Tag: british (Page 9 of 10)

Qatar Airways acquires 5% of China Southern Airlines

January 2, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

DUBAI/BEIJING, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Qatar Airways has acquired a 5 percent stake in China Southern Airlines, the state-owned Gulf carrier said on Wednesday, in a move to gain access to the fast-growing mainland Chinese market.

Qatar Airways also owns a 20 percent stake in British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines Group, 10 percent of South America’s LATAM Airlines Group SA , 49 percent of Italy’s Meridiana and 9.99 percent stake in Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific.

Qatar’s flagship airline has sought new partners and routes after it was blocked last year from flying to the lucrative markets of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates because of restrictions imposed by those countries.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, imposed a political and economic boycott on Qatar since June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.

China Southern in a separate statement said Qatar Airways may consider increasing its stake in the airline in the next 12 months. Qatar had no previous investment in the Chinese airline.

Qatar Airways is the second foreign carrier that has a stake in China Southern, after American Airlines. The Chinese carrier left the Skyteam airline alliance at the start of the year.

There are opportunities for “us to work together and build a long term relationship in ways that would bring benefits to customers of both airlines,” said Qatar Airways’ Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker.

Ajith K, director of Asia transport at UOB Kay Hian, said given that China Southern is the biggest competitor of Cathay Pacific in Greater China, this deal could strengthen the China Southern’s position at the Hong-Kong carrier’s expense. “Why Qatar is doing this, seems to me, one of course is to gain access to the Chinese market. Secondly it’s probably that they are hedging against their bet given they own almost 10 percent in Cathay Pacific.”

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif and Saeed Azhar in Dubai and Stella Qiu in Beijing; editing by Louise Heavens)

Image from http://www.boeing.com

Virgin Galactic Crew Takes Off For Space

December 13, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

MOJAVE, Calif., Dec 13 (Reuters) – A Virgin Galactic space tourism vehicle took off from California’s Mojave desert under clear skies on Thursday bound for the fringes of space, a mission that if successful would mark the first U.S. human flight beyond the atmosphere since the end of America’s shuttle program in 2011.

The test flight foreshadows a new era of civilian space travel that could kick off as soon as 2019, with British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic battling other billionaire-backed ventures, like Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, to be the first to offer suborbital flights to fare-paying tourists.

In the first steps before a high-altitude rocket launch, Virgin’s twin-fuselage carrier airplane holding the SpaceShipTwo passenger spacecraft took off soon after 7 a.m. local time (10 a.m. ET) from the Mojave Air and Space Port, about 90 miles (145 km) north of Los Angeles.

Richard Branson, wearing a leather bomber jacket with a fur collar, attended the take-off along with hundreds of spectators on a crisp morning in the California desert.

If all goes according to plan, the carrier airplane will haul the SpaceShipTwo passenger rocket plane to an altitude of about 45,000 feet (13.7 kms) and release it. Seconds later, SpaceShipTwo will fire, catapulting it to at least 50 miles (80.47 km) above Earth, high enough for the pilots to experience weightlessness and see the curvature of the planet.

Virgin’s latest flight test comes four years after the original SpaceShipTwo crashed during a test flight that killed the co-pilot and seriously injured the pilot, dealing a major setback to Virgin Galactic, a U.S. offshoot of the London-based Virgin Group.

“We’ve had our challenges, and to finally get to the point where we are at least within range of space altitude is a major deal for our team,” George Whitesides, Virgin Galactic’s chief executive, told reporters during a facilities tour on Wednesday in Mojave, where workers could be seen making pre-flight inspections of the rocket plane.

While critics point to Branson’s unfulfilled space promises over the past decade, the maverick businessman told a TV interviewer in October that Virgin’s first commercial space trip with him onboard would happen “in months and not years.”

Thursday’s test flight will have two pilots onboard, four NASA research payloads, and a mannequin named Annie as a stand-in passenger. More than 600 people have paid or put down deposits to fly aboard Virgin’s suborbital missions, including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and pop star Justin Bieber. A 90-minute flight costs $250,000.

