Latest News
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American Pilots Union Chief says United CEO's idea of a merger showed 'boldness'
The head of American Airlines’?pilots' union,?Scott?Kirby, told his members that the "bold vision'' of United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby's merger 'idea was exactly what the carrier needed. However the union did not endorse a tie-up of the two airlines. Nick Silva, president of the Allied Pilots Association, said in an email sent to pilots on 'Monday that Kirby’s vision can be "transformative" both for passengers and communities, as well as American Airlines pilots. Silva, who was criticized by American's unions for the carrier's poor financial performance, used Kirby’s proposal to criticize the leadership of the company. American didn't immediately respond to an?request for comments on the issue. United announced 'last month that it had ended its pursuit for a merger with American after the rival carrier declined to engage in a first approach. American has said that a merger with United would be bad for the competition and consumers. (Reporting and editing by Edmund Klamann; Rajesh Kumar Singh)
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Southwest considers hiring Spirit Airlines mechanics in advance of the Boeing MAX 7 arrival
Southwest Airlines is interested in hiring aircraft mechanics from the now-defunct Spirit Airlines. A union official announced this on Monday, as Southwest Airlines prepares to receive Boeing's 737 MAX 7 jets early next year. The U.S. airline is hiring mechanics to support its red-eye flights, and in anticipation of the arrival of the MAX 7 jet early in 2027. This will be pending certification by the Federal Aviation Administration this year. Bret Oestreich is the president of Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association. He has talked to executives at Texas based Southwest about hiring mechanics who were employed by Spirit when it ceased operations on Saturday morning. Both airlines have members of the union. Oestreich added that Southwest was also replacing retiring mechanics. Spirit landing slots, engines, and aircraft will be in high demand, as the airline industry struggles to find new planes and spare parts and is battling congestion at U.S. airports. American Airlines, too, is reportedly interested in Spirit mechanics. Southwest has informed its pilots that it plans to hire 1,072 new pilots this year. This is 200 more than was expected, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. A second source warned that the number may be lower if jet-fuel prices continue to remain high. Southwest did not comment on hiring targets but stated that it "continually evaluates new talent". Surging jet fuel costs due to the U.S./Israeli war against Iran are squeezing airline margins and pushing some airlines to the edge. Airlines are also trying to introduce more fuel-efficient planes, like the MAX, into their fleets in order to cut operating costs and?ground older planes which consume more fuel. Southwest Airlines will be the first airline to receive a MAX 7 aircraft. CEO Bob Jordan has stated that he anticipates the plane to be certified in August 2026. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg stated in April that the U.S. aircraft manufacturer expects certification to take place this year, with deliveries starting in 2027.
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Chevron CEO: Shortages in oil supply to begin appearing
Mike Wirth, Chairman and CEO of Chevron, said on Monday physical'shortages' in oil supply will begin to appear around the world due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Through this strait 20% of the global crude supply passes. Wirth, a Milken Institute-sponsored discussion participant, said that economies will shrink first in Asia as the demand for goods and services adjusts to the reduced supply. The strait is still closed due to the U.S./Israeli war against Iran. Wirth noted that "we will begin to see physical shortages" as surplus supply on commercial markets, tankers operating in shadow fleets, avoiding sanctions and national strategic reserve were being consumed. He said that "Demand must move in order to meet supply." "Economies will have to slow down." Wirth says that Asia is most dependent on the Gulf's oil refineries and production, while Europe will likely be next. Wirth said that although the United States is a net oil exporter, the effects would eventually be felt in the United States. He noted that the last scheduled oil shipment from the Gulf was being unloaded at the Port Long Beach, which supplies Los Angeles and Southern California. Wirth stated that the overall impact of the Hormuz shutdown is "potentially" as large as in the 1970s. In the 1970s, two major disruptions to?supply shook economies all over the world. Fuel rationing was common and there were long lines at retail fuel pumps. Due to the closure of the Hormuz port, Spirit Airlines went out of business at the weekend due to a surge in jet fuel prices and a shortage of supplies.
