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Transportation

Challenges facing new Air India CEO Tewolde Gebremariam

Air India, which is owned by Singapore Airlines and the Tata Group, named Tewolde Gebremariam its new CEO. This comes at a time of great challenges for Air India. From record losses to safety lapses, they have been under intense scrutiny from regulators. Here are the major challenges that former Ethiopian Airlines CEO,?Mr.?Mahmoud?Al-Ghani?faced: SAFETY & COMPLIANCE The Air India Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad, June 2025 that killed 260 people has increased scrutiny on the airline's safety culture and operations. Indian regulators have reprimanded Air India over lapses, including the operation of an Airbus A320 in multiple flights without having...

Passenger Transportation Services

Fraport exceeds earnings expectations as overseas airports compensate for Frankfurt weakness

Fraport, the German airport operator, surpassed expectations for its second quarter earnings on Thursday as a result of a growth in its international airports that helped to offset weakened passenger traffic at Frankfurt. In a LSEG survey, analysts had predicted that second-quarter EBITDA would rise 0.7% to 386.3 millions euros ($446million), but the actual result was?372million euros. EBITDA for the first half of 2013 grew to 582.3 millions euros. The first-half revenue increased 4% to 2.1 billion Euros. The number of passengers at Frankfurt Airport, Germany's largest airport, decreased by 0.8% due to strikes and disruptions resulting from the conflict...

Passenger Transportation Services

Qantas and the pilots' union have reached a provisional agreement on pay in talks

Qantas, an Australian pilots union and the airline announced on Thursday that they had reached a?provisional agreement? on a wage package after long-haul?pilots voted this week in favor of industrial action. This agreement would cover approximately 1,700 pilots flying Qantas Airbus A380, A330 and Boeing 787 jets on long-haul routes. The short-haul crews are covered by a separate contract. The Australian and International Pilots Association has expressed its satisfaction with the progress made during discussions at Australia's industrial arbitrator, the Fair Work Commission. "A broad agreement has been reached" (with Qantas). AIPA President Andrew Marshall stated by email that they...

Transportation

Tewolde Gebremariam is appointed as the new CEO of Air India

Air India appointed former Ethiopian Airlines Chief Tewolde Gebremariam to its 'CEO' post on Wednesday. The Indian airline is currently struggling with persistent losses, and increased regulatory scrutiny after a fatal crash last year. Gebremariam succeeds New Zealander Campbell Wilson. Wilson was a former Singapore Airlines executive who was appointed in 2022 as the new leader of Air 'India after it had suffered years of decline under state ownership. Air India reported that Wilson had informed Chairman N Chandrasekaran of his intention to step down in this year 2024. The 'Tata Group owned airline is suffering heavy losses, not only...

Passenger Transportation Services

Israel's El Al Airlines doubles second-quarter net profit despite Iran conflict

El Al Israel Airlines announced a doubling of its second-quarter profit on Wednesday. The airline cited recovery from the initial impact of fighting between Israel & 'Iran' despite a sharp increase in jet fuel prices. On February 28, the U.S., Israel and other countries launched airstrikes on Iran. During this time Iran fired missiles towards Israel. This effectively closed Israel's commercial airspace, forcing El-Al and its rivals to fly only limited routes. The conflict was briefly ended by a ceasefire on 8 April. Israel has not been dragged back into conflict despite the fact that Iran and the U.S. continue...

Passenger Transportation Services

Cathay Pacific reports its best first-half profits since 2010.

Cathay Pacific Airways announced a record-breaking first-half profit on Wednesday, as strong demand for passengers and cargo offset the higher fuel prices. Hong Kong's flagship carrier saw its net profit rise 71%, to HK$6.24billion ($795.59m), for the six-month period ended June 30. This is the second highest in the company's history. Last month, the airline forecast a profit for the first half of the year in a range?of HK$6 to HK$6.5billion. In a recent statement, Cathay Chairman Guy Bradley stated that the summer travel demand is expected to be strong into the third quarter. "We are cautiously optimistic about the...

Passenger Transportation Services

FAA investigates Trump helicopter safety incident

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing a Tuesday air-traffic incident involving a military helicopter carrying President Donald Trump. The FAA announced that it was investigating a Marine One safety incident. However, the FAA stated that the close call did not appear to be dangerous and the aircraft were not apparently convergent. Two sources said that Trump's Marine One helicopter left the White House on Tuesday afternoon. However, air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport had not stopped commercial flights as required by a policy set last year after a fatal accident. The Wall Street Journal was the...

