbus gives us the best possible combination of commercial terms, fuel efficiency, operating cost and customer experience,” he said.
Singapore Airlines Ltd <SINGY> operates the world’s current longest flight, nearly 19 hours from Singapore to New York, using an ultra-long range version of the smaller A350-900.
Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer thanked Qantas for its selection in a statement, while a Boeing spokesman said it was disappointed with the decision but looked forward to continuing its longstanding partnership with the airline.
Rico Merkert, a transport professor at the University of Sydney Business School, said the A350-1000 fit the Qantas brief well and was the safer choice, given Boeing has recently reported problems such as the grounding of the 737 MAX, structural cracks in 737 NGs and a fuselage split in a stress test of its 777-9.
“The A350 just seems to be a much safer bet,” he said. “And safety is at the core of everything that Qantas does including its brand.”
Airbus no longer provides list prices for aircraft, but based on its 2018 price list, the Qantas order could be worth up to $4.4 billion before heavy discounts that are standard for airline customers.
Citi on Friday estimated the planes would cost A$3 billion (1.6 billion pounds) to $3.5 billion, with the investment likely to be phased over three years.
The selection of the A350-1000 will add to growing doubts over Boeing’s plans to produce the 777-8 that it had proposed to Qantas for the mission.
Boeing had already said the entry into service for the plane, a smaller, longer-range version of the 777-9, would be delayed beyond 2022 but has declined to give a new date, saying it would be based on customer demand.
Customers Emirates and Qatar Airways have indicated they could switch orders for the 777-8 to the 777-9.
The 777-9 is due to enter service in 2021, following delays associated with its GE <GE.N> engines.
The Boeing spokesman said on Friday the manufacturer was focused on the development of the 777-9 and after that it would complete development of the 777-8, with the first delivery scheduled a few years after that.
(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Sam Holmes and Stephen Coates)
An Airbus A350-1000 performs at the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris