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S&P 500 drops from record high due to Middle East concerns
Wall Street closed lower on Monday as the S&P 500 fell from its record highs. This was after a South Korean vessel was struck by an explosion 'in the Strait of Hormuz, and Tehran showed 'its grip on Middle East Oil, dampening expectations of'strong - first-quarter earnings. After reports of the latest clashes, energy stocks rose. After U.S. president Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Navy was opening the strait, an explosion aboard a South Korean ship may have convinced commercial shippers it is still dangerous. Tehran claimed it had forced a U.S. ship to turn around after it tried to enter the strait. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said that an Iranian drone had attacked an oil facility in the United Arab Emirates. The renewed nervousness about the Middle East conflict comes after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs last Friday amid a stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings season. Ross Mayfield is an investment strategist with Baird Private Wealth Management. According to LSEG, the S&P 500 companies are expected to achieve earnings growth of 28 percent year/year in the first quarter. This is double what was anticipated at the beginning of April. Wall Street's AI heavyweights are responsible for much of this optimism. Berkshire Hathaway announced on Saturday that the company was a net stock seller for the fourteenth consecutive quarter. Investors pay close attention to the conglomerate because it is often seen as a bellwether for the U.S. economic situation. GameStop shares fell 10%, while eBay's rose 5%. This was after GameStop announced a proposal for a cash and stock deal to purchase the online marketplace. GameStop has a stock market worth of about $11 billion. The S&P 500 declined by 0.41%, closing the session at 7,200.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.13%, or 25,941.90 points, to 48,941.90. The S&P 500 indexes fell in ten of 11 sectors. Materials, which dropped by 1.57%, was followed by industrials, who lost 1.17%. Energy index increased by 0.85%. FedEx, a delivery firm, dropped 9.1% and United Parcel Service, 10.5% after Amazon.com announced it would be rolling out "Amazon Supply Chain Services" to open up its logistics network to other businesses. FedEx and UPS declined, dragging the Dow Jones Transportation Index down to its lowest point in almost a month. Palantir rose 1.4% after the bell, ahead of its quarterly report on data analytics and defense software. Norwegian Cruise Lines fell 8.6% following a re-evaluation of its annual forecast because of higher fuel prices related to the Middle East conflict. The S&P 500 saw a ratio of 2.2:1 between declining stocks and rising stocks. The S&P 500 recorded 26 new highs, and?22 lows. The Nasdaq registered 126 highs, and 87 lows. The volume on the U.S. exchanges is relatively low, with 16,3 billion shares trading, compared to an average of 17,7 billion over the last 20 sessions.
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S&P 500 drops from record high due to Middle East concerns
Wall Street closed lower on Monday. The S&P 500 fell from record highs after an explosion hit a South Korean ship in the 'Strait of Hormuz. Tehran also demonstrated its control over Middle East oil. This dampened optimism for strong earnings reports for the first quarter. After reports of the latest clashes, energy stocks rose. The explosion aboard a South Korean ship may have convinced commercial shippers that the strait is still dangerous after U.S. president Donald Trump announced the U.S. Navy will open it. Tehran claimed it forced a U.S. ship to turn back when it tried to enter the strait. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates reported that an Iranian drone had attacked an oil facility in the United Arab Emirates. The renewed nervousness about the Middle East conflict comes after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record highs last ?Friday amid a stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings season. Ross Mayfield is an investment strategist with Baird Private Wealth Management. According to LSEG, the S&P 500 is expected to grow its earnings by 28% in the first quarter compared to the 14% that was anticipated at the beginning of April. Wall Street's AI giants are responsible for much of this optimism. Berkshire Hathaway announced on Saturday that they were a net seller for the 14th quarter in a row. Investors are closely watching the conglomerate which is often viewed as an indicator of the U.S. economic situation. They want to get a better understanding of market valuations and conditions. After the video game retailer announced a proposal to purchase?the online market for $56 billion, in cash and stock, shares of GameStop fell while eBay rose. GameStop has a stock market worth of about $11 billion. According to preliminary data, according to the S&P 500, it lost 28.37, or 0.39, points to finish at 7,201.75, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 43.78, or 0.17, points to 25,070.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 549.79 or 1.12% to 48,946.86. FedEx and United Parcel Service dropped after Amazon.com?said that it would be rolling out "Amazon Supply Chain Services" to open up its logistics network to other businesses. Palantir has surpassed the data analytics and defence software company's quarterly report. The Dow Jones Transportation Average index fell to its lowest point in almost a month due to the declines of FedEx and UPS. Norwegian Cruise Lines dropped after cutting its annual forecast because of higher fuel prices related to the Middle East Conflict.