Passenger Transportation Services

Jetstar Australia will charge for bags that are carried in overhead bins

Jetstar, Australia's budget airline, is re-evaluating its cabin baggage policy and will charge passengers extra if they want to store their carry-on luggage in overhead compartments. This change will take place from February. According to airline examples, the 'carrier' will allow a bag that fits under the seat, like a laptop bag, a handbag or a backpack. A larger bag, however, could cost up to A$52 per flight, depending on the route. Jetstar now has a carry-on bag policy that is more in line with other low-cost carriers around the world. These airlines charge for overhead storage space, but include...

Passenger Transportation Services

LATAM Airlines raises its earnings forecast for 2026 as fuel prices ease

LATAM Airlines increased its full-year 'core earnings' forecast on Tuesday, after improving fuel prices expectations. The 'carrier' said that it expects adjusted earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), in?2026, to be between $4.1 billion and $4.4 billion. This is up from $3.8 billion to $4 billion it predicted in May. Latin America's biggest airline estimated a capacity increase of between 9% and 10% for this year. Chief Financial Officer Ricardo Bottas stated that LATAM is benefiting from an improved fuel price outlook compared to the one assumed three month ago after conflict in Middle East disrupted crude oil...

Passenger Transportation Services

A plane tyre bursts at Cape Town Airport, disrupting flights

A tyre on an 'airplane burst during landing at the 'Cape Town International Airport? on Tuesday afternoon. This caused flight disruptions, as the main runway had to be closed. All passengers were able to disembark the plane without incident. South 'Africa's Airports Management Company said that the 'Kenya Airways aircraft was disabled on the main runway for several hours, before the runway reopened and flights resumed. Prior to this, flights into Cape Town were diverted to another airport and international departures had been put on hold. Airports Company South Africa stated in a statement that some flights could still be...

Passenger Transportation Services

FAA wants airlines to have more flexibility in choosing emergency medical kits for flights

The Federal Aviation Administration proposed on Tuesday that airlines be given a 'flexibility with the requirements of emergency medical kits for commercial flights. The FAA proposes?moving away from a prescriptive?checklist?of medical items?and?setting instead?performance-based?standards that require carriers to have enough resources to manage nine conditions which are life-threatening? Emergency medical kits are required by the agency to be available for all passengers who need to be treated until emergency medical personnel can arrive. The proposal would allow airlines to?determine the items and quantities in a kit. The nine conditions are: severe allergic reactions, hypoglycemia, severe bleeding, gastrointestinal emergencies, childbirth and opioid...

Passenger Transportation Services

New York Times Business News - August 4, 2018

These are the most popular?stories from the New York Times business pages. These stories have not been?verified?and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these stories. Boeing has been cleared by US regulators to begin delivering its Boeing 737 Max 7 jet, the smallest version in the best-selling 737 'Max family, after it made changes to the flight-control software, the pilot alert system and an engine system which prevents ice from accumulating. After being confirmed by Senate last week, Jay Clayton was sworn-in as U.S. Director of National Intelligence. Kay Granger died at her Fort Worth home due to Alzheimer's....

Ground Transportation

Ground Freight

Amtrak, the US passenger rail company, sets a record for ridership and cuts losses

Amtrak, the U.S. passenger rail company, said Tuesday that it had set records for revenue and ridership in a single year. It also cut its losses by 15 percent to $598 millions and is aiming for profitability by 2028. Amtrak is a major effort in rehabilitating the infrastructure of the Northeast corridor between Boston, Massachusetts and Washington. It is expanding service throughout the United States by purchasing new Acela trains with higher speeds and replacing regional trains from next year. Amtrak reported that in the twelve months ending September 30, it had 34,5 million trips made by customers, an increase...

Transportation

Whaleboat sinks into river in Congo, killing at least 107 people

According to a government internal report viewed by us on Friday, at least 107 people died when a whaleboat caught blaze in the west of Democratic Republic of Congo. In a memo, the Ministry of Social Affairs stated that 146 people were missing after the boat, which was a narrow double-ended open vessel, caught fire near Malange Village in Lukolela Territory on Thursday night. The note stated that rescue teams recovered 209 survivors after the vessel burnt and drifted downriver. The fire destroyed the cargo and 15 riverside houses. The search operations continued Friday, with community volunteers and naval personnel...

Ground Transportation

As inventories shrink, premiums for copper contracts on the nearby LME soar.

The premiums for copper contracts near London Metal Exchange have increased to their highest level since October 2022 due to low inventories, large cash contracts and warrants held by traders. The title document that confers ownership on metal is a warrant. Tom-next, also known as the premium or backwardation that is charged for purchasing copper tomorrow and then selling it the next day, is currently trading at above The price of a metric tonne is $48. This compares to a $2 discount at the beginning of the week. The premium for the cash Copper Contract over the Three-Month Forward It...

Passenger Ground & Sea Transportation