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Ground Freight
Wall Street Journal, September 11,
These are the top stories from the Wall Street Journal. The Wall 'Street Journal has not?verified?these stories or?cannot?guarantee?their accuracy. - The Pentagon is in talks to lend roughly $5 billion to AI cloud-computing startup Fluidstack, adding the U.S. military ?to the growing list of financiers of artificial-intelligence infrastructure. - 'Lineage, world's biggest cold-storage operator based on capacity, is suing Altus Power, a solar-panel supplier, and Pearce Services. They claim that their negligence led to a fire in a Los Angeles warehouse. The prediction markets platform Kalshi plans to apply for regulatory approval in order to offer the first U.S. perpetual
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Passenger Transportation Services
Vietnam Airlines orders five Airbus A350-900s on a provisional basis from Airbus
Vietnam Airlines has confirmed earlier reports that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for the purchase of five A350-900 aircraft. Vietnam Airlines said that the aircraft are due to be delivered in 2033 or 2034. The deal's value was not disclosed. Vietnam Airlines' fleet development plan identifies the strategic priority of acquiring 30 widebody aircraft after 2030. This agreement was one of several agreements signed between Vietnam, France and To Lam during To Lam's visit to Paris at the International Space Summit. In a statement, Airbus Executive Vice President of Sales for Commercial?Aircraft Benoit de Saint-Exupery said:
Passenger Transportation Services
Passenger Transportation Services
JetBlue reduces capacity forecast due to weather disruptions and rising fuel prices
JetBlue Airways lowered its capacity growth forecast on Thursday due to higher fuel costs and weather-related disruptions. However, the carrier said that bookings continued to be healthy in September, both during peak and off-peak times. Fuel prices have risen due to the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, forcing airlines worldwide to raise ticket prices and reduce capacity. JetBlue has been struggling since its proposed tie-up deal with Spirit Airlines, now bankrupt, fell through. JetBlue says weather and air traffic control related disruptions, especially in the Northeastern U.S. in July and august, led to an increase in cancellations, and pushed...
Passenger Transportation Services
JetBlue increases its third-quarter fuel forecast
JetBlue Airways is expecting to pay more for fuel during the third quarter, as the 'Iran War' keeps prices high and demand strong. The carrier announced on Thursday that it expected to pay $3.96 for a gallon of fuel during the third quarter. This is up from its previous forecast of $3.49. In premarket trading, its?shares fell by about 1%. U.S. and Israeli war against Iran has pushed fuel prices up, increasing?costs to airlines around the world. JetBlue said on Thursday that weather and air traffic disruptions, especially in the Northeastern U.S. in July and August have led to an...
Passenger Transportation Services
Ryanair CEO: Winter fares could rise after a slight increase
Michael O'Leary, Chief Executive Officer of Ryanair, boosted the airline's forecast for average fares on Thursday. He said they could?rise?slightly?this winter, following a'mild increase' since July. However, this outlook was heavily dependent on oil prices. As oil prices rose, the airline's costs increased. The result was a drop in profit in its last quarter. O'Leary, on Thursday, said that since then, fares have risen "by a very low single digit" percentage year-over-year. O'Leary said at a press conference that there had been a "slight upturn" in the last month. He said it was impossible to determine what caused the increase...
Passenger Transportation Services
Dealmaking in the aerospace sector accelerates as jet production increases
According to data from the industry and interviews with decision makers and suppliers, mergers and acquisitions in the aerospace industry are increasing as buyers gain more confidence in long-term demands due to clearer Boeing and Airbus schedules. Through August, the aerospace and defense investment bank Janes Capital Partners, which focuses on commercial aerospace, tracked 154 publicly-disclosed commercial aerospace transactions in this year. This is just a few short of the record of 159 that was set in 2019. Buyers target suppliers who have specialized manufacturing abilities, scarce workers and the capacity to meet an increasing jet production. The major manufacturers...
Passenger Transportation Services
NTSB: Pilot in Miami cargo accident pressed forward with landing despite NTSB warnings
The National Transportation Safety Board reported that the pilot of an Amazon Prime Air cargo aircraft that crashed in Miami on Sunday warned they were flying 'too fast' just over a moment before touching down on the 'runway overran by the plane. The pilot continued to make comments about the plane's speed as automated warnings were sounded. The other pilot, however, did not provide a clear response verbally, according to a cockpit voice recording that was detailed in a Wednesday investigative update. However, it did not identify who the speakers were as either the captain or the first officer. The...