Short sightseeing trips to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket are likely to cost around $200,000 to $300,000, at least to start, Reuters reported in July. Tickets will be offered ahead of the first commercial launch, and test flights with Blue Origin employees are expected to begin in 2019.

Other firms planning a variety of passenger spacecraft include Boeing Co, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch.

In September, SpaceX said Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, founder and chief executive of online fashion retailer Zozo, would be the company’s first passenger on a voyage around the moon on its forthcoming Big Falcon Rocket spaceship, tentatively scheduled for 2023.

Musk, the billionaire CEO of electric carmaker Tesla , said the Big Falcon Rocket could conduct its first orbital flights in two to three years as part of his grand plan to shuttle passengers to the moon and eventually fly humans and cargo to Mars.

According to Virgin, SpaceShipTwo is hauled to an altitude of about 45,000 feet (13.7 kms) by the WhiteKnightTwo carrier airplane and released. The spaceship then fires its rocket motor to catapult it to at least 50 miles (80.47 km) above Earth, high enough for passengers to experience weightlessness and see the curvature of the planet.

Bezos’ New Shepard has already flown to that altitude – an internationally recognized boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space known as the Karman line – though the Blue Origin trip did not carry humans.

Virgin’s Thursday launch likely will not go as high as the Karman line. Virgin’s pilots are aiming to soar 50 miles into the sky – the U.S. military and NASA’s definition of the edge of space and high enough to earn commercial astronaut wings by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Thursday’s test flight carried two pilots, four NASA research payloads, and a mannequin named Annie as a stand-in passenger.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Mojave, California Additional reporting by Irene Klotz in Cape Canaveral, Florida Editing by Leslie Adler and Nick Zieminski)

Image from http://www.virgingalactic.com

Ryanair Hopes To Close Union Deals By Christmas

October 22, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ryanair (RYA.I) hopes to reach deals with all of its major unions by Christmas, its chief executive said on Monday, in a sign an end may be in sight to disruptions which have hit its profit and shares.

The Irish low-cost carrier, Europe’s largest, on Monday reported a 7 percent fall in profits in the six months to Sept. 30 on high fuel costs and intense competition.

But it said these factors were helping it to resolve its industrial relations troubles.

“Given the adverse environment that’s out there for airlines and the number of job losses being reported in recent weeks both by pilots and cabin crew, there is a much more sensible, common sense approach being taken by the unions,” Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said in a video presentation.

O’Leary said that recent progress in talks left Germany and Belgium as the only two large markets for the airline where recognition agreements had not been secured.

“We would be hopeful of concluding agreements with them this side of Christmas,” he added.

The fall in profit was less than the 9 percent drop forecast by analysts and Ryanair shares were 4.2 percent higher at 12.00 euros at 1100 GMT.

Ryanair’s shares are almost 40 percent down from a peak of 19.39 euros in August last year before the industrial relations issues began.

A staff revolt forced management to recognise unions for the first time last December and the airline has since struggled to put in place union recognition agreements.

A spokesman for Belgium’s LBC-NVK union said it was waiting for an offer from Ryanair on Thursday and had warned the airline they could strike again if there is no progress.

A spokesman for German unions VC said he saw “no real progress” in talks with Ryanair, which also needs to secure recognition deals in the Netherlands and Sweden.

On Friday it said it had reached agreement with British, Portuguese and Italian pilots and was close to a deal with Spanish pilots, although the British union said the deal had not been approved by its members yet.

Ryanair issued a profit warning on Oct. 1 citing damage to bookings from strikes and cutting its forecast for full-year profit by 12 percent.

But on Monday, O’Leary said much of the weakness of recent weeks was sector-wide rather than specific to Ryanair.

Over-capacity in European short-haul will push Ryanair fares down by 2 percent in the six months to March 31 compared to the same period last year, O’Leary forecast. He warned he would not rule out a 3 percent fall.

“We are entering into a grim winter in terms of declining air fares,” he told an analyst conference call. “But moving into the summer of 2019 I would expect to see some upward traction on pricing… following oil prices with a 12-month lag.”

