Transport Infrastructure

Passenger Transportation Services

Passenger Transportation Services

Petrobras lets distributors pay in installments for a 55% increase in jet fuel

Petrobras, the state-owned oil company in Brazil, said that it would allow distributors to pay in installments for a hefty increase announced in April's jet fuel price. Petrobras announced a 54.8% increase in jet 'fuel prices following the spike?in oil prices attributed to the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. Petrobras stated in a press release that paying in installments would help to mitigate the impact on customers of the price hike while maintaining "financial neutrality" for the company. The oil firm said that distributors who supply airlines will face a'smaller 18% price increase in April and be allowed to...

Passenger Transportation Services

Aeroflot's CEO has said that the management of Russia's Aeroflot will recommend dividend payments in 2025.

In an interview on Rossiya-24, the airline's CEO Sergey Alexandrovskiy said that management will recommend dividends to be paid in 2025. As management, we're currently working on options & recommendations for?the payment dividends. He said that the management will "make a recommendation" regarding the payment of dividends in 2025. Aeroflot has paid a dividend to its shareholders of 5.27 roubles per share ($0.0654) for 2024. This is based on a new policy that stipulates the payment of 50% of adjusted net profits according to IFRS. Alexandrovskiy said that despite the market turmoil, he would keep his forecasts of air traffic...

Passenger Transportation Services

CEO Ryanair says that if the jet fuel supply is disrupted in June, Ryanair may cancel flights.

Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, said that jet fuel supplies to Europe could be disrupted as early as June if the Middle East Conflict?does not?end in the next few months. This would force the airline and its competitors to cancel flights during the summer. O'Leary stated that the Irish airline, Europe's biggest by passenger number, holds daily calls with its fuel suppliers throughout Europe to assess supply, which they say will remain steady until the end of may. If this (the conflict) continues until the end of April we will be facing a supply risk in early June. O'Leary said...

Passenger Transportation Services

Nepal increases jet fuel prices sharply to avoid disruptions in supply due to the Iran war

Nepal has more than doubled the cost of aviation fuel as of Tuesday night, leading to a dramatic increase in fares. The Himalayan country is trying to avoid disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict. Nepal Oil Corporation increased fuel prices by 84.7% on international flights from Kathmandu. It also raised the price for jets flying from Pokhara by 116.2% and for Bhairahawa by 117.4%. The company said it needed to pay Indian Oil Corporation to obtain supplies. The state-run Nepalese agency that imports petroleum products, stores them and distributes them in the country has announced a 97.6% increase in...

Passenger Transportation Services

If the Middle East continues to be at war, Ryanair will see a disruption in jet fuel supply as early as May.

Sky News reported on Wednesday that the Middle East conflict could disrupt jet fuel supplies to Europe if it continues. This could put up to 25% of Ryanair's supply at risk in May and June. IATA, the International Air Transport Association, estimates that between 25% and 30% of Europe's demand for jet fuel comes from the Persian Gulf. It warns this makes it one of the most vulnerable regions to any impact the U.S.-Israeli conflict may have on the supply. O'Leary stated that if the Straits of Hormuz are reopened by the middle or end of April and the war...

Passenger Transportation Services

Police say that the'system failure" is responsible for the outage of Baidu robotaxi in Wuhan.

Local police reported that a "system failure" was responsible for a robotaxi service outage in central China's Wuhan. This re-ignited safety concerns over the rapidly-growing service. According to an official announcement, the police received reports late on Tuesday that numerous Apollo Go cars were stuck in the middle roads of Wuhan. The police reported that passengers were able exit their vehicles safely, and no injuries were reported. Investigations are still ongoing to determine the cause of this incident. A traffic police officer told The Paper, a Shanghai-based media outlet, that at least '100 Apollo Go cars were affected. Although the...

Passenger Transportation Services

CCTV reports that Li Xiong, a Chen Zhi associate, was extradited to China from Cambodia.

Chinese broadcaster CCTV, citing officials, reported that an alleged key?member of Chinese businessman Chen Zhi’s online scam & money laundering operation -?Li Xiong - was extradited from Cambodia to China. Chen founded the Prince Group - a Cambodian conglomerate that has fingers in real estate, banking, airlines, and cryptocurrency investment schemes. According to U.S. prosecutors these schemes have allegedly stolen billions of dollars worldwide from their victims. In a press release, the Cambodian government confirmed that he had been extradited to China. CCTV reported that Li was the former chairman of the Huione Group. Huione Group?allegedly laundered?at least $4 billion...

Passenger Transportation Services

IndiGo shares rise after Willie Walsh, a veteran airline executive, is named CEO

IndiGo shares gained 4.4% Wednesday, after the Indian budget airline named Willie Walsh as its new chief executive officer. This comes just weeks after Pieter Elbers' departure. Jefferies described this appointment as "remarkably quick" for an airline with the scale and complexity of IndiGo, and that it would likely minimize any leadership vacuums and ensure continuity in implementation. Jefferies stated that Walsh will be able to guide IndiGo through its current growth phase as well as operational stabilisation, international expansion and the company's future expansion. Walsh's tenure as the?head the International Air Transport Association ends on July 31. He is...

Transportation

After US airport security workers get paid, absences drop sharply

Transportation Security Administration said absences among the nation’s 50,000 security agents fell'sharply' on Monday, as workers received their paychecks after six weeks of working without a paycheque. Major?airports which had experienced multi-hour lines reported that operations were largely back to normal. Homeland Security Department reported that the absence rate dropped to 8.6% from 12.4% on Friday. Atlanta had the highest number of absenteeism reported on Monday, with 29%. Other airports with high absence rates include Baltimore, New Orleans and John F. Kennedy in New York, Philadelphia, Houston's two airports, Baltimore, New Orleans and Houston. The TSA experienced a surge in...

Passenger Transportation Services

NTSB raises questions on driver assistance systems, lack of regulations

The National Transportation Safety Board criticized on Tuesday the lack of regulations by government on driver assistance systems and raised concerns about claims made by automakers. The 'NTSB' is holding an hearing to determine probable cause for two fatal crashes that involved Ford Motors BlueCruise, a hands-free advanced driving assistance system. Thomas Chapman, NTSB member and board member, expressed his disappointment with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He said that the agency had shown "a lack of leadership" by failing to address the issues surrounding the deployments of driver assistance systems. The 2024 rear-end accidents involved Ford Mustang Mach-Es...

Passenger Transportation Services

Spiegel reports that Lufthansa is considering grounding 40 planes because of the Iran war.

The escalation of the Middle East conflict has led to an employee meeting, reported the Spiegel newspaper on Tuesday. The Handelsblatt had initially reported that the airline group considered 'grounding 20 planes earlier on Tuesday. It also cited a'meeting of employees. Spiegel reported that this was a?part of two crisis management packages. Spiegel reported that in the event of further escalation of the conflict, a second package of possible measures would be to ground 40 aircraft. This would amount to a?loss of capacity of around 5%. Spohr told Spiegel that no decision has been taken yet but admitted the 4%...

Passenger Transportation Services

Brazilian Petrobras will increase jet fuel prices by up to 55%, according to airline reports

Abra Group, which owns the airline Gol in Brazil, announced on Tuesday that Petrobras, the state-owned oil firm, will increase jet fuel prices starting April 1 by approximately?55%. The move follows a rise in global oil prices linked to the U.S./Israeli war against Iran. It could put pressure on Brazil's airline sector just as Gol and Azul are recovering from debt restructurings. Petrobras, the world's largest oil company and the one responsible for the majority of refinery activity in South America, is responsible for the bulk of the airline operating costs. The oil giant adjusts the jet fuel price at...

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