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Lufthansa CEO aims to revive 'problem child' airline by 2026
Lufthansa is aiming to restore its core airline company by 2026 as one of Europe's top providers struggles more than its local competitors with higher expenses and prolonged delays in Boeing aircraft deliveries, its chief executive said. Carsten Spohr described the Lufthansa airline company as the German group's issue kid and said turning it around is a should for the larger business's success. ( It's) a clear objective that the Lufthansa airline will once again be our flagship for its 100th birthday in 2026, he informed reporters at an instruction late on Monday. The comment comes as financiers stress about the group's. third-quarter outcomes due on Oct. 29, with its shares down 10%. over the last 6 months. Lufthansa, which likewise counts Austrian Airline companies, Swiss and. Eurowings amongst its providers, has actually currently provided 2 revenue. warnings this year, as spiralling wage expenses, a capture on. ticket costs and a hard air travel market produce a challenging. healing. The delayed delivery of much-needed new jets is compounding. ongoing issues, Spohr said, including that Lufthansa had been hit. disproportionately hard. We were simply captured at exactly the wrong time, just (when. it came to) the fleet modernisation, Spohr said. Lufthansa is still awaiting 41 new Boeing aircrafts to. show up, with the 777x jets on order currently facing years-long. hold-ups. That has forced the airline to keep using the older Airplane. planes the group had wanted to retire before the. pandemic, Spohr stated, harming its capability to expand services on. successful paths and enhance effectiveness as more recent planes use less. jet fuel. We're flying 23 aircraft that we didn't wish to fly. any longer, he stated. Other European airline companies, consisting of Ryanair, have. likewise been hurt by Boeing's long delivery delays. FINANCIAL STABILITY One method to revive Lufthansa's fortunes is to purchase. further worldwide development, Spohr said, including its stake in. Italian carrier ITA Airways. Lufthansa has actually had problem with competition on its. transatlantic and Asian routes, recently cancelling its. Frankfurt to Beijing flights as Chinese carriers increased. capability. The nation's airlines have actually been gaining market share on. global routes as foreign airline companies are hindered by weak. Chinese travel need, increasing costs and extended flight times as. they avoid Russian airspace due to the Ukraine dispute. Lufthansa has said that it hopes to expand into newer. regions, including Latin America and Africa, where it might have. more of an advantage. New centers with lower cost bases, such as in. Italy, are likewise appealing methods to reinforce revenue and boost. margins.
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Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe up 0.7% in September, estimations reveal
Russian energy giant Gazprom's. average day-to-day natural gas supplies to Europe in. September edged up by 0.7% from August and were consistent year on. year, Reuters estimations showed on Tuesday. The calculations, based on data from the European gas. transmission group Entsog and Gazprom's daily reports on gas. transit by means of Ukraine, showed that typical day-to-day pipeline exports. increased to 90.2 million cubic metres (mcm) last month. That was up from 89.6 mcm in August and down just somewhat. from the 90.6 mcm in September 2023. Gazprom's overall gas products to the European Union. stood at about 2.71 billion cubic metres (bcm) in September, the. data revealed. Of that, 1.44 bcm, or 48.7 mcm per day, was sent. through Turkey. Gas transit by means of Ukraine reached 1.27 bcm last month, or 42.2. mcm each day. Gazprom's gas exports to Europe this year have. reached about 23.8 bcm up until now and are up 17% year on year. The business, which has not published its own regular monthly. statistics considering that the start of 2023, did not react to a request. for comment. Russia provided an overall of about 63.8 bcm of gas to Europe. by numerous paths in 2022, Gazprom information and Reuters estimations. show. The volume reduced by 55.6% to 28.3 bcm in 2015. At their peak in 2018-2019, yearly flows to Europe reached. in between 175 bcm and 180 bcm.