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S&P 500 drops from record high due to Middle East concerns
Wall Street fell?from its record highs Monday, after a South Korean vessel was struck by an explosion on the 'Strait of Hormuz' and Tehran exhibited its grip on Middle East Oil. This dampened optimism about a strong first-quarter earning report. The energy stocks increased after reports of the latest clashes. The explosion aboard a South Korean ship may have convinced commercial shippers that the Strait is still dangerous after U.S. president Donald Trump announced the U.S. Navy will open it. Tehran claimed it had forced a U.S. ship to turn around after it tried to enter the strait. The UAE also reported an oil installation fire following an Iranian drone strike. Uncertainty related to the Middle East conflict weighed on U.S. stocks after the S&P 500 hit ?a record high last Friday amid a stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings season. Ross Mayfield is an investment strategist with Baird Private Wealth Management. According to LSEG, the S&P 500 is expected to post aggregate earnings growth of 28 percent year/year in the first quarter. This is double what was anticipated at the beginning of April. Wall Street's AI giants are responsible for much of this optimism. Berkshire Hathaway announced on Saturday that the company was a net stock seller for the fourteenth consecutive quarter. Investors pay close attention to the conglomerate because it is often seen as a bellwether for the U.S. economic situation. It also provides valuable insight into market valuations. GameStop shares fell 8.5%, while eBay's rose 5.4%. This was after the video game retailer announced a proposal for a cash and stock deal to purchase the online marketplace. GameStop has a stock market worth of about $11 billion. The S&P500 was down by 0.33% to 7,206.53. The Nasdaq fell 0.12%, to 25,083.19, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.91%, to 49,050.99. Materials, which fell 1.37% and industrials, which lost 0.89%, were the two worst performing S&P 500 sector indexes. FedEx and United Parcel Service both fell by about 9% after Amazon.com announced that it would be rolling out "Amazon Supply Chain Services," which will open up its logistics network to other businesses. FedEx and UPS declined, dragging the Dow Jones Transportation Average down 4.3%. It was its lowest level for nearly a week. Norwegian Cruise Lines fell about 8% after reducing its annual forecast because of higher fuel costs due to the Middle East conflict. The S&P 500's declining stocks outnumbered the rising ones by a ratio of 2.1 to one. The S&P 500 recorded 26 new highs, and 22 new lowers. The Nasdaq registered 115 highs, and 70 lows.
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Airline cancellations in response to Middle East conflict
Middle Eastern carriers increased capacity following the disruption caused by the Iran War, while airlines outside of the Gulf have rerouted flights between Europe and Asia away from major hubs within the region. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES On May 21, Greece's biggest carrier will resume flights from Heraklion to Tel Aviv, as well as Rhodes and Larnaca. Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights are cancelled up until June 26. Flights will resume to Beirut, Riyadh, and Amman on May 12. Flights from Dubai to Erbil and Baghdad will be cancelled until July 2, while flights to Dubai until June 29 are still in effect. AIRBALTIC Latvian airline airBaltic has announced that flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until 28 June. Dubai flights are cancelled until 24 October. AIR CANADA The Canadian carrier has canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until September 7. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv till May 31. Air France-KLM Air France suspended flights to Riyadh, Riyadh and Dubai until the 20th of May. KLM suspends flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until the 22nd of June. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has suspended its flights to Dubai, Riyadh and cargo services to Dubai, Riyadh and Dubai until June 30, and May 31, respectively. The airline plans to continue operating?all scheduled flight beyond June. The U.S. carrier plans to resume New York JFK-Tel Aviv service on September 6 and has extended the suspension of Atlanta-Tel Aviv services through November 30, 2018. The launch of the Boston-Tel Aviv route that was scheduled for late October has been postponed until further notice. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES From April 27, the Israeli carrier will be operating flights to around 40 active gateways. Until May 31, all flights to Dubai have been cancelled. Emirates Airlines, the UAE's national airline, has announced that it now operates to 137 destinations. ETIHAD Airways The United Arab Emirates carrier announced that it operates a commercial flight schedule from Abu Dhabi to around 80 destinations. FINNAIR The Finnish airline has cancelled all Doha flights up until July 2. It continues to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran Syria and Israel. The airline will not resume Dubai flights until October. British Airways, owned by IAG, will reduce flights to the Middle East once services resume. Jeddah is no longer a destination and it will be permanently removed. From July, it plans to reduce the number of flights to Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv from two daily flights to just one. Riyadh will be reduced from two daily flights down to just one starting in mid-May. The changes will apply until the end of the summer season on October 24. One Dubai service will restart on October 16. Iberia Express, the Spanish low-cost carrier of IAG, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 31. