Benelux

Tigerair, Taiwan's low-cost carrier, announced on Wednesday that it had approved the purchase and lease of eleven new A321neo planes from Airbus for T$40billion ($1.28billion) in order to expand its network. Tigerair, which is majority owned by Taiwan Airlines, also has an option to purchase four additional A321neos, according to a statement posted on the airline's website. It added that the 11 A321neo aircraft being leased are expected to arrive by 2031. The four aircraft purchased after 2031 will be deployed in full by 2035. Tigerair flies to Japan, one of the most popular destinations for Taiwanese tourists and businessmen....

The U.S. regulator announced on Wednesday that it would require Boeing divest significant Spirit AeroSystems' assets in order to address competition concerns regarding its $8.3 Billion acquisition of the company which manufactures major fuselages and wing parts for aircraft, including the Boeing 737. The Federal Trade Commission has proposed an order that delays the merger planned by Boeing, which was scheduled to be completed before the end of this year. The proposed order is open for public comments for 30 days. Boeing's shares fell 2.3% intraday. The commission wants Spirit to divest its parts that provide aerostructures to Airbus, its...

On December 11, the defence ministers of Germany, France, and Spain will meet to discuss FCAS - Europe's next generation fighter jet project - according to a source with knowledge of the issue. FCAS, a 100 billion-euro (117 billion-dollar) Future Combat Air System, was announced more than eight-years-ago but has been mired by disputes between companies over work-share and prized technologies. Bloomberg was the first to report on this meeting. The next phase in plans to deliver a fighter flanked with drones for France and Germany by 2040 is at stake, mirroring an UK-ItalianJapanese initiative known as GCAP. The project...

Airbus engineers found more defects in the A320 fuselage panel set as they prepared to inspect hundreds jets. The chief executive of Airbus said that this flaw is affecting deliveries. The presentation made to airlines by revealed that 628 planes, including 168 in service already, need inspections due to recently discovered quality issues on metal panels at some planes' fronts. According to the presentation, this figure includes 245 assembly lines. Industry sources estimate that about 100 of these are scheduled for delivery in 2018. Another 215 are at an earlier stage called Major Component Assembly. The presentation also showed that...

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said on Tuesday that the company is evaluating its impact on year-end delivery of a newly found fuselage issue on some A320 jets. This led to "weakness" in November handovers. In his first public comments on the matter, he stated that the problem had brought "another obstacle" to the already-backlogged year-end deliveries. The planemaker will assess the situation in the coming hours and days for deliveries to December. Faury stated in an interview at the ASD conference, which is an association of the aerospace industry, that Airbus will hold calls on Tuesday evening to assess the...

India's aviation regulator announced on Tuesday that it is investigating Air India for operating an Airbus A320 aircraft without a valid certificate of airworthiness, which ensures compliance with safety regulations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that it also had grounded the aircraft, and de-rostered 'concerned staff. The DGCA didn't specify the type and manufacturer of the aircraft, but a source with direct knowledge said it was a single-aisle Airbus jet. The regulator had previously warned the airline about various issues, including fatigue management and crew training. Air India's spokesperson issued a statement saying that the incident in which...

Israir, an Israeli airline, said Monday that it is working on acquiring two widebody Airbus A330s for a combined total of $80m. The company wants to expand long-haul flights to counter the push made by Wizz Air to enter the Israeli market. Israir stated that it was in negotiations through various channels to complete the purchase. It is also in advanced discussions with local tourism group Issta in order to consider a seat allocation for 10 years for an advance payment of approximately $35 million. The company noted that there was no guarantee the deal would be completed at this...

Industry sources reported on Monday that Airbus discovered a problem with the quality of fuselage panels in several dozen A320 family aircraft. Sources who asked not to be identified said that the suspected production defect is delaying certain deliveries, but there were no immediate signs it had reached aircraft already in service. Airbus had no immediate comment. It was not possible to identify the cause of the issue immediately. Airbus has been busy boosting its efforts to meet the challenging delivery targets set for this year, and also distracted by the weekend recall of jets due to a software error....