Passenger Transportation Services
Ariane, Europe's space rocket, wins Amazon Space Gathering boost
Arianespace, the operator of Europe's flagship rocket programme, announced on Wednesday that Amazon 'Leo' has ordered six more launches using Europe's 'Ariane 6' launcher. Amazon has now ordered 24 Ariane launches by 2031, following the announcement made at a space conference in Paris. ArianeGroup's commercial arm announced that new flights on the Ariane 64 high-capacity version will start in 2029. Emmanuel Macron, French President, praised the deal during the opening of a 2-day space summit that was boycotted by a number of?top U.S. companies, including Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. This followed what sources described last week...
Passenger Transportation Services
Delta is urged to be neutral in the unionization effort by Democratic Senators
Two?Democratic Senators on Wednesday urged Delta Air Lines' CEO Ed Bastian to stay neutral in the ongoing attempts by some airline.flight attendants unionize. In a letter seen by the?Senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, they said that flight attendants at the Atlanta-based carrier have been trying for years to organize. They argued that management's attitude is "threatening future pay and benefits to flight attendants if they decide to organize", and called it inappropriate. Delta welcomed discussions with senators. Delta fully supports our employees' rights to decide if union representation is the right choice for them, and maintains a strict non-interference...
Passenger Transportation Services
Dutch public transport stopped by strike over welfare cuts
A nationwide strike on Wednesday against the government's proposal to cut welfare spending halted public transport in The Netherlands. A 24-hour strike affected train services in the entire country, including international trains to Belgium, Germany France and Britain. The strike was organised by the unions against plans to reduce welfare spending up to EUR6.5billion ($7.6billion) annually, mainly through limiting unemployment benefits. The strike is a further obstacle to the centre-right minorities government that was installed in this year's parliament. The coalition is in need of outside support, as it lacks a majority. The opposition's leading left-wing Pro Party has joined...
Transportation
Airports continue to warn about the impact of air traffic disruption on flights in the UK
After a major failure in air traffic control, flights from British airports were resumed on 'Wednesday morning. However hubs warned it would take time before operations returned to normal. The shutdown that lasted for hours on Tuesday resulted to the cancellation of over 1,000 flights, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded. This has increased pressure on NATS, a provider of air traffic control, and Martin Rolfe, its boss. Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, has already asked him to resign because of his role in the August 2023 system meltdown, when cancelled flights cost operators PS100,000,000 ($135,000,000). Heathrow Airport near London...
Passenger Transportation Services
Why Air India's financing call has been scrutinized by Singapore politicians
Air India's request to its owners, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, for $1.5 billion has sparked debate in Singapore about the exposure of state investor Temasek to Indian carrier. A government minister stated that the news of the funding request had led to anti-Indian abuse on the internet, and asked the police to investigate the comments. Here are some key facts AIR INDIA REQUEST FOR FUNDING Air India approached India's Tata Group as well as Singapore Airlines to discuss equity funding. This comes after Air India and its budget airline posted a record-breaking annual loss of 2,33 billion dollars last...
Passenger Transportation Services
Wizz Air and Ryanair demand NATS overhaul following UK flight disruption
Budget airlines 'Wizz Air' and 'Ryanair, both European carriers, called for a restructure of Britain’s air traffic controller NATS on Tuesday after a?new technical issue that caused?hundreds? of flights to be disrupted at key airports across the country. "A vital national infrastructure provider shouldn't repeatedly stop the aviation system." NATS in its current state is not suitable for the purpose it was intended for," said a Wizz Air spokesperson. Rival airline Ryanair has also criticised this agency and demanded the resignation of its CEO, Martin Rolfe. We were told that lessons would be learned after the collapse of 2023. "Resilience...
Passenger Transportation Services
EasyJet is facing a $72 million lawsuit for stranded Airbus aircraft, reports FT
The Financial Times reported that a unit of the Russian state-owned aircraft?lessor GTLK is suing 'easyJet' for $72 million over claims it illegally abandoned six Airbus airplanes after ending their leases due to sanctions. STLC - Europe Eight, a division of GTLK Europe filed the lawsuit in London's High Court. It alleges that easyJet leased 'Airbus jets at Madrid and Cyprus without maintenance in 2022 while airport storage charges continued to accumulate. According to the claim the carrier leased 'aircraft from STLC, and informed the lessor 'April 2022 it was terminating leases due to EU sanctions that prevented them from...
Ground Transportation
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...
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...
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...