Ryanair, which makes most of its profit in the summer, reported a profit of 1.2 billion euros ($1.38 billion) in the six months to Sept. 30, better than the 1.127 billion euros forecast in a company poll of more than 10 analysts.

($1 = 0.8685 euros)

(Additional reporting by Ilona Wissenbach and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Alexander Smith)

Image from https://www.ryanair.com/us/en/

Aston Martin Takes To The Skies

July 27, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Aston Martin aims to bring luxury private transport to the sky with its Volante Vision Concept aircraft – a flying autonomous, hybrid-electric vehicle that can take off vertically.

This is the first time the British car brand, traditionally known for its luxury sports cars, has ventured into aircraft design.

Named after the Italian word for flying, the Volante was debuted on 16 July 2018 at the Farnborough Air Show, alongside other aircraft designs including Boeing’s hypersonic aircraft concept.

Click the link below for the full story!

Aston Martin Takes To The Skies

Click the link below for the YouTube video!

Aston Martin Volante video

Rolls-Royce Reveals Electric Flying Concept Vehicle

July 24, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

British aerospace company Rolls-Royce is developing a personal electric flying vehicle that it says could be on the market by the early 2020s.

The company revealed the concept at last weekend’s Farnborough International Airshow, where it said it was looking for strategic partners to help it realise its vision for electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL).

Click the link below for the full story and video!

Rolls-Royce Reveals Electric Flying Concept Vehicle

Image from www.dezeen.com

Stock Battle: American Airlines vs. JetBlue

July 3, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Airline stocks have plunged this week for two major reasons. First, trade tensions with China caused investors to start worrying about demand. Second, oil prices have started moving higher again, following a brief respite prior to last week’s OPEC meeting.

Not surprisingly, the airlines with the lowest profit margins have been hit hardest. These carriers are the most vulnerable to fuel price increases and demand shocks, as small changes in their profit margins can severely impact their earnings. During the past year, American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) has fallen into the bottom echelon of U.S. airlines in terms of profitability, and so its share price tumbled 7.5% in the first three days of this week.

Click the link below for the full story!

American Airlines vs JetBlue

First 2 Airbus A380 Jumbos To Be Scrapped For Parts

June 5, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

SYDNEY (Reuters) – A German investment company said on Tuesday it would strip two unwanted Airbus A380 superjumbo passenger jets for parts after failing to find an airline willing to keep them flying following a decision by Singapore Airlines not to keep them in service.

The decision by Dortmund-based Dr Peters Group deals a fresh blow to the planemaker’s efforts to maintain market interest in the double-decker, barely 10 years after it went into service hailed by heads of state as a symbol of European ambition.

“Psychologically it is not good for Airbus, but this is a very large aircraft with a very small second-hand market,” said UK-based aerospace analyst Howard Wheeldon.

Despite strong reviews for its quiet and spacious cabin, demand for the 544-seater has fallen as many airlines drop the industry’s largest four-engined aircraft in favour of smaller twin-engined ones that are more efficient, and easier to fill.

“It’s too big. There was a battle for airline fashions and it lost out,” Wheeldon said.

Airbus says the iconic jet will eventually prove itself as travel demand saturates airport capacity at major cities.

“We can’t comment on the decision by Dr Peters, which is the owner of the aircraft,” an Airbus spokesman said.

“We remain confident in the secondary market for the A380 and the potential to extend the operator base.”

Singapore Airlines launched A380 services amid fanfare in December 2007, but returned the first two aircraft to their German financiers when leases expired some 10 years later.

The two discarded aircraft were repainted and flown to Tarbes in the French Pyrenees to be stored, and since then their fate has been uncertain as their owner looked for other takers.

“After extensive as well as intensive negotiations with various airlines such as British Airways, HiFly and IranAir, Dr Peters Group has decided to sell the aircraft components and will recommend this approach to its investors,” the company said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

Airbus has been working for months to try to stimulate a second-hand market for the A380 to encourage new airlines to take the risk of investing in the plane, knowing the asset would be worth the right amount when they decide to sell it on.

