Europe

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...

Annie Vargas saw her son slip away and begged him to get help. Her son Brian Wittke (a 41-year old Delta Air Lines Pilot and father of three) resisted, fearing that seeking treatment for depression could cost him his license. Vargas said that the drop in air travel caused by the pandemic affected Wittke's mental health. Vargas sent Wittke a text message on the morning of 14 June 2022. However, his location information was not available. When the text reappeared in 2022, Wittke was dead by suicide near his home in the Utah Mountains outside Salt Lake City. Interviews with...

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...

Sources in the industry said that insurance rates for war risks increased after Ukrainian drones attacked two tankers headed to a Russian harbor. Fears of more attacks prompted insurers to raise their prices. Black Sea is vital for shipping grain, oil, and oil products. Bulgaria, Georgia and Romania, as well Russia and Ukraine, share its waters. Shipping and insurance sources reported that war risk rates, which are determined by each underwriter and are based upon the value of the vessel, have risen to 0.5% from 0.4% a week earlier for calls to Ukrainian port. Sources said that the war risk...

The Russian government and Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry announced that Russia and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on Monday to implement a visa free regime for business and tourist people from both countries for up 90 days. The agreement was signed in Riyadh, on the sidelines the Saudi-Russian Investment and Business Forum. The legal procedures to exchange notes and bring the document into effect will be followed. According to me, it will be possible to travel to our countries without a visa at the start of next year," said Russian Deputy Premier Alexander Novak in an interview on television. Novak...

Iberia, the Spanish airline, extended its suspension of flights to Venezuela through December 31 citing a recommendation by Spain's aviation agency AESA. Tensions between Caracas & Washington continue to roil the commercial aviation. The decision was made just days after Venezuela revoked the operating rights of six major international carriers that had suspended services in response to a U.S. Aviation warning about a 'potentially dangerous situation' in Venezuelan airspace. Caracas accused carriers of participating in "actions of State Terrorism" promoted by the United States. Iberia, which is owned by International Consolidated Airlines (ICA), said that passengers affected could either change...

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....

In mid-July Iranian drones flew through the mountains of northern Iraq's Kurdistan Region, zeroing in on their target: American oilfields. One of the missiles was fired by a militia group in Iraq that is likely to be Iranian-backed, and probably as retaliation against the U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities weeks earlier. It hit the Sarsang oil field, which is operated by HKN Energy. This company belongs to the son Ross Perot, a Texas billionaire. A second hit was reported in a field near Dallas, operated by Hunt Oil. Nearly half of Kurdistan's production was halted by the end of...

The oil price rose on Thursday, after Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure indicated potential supply restrictions. Stalled peace talks dampened expectations of a deal to restore Russian oil flow to global markets. However, weak fundamentals limited gains. Brent crude rose by 24 cents or 0.38% to $62.91 at 0349 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 29 cents or 0.49% to $59.24. A Ukrainian military intelligence source confirmed that Ukraine had attacked the Druzhba pipeline in Russia's Tambov central region on Wednesday. This was the fifth attack against the pipeline, which sends Russian crude oil to Hungary or Slovakia. Later,...

The oil prices rose slightly on Thursday, after Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure indicated potential supply restrictions. Stalled peace talks dampened expectations of a deal to restore Russian oil flow to global markets. However, weak fundamentals limited gains. Brent crude rose by 14 cents or 0.22% to $62.81 at 0102 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained 16 cents or 0.27% to $59.11. A Ukrainian military intelligence source confirmed that Ukraine had attacked the Druzhba pipeline in Russia's Tambov central region on Wednesday. This was the fifth attack against the pipeline, which sends Russian crude oil to Hungary or Slovakia....

Britain announced on Wednesday that it will allow imports of pork from areas of Spain not affected by African swine flu (ASF). This is a reversal of a blanket prohibition imposed last weekend after the country reported the first cases of this disease in over three decades. This move aligns Britain's approach with that of the European Union, which restricts trading only in outbreak zones. Pork imports from other regions can resume, but those from Barcelona will remain suspended. In an emailed message, a Defra representative said that "all fresh pork and other impacted product from the affected region are...