Industry sources reported on Monday that Airbus discovered a problem with the quality of fuselage panels in several dozen A320 family aircraft. Sources who asked not to be identified said that the suspected production defect is delaying certain deliveries, but that there were no immediate signs it had reached aircraft already in service. Airbus had no immediate comment. It was not possible to identify the source of the problem immediately. Airbus has been busy boosting its efforts to meet the challenging delivery targets set for this year, and also distracted by the weekend recall of jets due to a software...

Industry sources reported on Monday that Airbus discovered a problem with the quality of fuselage panels in several dozen A320 family aircraft. Sources who asked not to be identified said that the suspected flaw in production is delaying certain deliveries, but there were no immediate signs it had reached aircraft already in service. Airbus had no immediate comment. It was not possible to identify the cause of the problem immediately. Airbus has been stepping up its efforts to meet the challenging delivery targets set for this year. Sources in the industry said that the planemaker had delivered 72 aircraft to...

Airbus, Europe's largest aircraft manufacturer, ordered the immediate repair of 6,000 A320 jets that are widely used. This recall affects more than half of Airbus' global fleet. According to a notice sent to airlines, the fix involves mostly reverting back to older software. However, it is necessary to do this before planes can be flown again. Some airlines have warned that the repairs may cause flight cancellations or delays. Airbus announced on Monday that most of the jets recalled had been modified. The following are the major disruptions reported by airlines on Monday at 853 GMT, alphabetically: Aer Lingus The...

Airbus, Europe's largest aircraft manufacturer, ordered the immediate repair of 6,000 A320 jets. The recall affected more than half of the world fleet and threatened disruption during the busiest weekend for travel in the U.S. According to a notice sent to airlines, the fix involves mostly reverting back to older software. However, it is necessary to do this before planes can be flown again. The repairs may cause flight cancellations or delays, according to several airlines. The following are the major disruptions reported by airlines at 0733 GMT, in alphabetical order. Aer Lingus Aer Lingus, the Irish airline, said that...

The European Finance Ministers agreed to move forward the customs duty on low-value parcels until next year to combat cheap Chinese ecommerce imports through online platforms such as Shein and Temu. The European Union has taken action to address the concerns of Europe about cheap imports from e-commerce. What is the problem? For parcels of e-commerce arriving in the EU, there is a "de minimis exemption" from customs duties. Customs exemptions allow online platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress to deliver clothes, accessories, and gadgets directly from Chinese factories to consumers at a rock-bottom price. Last year, the number...

InPost, a Polish parcel locker company, reported on Friday a 24% increase in its core earnings for the third quarter. However, it lowered its expectations for the full year citing increased investments in Britain. Analysts had expected a quarterly adjusted earnings of 1.02 billion zlotys, or $291 million. InPost now expects to see its adjusted EBITDA grow by a midteens percentage, as opposed to its previous forecast of a low to midtwenties percent growth. The forecasts of annual group revenue and volume remained unchanged. In the third quarter of 2018, the company delivered 351,5 million parcels. This is a 34%...

Bpost, the Belgian postal service, reported a surprise operating loss in its third quarter, due to seasonal weakness, and lowered its capital expenditure guidance for this fiscal year. The adjusted loss before taxes and interest was $3.5 million, compared to the profit of $10.3 million euros from a year ago. Analysts surveyed by the company expected a adjusted operating profit to be 6.7 million euro. The company reduced its forecast for gross capital expenditures to 140 million euros from 180 million euros earlier, and stressed the importance of disciplined spending in a gradual approach toward 2026. In a press release,...

Allegro, Poland's biggest e-commerce site, announced on Monday that it has signed a new contract with courier DPD to deliver parcels through the company's delivery service. Allegro is scaling and diversifying its logistics. Why it's important Allegro has taken steps to reduce its delivery costs. For example, it increased the merchant co-financing through its loyalty program and developed its own logistic muscle. KEY QUOTES Allegro stated in a filing that the agreement was part of its ongoing efforts to diversify and scale up the Allegro Delivery program by increasing cooperation with its logistic partners. By the Numbers Allegro stated that...