When it was launched, the A380 boasted highly customised interiors to help airlines promote a luxury feel, but the cost of replacing such bespoke fittings is now seen as a handicap.

“The problem is the cost of reconfiguration. It is $40 million (£30 million) or more per plane,” a senior industry source said.

PARTS RAID

The planes will not be scrapped entirely, but their huge frames will be combed for valuable components such as landing gears and electronics, a Dr Peters official told Reuters.

Their engines have already been removed and leased back to manufacturer Rolls-Royce for use as spares.

U.S.-based VAS Aero Services will be responsible for extracting and selling parts.

Dr Peters said the deal would yield a positive return for investors in funds used to finance the jets. It operates a number of boutique funds targeted at wealthy individuals and has two more A380s in Singapore that could face the same fate.

While dismantling the first two passenger-carrying A380s will embarrass Airbus and dismay the plane’s 3,800 workers, later examples of the flagship jet may not be as vulnerable.

Early copies of a new plane tend to be less efficient and Singapore Airlines recently ordered some new A380s. However, overall demand is thinner than Airbus expected, forcing it to slow production to a trickle while looking for more business.

Still, Emirates, the largest A380 customer, is keeping faith with the jet which brings millions of passengers a year through its Dubai hub and is associated with the airline’s global brand.

Throwing the loss-making programme a lifeline for a decade, Emirates recently ordered up to 36 more A380s and set out plans on Tuesday to install 56 Premium Economy seats.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Mark Potter and Jason Neely)

Hi Fly Airbus A380: Boom or Bust?

May 12, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Lisbon, Portugal based charter airline Hi Fly has announced that it plans to acquire an Airbus A380. The carrier plans to configured the aircraft with 471 seats, with 12 in first class, 60 in business class, and 399 in economy class. The A380 is scheduled to begin flights with the airline in mid 2018, and is a leased aircraft that was returned by Singapore Airlines.

Hi Fly will become the fourth airline based in Europe to operate the aircraft along with Air France, British Airways, and Lufthansa, but will be the first as a dedicated charter airline. The A380 has seen slow sales, as the logistics of continuing to be able to fill 550 plus seats on a consistent basis has been a challenge for most operators. One has to wonder how a charter airline will be able to operate the aircraft with not only enough paying passengers, but also enough of a schedule frequency to be able to cover the acquisition and operational costs?

Hi Fly currently operates a fleet of 8 Airbus aircraft, including 1 A321-200, 3 A330-200’s, and 4 A340’s. The carrier also has 12 A330’s on order, with 2 A330-200’s also scheduled to enter service starting this June. The other 10 are A330-900neo’s, as well as plans for a second A380. This seems like a huge increase in capacity for the carrier, but they also provide “for hire” services to other airlines. If another airline is unable to operate a flight due to maintenance or scheduling issues, they can call Hi Fly to operate that flight for them. Only time will tell if the increase in the carrier’s revenues can cover their costs.

Will IAG buy Norwegian

April 12, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Parked Boeing 737-800 aircrafts belonging to budget carrier Norwegian Air are pictured at Stockholm Arlanda Airport March 6, 2015. REUTERS/Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency

By Sarah Young

LONDON (Reuters) – British Airways-owner IAG (ICAG.L) said it is considering making an offer for Norwegian (NWC.OL), a low-cost carrier worth about $1.2 billion, in a deal which would expand its budget offerings and give it control of a struggling rival.

IAG said on Thursday it had bought a 4.61 percent stake in Norwegian as a platform for starting talks, and that could lead to it making a full offer for the airline founded by former fighter pilot Bjorn Kjos.

“IAG confirms that no such discussions have taken place to date, that it has taken no decision to make an offer at this time and that there is no certainty that any such decision will be made,” IAG said in its statement.

Shares in Norwegian, a stock which this year has been pounded over worries about its profitability, surged 37 percent on the news. https://reut.rs/2qqcSn6

A trailblazer of low-cost long-haul flying in Europe, Norwegian has been leading the charge to eat into the trans-Atlantic market where traditional full-service carriers like British Airways have historically made most of their profits.