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until May 31, and Doha-Tokyo until June 1. LOT, the Polish airline, has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv up until May 31. The airline also cancelled flights from March 31 through May 30 to Beirut and Riyadh. LOT will operate its winter route from Dubai to Riyadh in October. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai until July 11 and Swiss, Austrian Airlines Brussels Airlines, and Edelweiss until May 31. Amman, Beirut Dammam Riyadh Erbil Muscat and Tehran flights are suspended until 24 October. Eurowings, a low-cost airline, has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to June 22, Beirut to June 12, Erbil to June 22, Dubai to Abu Dhabi and Amman to October 24. ITA Airways has extended the suspension of flights from Tel?Aviv to Riyadh, Dubai and Riyadh until May 31. MALAYSIA Airlines will resume limited service to Doha on June 2. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost airline, AirAsia, has delayed the launch of its Tel Aviv and Beirut services until June 15, 2019. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey's national airline, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq, Amman Beirut Kuwait, Bahrain Doha Dammam Riyadh Dubai Abu Dhabi Sharjah and Abu Dhabi until June 1. QANTAS, Australia's flag-carrier, is increasing flights to Rome and Paris in response to a surge in demand for European destinations. The number of flights to Paris is increasing to five return flight?per week, up from three. Perth-Singapore will also increase from daily service to ten a week. A new schedule will be implemented gradually for flights starting in mid-April. It will run until late July. QATAR AIRWAYS It said that it would resume passenger flights from Baghdad to Basra, Erbil and Baghdad airports in Iraq on May 10. The airline said that it will expand its international flight network from June 16 to more than 150 destinations. ROYAL MAROC The Moroccan airline said that flights to Doha and Dubai were cancelled until the end of June. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended its Singapore-Dubai suspension until May 31 and added services on the Singapore-London Gatwick route from late March until 24 October. SunExpress, Turkish Airlines joint venture with Lufthansa has cancelled flights from Dubai to June 7. WIZZ AIR Low-cost carrier suspends flights from Europe to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman until mid-September. All flights to Medina are suspended indefinitely. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira Lioma, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Oenska, Bernadette HOG, BoleslawLASOCKI, Romolo TOSIANI. Rod Nickel, Lisa Shumaker Jonathan Ananda Matt Scuffham, Alexander Smith and Rod Nickel edited the book.
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US and Gulf Arab nations draft a new UN resolution on Strait of Hormuz
The United States is drafting with?Gulf Arab countries a 'U.N. Security Council resolution to condemn?Iran's blocking of?the Strait?of Hormuz?as a response to?an U.S. Mike Waltz, the U.S. Ambassador to U.N. said Monday. Waltz stated that negotiations on the resolution will be held this week. This follows the blocking of a resolution by permanent Security Council members Russia, and China last month. Washington had hoped the resolution would galvanize international efforts to restore the freedom of navigation along the waterway. Key Details The United States is co-drafting the new resolution with?Bahrain, and has input from?Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Waltz, who spoke to reporters during a press briefing, said that the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are contributing their inputs in the co-drafting of the new resolution. * The resolution will require Iran to stop attacking merchant shipping and attempting to impose tolls in the strait. It will also demand that 'Iran cease placing sea mines, and reveal the locations of mines. Waltz claims that the draft resolution is "narrower" than the failed previous?resolution, and is being drafted while there is a 'ceasefire' with Iran. He said that the focus of this resolution is on?mining of international waterways, and on 'tolling', both of which are detrimental to all economies, but particularly those of Asia. (Reporting and editing by Cynthia Osterman; Simon Lewis)
Maersk's US flagged ship is accompanied by US Military to transit Hormuz
Maersk reported that the Alliance 'Fairfax', a U.S. flagged vehicle carrier operated by Farrell Lines, left the Gulf on Monday accompanied by U.S. Military assets.
U.S. Central Command, or Centcom, said Monday that American forces were actively assisting efforts to restore commercial ship traffic through the Strait?Hormuz.
Before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, 20% of world oil was transported through this vital maritime chokepoint.
Centcom announced Monday that two merchant ships flying the flag of the United States successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Navy is operating guided-missile destroyers in?the Gulf as part of a project called Project Freedom.
Maersk stated that the transit of the alliance Fairfax was completed without incident, and that the crew were safe.
Maersk purchased Virginia-based Farrell Lines, the U.S. operator of vehicle carriers? said.
The Alliance Fairfax is one of hundreds of ships that were stranded on the Gulf in early March due to the virtual closing of the Strait of Hormuz.
There is still at least one more vessel with a U.S. flag in the Gulf. (Reporting and editing by Franklin Paul, Sonali Paul and Franklin Paul; Jonathan Saul and Lisa Baertlein)
(source: Reuters)