Allegro, the CEO of Polish ecommerce company Allegro, denied on Friday that Allegro was at odds with any of its business partners despite its relationship deteriorating with delivery partner InPost. When asked by reporters about InPost, Allegro CEO Marcin Kusmierz said: "We don't believe that we are in any dispute or business with any entity." InPost's shares dropped around 13% after the company reported a slower volume growth in Poland. The shares of InPost have lost over a third in value this year, but they were up by 9% as of 1340 GMT. Allegro shares were up about 2%. InPost,...

Allegro, the CEO of Polish ecommerce company Allegro, denied on Friday that Allegro was in dispute with its partners despite its relationship with InPost deteriorating in recent months. When asked by reporters about InPost, Allegro CEO Marcin Kusmierz said: "We don't believe that we are in any disputes or business with any entity." At 0945 GMT, InPost shares rose 4.8% after falling around 13% Tuesday, when it reported slower volume growth in Poland. Allegro shares were up 2.6%. Allegro has recently been sued by InPost for breaching their long-term agreement. According to JPMorgan, Allegro gets 30% of InPost's Polish revenues....

Northvolt's new owner Lyten announced on Thursday that it has appointed the former chief operating officer (COO) of the bankrupt Swedish company as the CEO of Lyten Sweden and recruited several other former executives from the failed company. Last month, the Silicon Valley startup Lyten announced that it had acquired Northvolt’s assets. This was a major development for future European battery production of electric vehicles. Matthias Arleth is the new CEO of Lyten Sweden. He joined Northvolt last July, shortly after reports of problems began to surface. Lyten announced that Sami Haikala will return to his former position as the...

InPost, a Polish parcel locker firm, reported on Tuesday a 12.6% increase in earnings for the second quarter. This was due to volume growth both in Poland and abroad. The adjusted earnings before tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which is the profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, were 999.5 millions zlotys in the third quarter, as compared to the 887.3 in the previous period. InPost operates in nine countries, including Poland. It is known for its automated package machines, or APMs. These allow customers to pick up or drop off their packages whenever they choose. The company confirmed its...

InPost, a Polish company, announced on Monday that it will buy a majority stake in Bloq.it's parcel locker network along with over 20,000 locker units in order to enhance its last-mile service in Europe. Why it's important InPost has established a dominant position on its native market of Poland, and has increased its international expansion in recent years. Bloq.it follows the acquisitions of Spanish courier company Sending and Yodel, both in Britain. KEY QUOTES In a press release, InPost CEO Rafal Brzoska stated that "our strategic investment in Bloq.it will have a positive effect on our growth trajectory as well...

Austrian Post joined other European postal service groups on Thursday in stopping the standard parcel shipment to the United States, as U.S. Customs Services are planning to charge duties for packages of low value. In a press release, the Austrian state-controlled company said that it will no longer accept consignments of standard parcels bound for the United States as of next Tuesday. The U.S. administration of Donald Trump announced last month that it would suspend global "de minimis", which allows minimal paperwork for international shipments below $800, with effect August 29. This week, there were several postal strikes. The following...

The bankruptcy of Northvolt will result in a large loss of funds for many of its creditors, said the process trustee on Friday. He added that the sale of Northvolt to the U.S. startup Lyten was a major achievement. Northvolt's unsecured creditor list includes its biggest shareholders Goldman Sachs, and Volkswagen, whose brands Scania Porsche and Audi had been customers of the battery manufacturer. Lyten, backed by Jeep owner Stellantis, and FedEx delivery service, announced on Thursday that it would purchase the majority of Northvolt. This move offers a chance for the European firm to regain its former prominence as...

Bpost, the Belgian postal operator, beat expectations for quarterly profits on Friday. The acquisition of Staci last year was a major boost. Bpost also said that it expects its operating earnings will reach the upper range of its guidance in 2025. In February, it forecast earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), which ranged between $175 million and $200 million. This was reaffirmed in June despite the two-week strike in the first quarter that affected results. Bpost's adjusted earnings per share (EBIT) rose by 1% in the second quarter to 58.3 millions euros ($68.3 million), boosted by contributions from Staci, a...