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Australian pilots union turns down Qantas Airways' wage proposal
The Australian pilots union stated on Tuesday that it has rejected a wage proposition from Qantas Airways for its short haul pilots, days after the company's engineers went on a. strike to require a much better pay deal. The proposition included a two-year wage freeze, higher minimum. ensured hours, increased standby pay and guaranteed payments. for flying hours that may be lost due to unintended disruptions. or schedule modifications throughout a lineup duration. Qantas' insistence on a two-year wage freeze despite being. extremely profitable while also seeking concessions on secret. conditions was viewed by pilots as unreasonable, the Australian. Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) stated in a statement. The nationwide carrier posted an annual earnings after tax of. A$ 1.25 billion ($ 865.8 million) for fiscal 2024. Of the 786 short-haul Qantas pilots who voted, 63.4% voted. versus the offer. The rejection of this proposition comes in the wake of a strike. by the airline company's engineers last Thursday over demands consisting of. a 5% annual pay walking. The pilots' union cautioned of escalation if the airline. neglected the outcome of the vote. If Qantas picks to neglect the vote result and turn to. its conventional hostile bargaining methods, this negotiation. might intensify, AFAP Executive Director Simon Lutton said in a. statement, without defining what this could indicate. A Qantas spokesperson informed Reuters that the arrangement we. put to vote included a number of structural improvements to pay. and rostering conditions that our pilots had been seeking for. several years. Provided the outcome, we will now spend some time to consider. next steps..
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School bus catches fire in Thailand with 44 individuals on board
At least 16 people were hospitalised in Thailand on Tuesday when a school bus carrying a projected 44 trainees and instructors on a field trip captured fire on the borders of the capital Bangkok, the government said. The status of the other guests was not immediately clear and cops did not instantly confirmed if any of the travelers were eliminated. Sixteen trainees and three teachers were sent out to a hospital for treatment, Transportation Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit stated, adding the reasons for the occurrence were still be investigated. Early images posted on social networks and carried by local news outlets showed thick grey smoke putting out of the bus, parts of which were still on fire. The blaze was later on extinguished. A Reuters photographer saw fire engine, cops and rescue automobiles parked around the blackened car, with a cluster of firefighters at the entrance. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the trainees were on a school trip from the province of Uthai Thani, about 250 km ( 155 miles) north of the capital. As a mom, I would like to reveal my deepest condolences to the households, she said in a social media post on X, without supplying information.
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Pakistan delays bidding for national airline to Oct 31, sources state
The bidding for Pakistan's. national airline has been delayed to Oct. 31, two. federal government officials at the ministry of privatisation said on. Tuesday. A Pakistani parliamentary committee of privatisation had. previously been notified that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). would go under the hammer on Tuesday. The authorities, however, stated the bidding had actually been delayed. another month at the request of the bidders who desired more time. to prepare for the auction. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not. authorised to divulge the information before an official. statement about the hold-up. A spokesman for the privatisation ministry did not respond. to a request for a remark. 6 parties have been pre-qualified for the bidding, which. included Fly Jinnah, Airblue Ltd, a consortium led by Pak. Ethanol (Pvt) Ltd, a consortium led by YB Holdings (Pvt) Ltd,. Arif Habib Corporation Ltd and Blue World City. Pakistan's federal government has previously stated it would sell. in between 51-100% of the loss-making airline as part of reforms. urged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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Wall Street Journal - Oct 1
The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not validated these stories and does not guarantee their precision. - CVS Health is performing a tactical review of alternatives for the business, including a possible separation of the industry giant. - Members of the International Longshoremen's Association strolled off their jobs at dozens of ports from Maine to Texas at midnight, introducing a strike at cargo terminals that handle more than half of American import and export volumes as the contract with port companies ended. - TD Securities will pay more than $28 million to fix three separate cases of spoofing, a type of deceptive trading that involves flooding the market with fake orders in an effort to press a stock rate up or down. - PepsiCo is in innovative talks to obtain tortilla-chip maker Siete Foods for more than $1 billion. - Rescuers raced to reach isolated neighborhoods cut off by ravaging floods in the wake of Hurricane Helene, as the death toll surpassed 100 throughout 6 states in the Southeastern U.S. - The Biden administration is moving military forces to discourage an Iranian reaction following Israel's stepped-up air project versus Hezbollah and the start of a ground operation in southern Lebanon.