Catalonia, a region in Spain, has pledged to reduce its wild boar populations, including through increased cullings, following the detection of African swine in several animals near Barcelona, in what is the first outbreak in Spain since 1994. This has put at risk the exports of pork from Spain, Europe's largest producer. The meat accounts for about a quarter (3.5 billion euros) of the EU's total output, with exports of around $4.05 billion per year. Two wild boars were first confirmed dead from the disease in the Collserola mountains outside Barcelona last week. Since then, seven other boars have been...

A new agreement, signed on Wednesday amid growing concerns over Russian drone attacks, will see the Polish Army helping to protect transformer stations in Poland by sharing information and conducting joint exercises. According to the agreement, the Polish power grid and army chief of staff will also help the military buy equipment like anti-drone system. However, the agreement did not give any information about the funding for such cooperation. NATO member Poland is a key ally in the fight against Russia invasion of Ukraine. Since 2022 there has been a wave of sabotage, arson and other crimes, culminating with drone...

A source from Ukraine's GUR intelligence service said that Ukraine had hit the Druzhba pipeline in Russia's Tambov central region. Calculations show that this was the fifth Ukrainian attack against the pipeline that supplies Russian oil into Hungary and Slovakia. Hungary and Slovakia are still buying energy from Russia even though other European Union countries have cut off ties with Russia following its invasion in Ukraine in 2022. Ukrainian media reported that remote-controlled explosives had been used in the attack. Slovak and Hungarian oil companies said on Wednesday that oil supply through Druzhba Running As normal. No comments were made...

Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's Foreign Minister, said that the country will appeal a European Union ruling on the phase-out of Russian energy sources before the EU Court of Justice. As part of an effort by the European Union to reduce its decades-long dependence on Russian energy, members have agreed that Russian gas imports will be phased out by 2027. Hungary and Slovakia were against the decision. Slovakia also weighs its legal options in relation to the EU order. Both countries still rely heavily on Russian gas and oil and are afraid that cheaper alternatives could damage their economies. Szijjarto stated during...

Potential investors see Uniper and Sefe as attractive assets, said Germany's Economy Minister on Wednesday. Her remarks were made during an investor conference in Frankfurt on German energy infrastructure, where more than 50 institutional investors representing over 10 trillion euros (11.6 trillion dollars) of global invested capital gathered. The second conference of its kind, organized by the state-backed lender KfW is aimed at generating investor interest in Europe’s largest economy. It has been contracting in the past two years and only modest growth is expected in 2025. Berlin spent approximately 20 billion euros in 2022 to stabilize both Sefe &...

By Adriana Barrera MEXICO CITY. Dec 2. Esentia's CEO announced on Tuesday that the company plans to increase its natural gas transportation capacity by 50% in the third phase of a five-year expansion program, betting on a growing demand. In late November, the company raised $457m in its initial public offering to finance expansion and reduce debt. Daniel Bustos, Esentia's CEO, said that the company will expand its interconnected system to 660 million cubic feet. * Esentia has more than 2,000 km (1,243 mi) of pipelines known as the Waha System or Wahalajara, that transport low-cost gas from Waha in...

Five sources confirmed on Tuesday that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium is aiming to finish repairs on its third SPM-3 single point mooring at its Black Sea Terminal ahead of schedule. The consortium wants to restore its full CPC Blend export capacity following a drone strike which damaged one of their other moorings. Sources familiar with the situation have confirmed that SPM-3 will be back in operation in the next 7 days. The repairs were originally planned to take two months. CPC has halted operations after a drone attack by the Ukrainian navy caused significant damage to its SPM-2 mooring. Sources...

Gasgrid, the operator of Finland's natural gas distribution system, said Tuesday that it was considering expanding its pipeline network in Western Finland to accommodate plans for building synthetic methane plants. The production of synthetic methane from electricity is part of Finland’s larger decarbonisation campaign to accelerate the use of renewable and low carbon gases in industry. In a press release, Gasgrid's Janne Gronlund stated that the expansion of the system would not only support reliable energy supplies but also Finland's supply security. Grid operator estimates that planned renewable gas production could increase supply in the region by 3-4 Terawatt Hours...