Norwegian has already made its impact felt: British Airways and others have recently tried to compete more directly with Norwegian by introducing basic economy fares.

But Norwegian’s fast expansion has left it under pressure to control costs and shore up its balance sheet.

That has provided IAG, formed in 2011 through the merger of traditional flag-carriers British Airways and Iberia and led by CEO Willie Walsh, with an opportunity, say analysts.

Seasoned deal-maker Walsh was much quicker than rival full-service airlines Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) and Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) to embrace budget flying, buying short-haul carrier Vueling in 2015 and setting up IAG’s own long-haul low-cost carrier Level last year.

“Willie Walsh has long been interested in the low-cost long haul concept, long before the creation of Level. This may be an attempt to accelerate its development, while also adding to the scale and reach of Vueling in the intra-European market,” Liberum analyst Gerald Khoo said.

Adding Norwegian’s short-haul operations in Europe to Vueling would create a budget carrier better placed to compete against the continent’s two biggest low-cost airlines Ryanair (RYA.I) and easyJet (EZJ.L).

Bernstein analysts said a full takeover could be expensive but suggested a partnership deal would benefit both parties.

“A partnership that looks to maximize the synergies of the two networks, minimise duplications of capacity and investment on key routes, and use IAG’s travel management capabilities to improve Norwegian’s expertise in this area could all provide some of the benefits of consolidation without the likely high cost of a deal,” they said.

NORWEGIAN UNDER PRESSURE

Highlighting the difficult state of Norwegian’s finances, the airline last month raised $168 million in a share sale after warning of a larger than expected first-quarter loss.

Norwegian said in its statement on Thursday that it had no prior knowledge of IAG’s actions, but welcomed the investment.

“Norwegian believes that IAG’s interest in the company confirms the sustainability and potential of our business model and global growth,” it said.

Norwegian’s shares, temporarily halted after the IAG news, rose as much as 39 percent to 250 crowns when they resumed trading, valuing the company at 9.5 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.22 billion).

Whether it proceeds with an offer for Norwegian or not, through its new investment, IAG will at least be well-placed to influence its rival.

“If there is no imminent bid for Norwegian, IAG is just the first vulture to have landed that would like a say in how Norwegian’s long-distance fleet … is dismantled and sold,” Norne analyst Karl Johan Molnes said.

There will be no buying Norwegian on the cheap, however, said SEB analyst Jo Erlend Korsvold.

Even after Thursday’s rally, Norwegian’s founder and top owner, CEO Kjos who controls a quarter of the company’s shares, is expected to demand a significantly higher price before selling, said Korsvold.

Kjos was not available for comment when contacted by Reuters.

IAG’s interest in Norwegian would see a wave of consolidation in European air travel which started last year extend its reach to long-haul travel.

Lufthansa and easyJet expressed interest in Italy’s struggling Alitalia [CAITLA.UL] this week.

Ryanair last month agreed to buy a majority stake in a new Austrian leisure airline founded by Formula One former champion Niki Lauda, while easyJet bought a parts of failed airline Air Berlin last year.

Shares in IAG initially dropped 3.4 percent on the news before recovering to trade down 0.7 percent at 611 pence. The company has a market capitalisation of about 12.6 billion pounds ($17.89 billion).

($1 = 7.7844 Norwegian crowns)

($1 = 0.7043 pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah Young, additional reporting by Terje Solsvik and Ole Petter Skonnord in OSLO and Victoria Bryan in BERLIN,; editing by Kate Holton and Adrian Croft)

Airbus fights to defend A330neo market

March 6, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

PARIS (Reuters) – Imminent airline decisions on $10 billion of wide-body plane orders could influence the fate of Airbus’ (AIR.PA) A330neo even before the recently upgraded jet completes flight trials, industry sources said.

American Airlines said in January it was reviewing the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and shorter-range Airbus A330-900, which is in test flights before entering service this summer.

Click the link below for the full story!

Airbus fights to defend A330neo market

Archives