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US East, Gulf Coast port workers go on strike, threatening international supply
Dockworkers at 36 ports on the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico started striking on Tuesday, halting container traffic in a blockage that might cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars. The labor contract between the International Longshoremen's. Association (ILA), representing 45,000 port workers, and the. United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group ended on. Sept. 30, as settlements stalled due to differences over pay. The affected ports process over half of U.S. ocean. trade, and a prevalent work stoppage would upend transport. schedules, delay goods across a broad swath of markets and. send shipping expenses greater. All of that might suggest shortages and. greater expenses for consumers. Here's a brief rundown of crucial events related to the strike: May 13, 2024 The ILA and the USMX say they will start bargaining after. May 17 with the goal of forging a new deal before the existing. six-year agreement expires on Sept. 30. June 10, 2024 The ILA halts settlements in the middle of disputes connected to. automation, after discovering that operator APM's terminals and. container shipping company Maersk Line were utilizing an Automobile Gate. system that processes trucks without labor. June 11, 2024 The USMX states some problems will need further conversation. between the local celebrations, adding that it looks forward to. re-engage with the bargaining committee. July 12, 2024 Harold Daggett, ILA's president and chief negotiator, says. the threat of an Oct. 1 strike is growing after the offense of. its agreement by some USMX members, which triggered it to cancel. negotiations previously. Aug. 23, 2024 The USMX says it has been unable to secure a meeting with. the ILA to resume negotiations. Sept. 5, 2024 Almost 300 ILA delegates end their two-day wage scale. conferences with unanimous support for President Daggett's call for. an Oct. 1 strike if an arrangement is not reached. Sept. 23, 2024 The ILA says it has held several discussions with the. USMX in current weeks and includes that a stalemate remains over. earnings, with the employer group continuing to provide an. inappropriate wage boost package. Sept. 24, 2024 The White Home states it will not attempt to broker a deal. between the two parties. Sept. 25, 2024 Farming groups advise the White House to act to avoid the. potential strike. Sept. 26, 2024 The USMX files an unjust labor practice charge with the. National Labor Relations Board to bring ILA back to the. bargaining table. Sept. 29, 2024 President Joe Biden states he did not plan to step in to. avoid a port strike. Sept. 30, 2024 The USMX says it raised its deal which would increase wages. by almost 50%, triple company contributions to employee. retirement strategies and reinforce USMX's healthcare choices. USMX also requests an extension of the existing master. agreement to continue bargaining. Oct. 1, 2024 The ILA begins strike at ports up and down the U.S. East. Coast.
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United States East Coast dockworkers head towards strike after offer deadline passes
Dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast were anticipated to strike on Tuesday morning after a midnight deadline passed without any indication of a new contract deal with port owners. The strike is forecast to stop about half the nation's ocean shipping. The strike will block whatever from food to auto deliveries across lots of ports from Maine to Texas, in a. disruption experts alerted will cost the economy billions of. dollars a day, threaten jobs, and stoke inflation. The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union. representing 45,000 port employees had actually been negotiating with the. United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group for a brand-new. six-year contract ahead of a midnight Sept. 30 deadline. But the ILA's fiery leader, Harold Daggett, stated companies. like container ship operator Maersk and its APM. Terminals North America had actually not offered suitable wage. boosts or consented to demands to stop port automation jobs. The USMX stated in a statement on Monday it had actually used to hike. salaries by nearly 50%. The ILA said in declarations on Sunday and Monday that a port. strike would go on, starting on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. ET. The strike, the ILA's very first considering that 1977, is fretting. organizations throughout the economy that count on ocean shipping to. export their wares or protected vital imports. The strike affects. 36 ports that deal with a range of containerized items from bananas. to clothing to vehicles. The union is holding the whole country over a barrel,. stated Steve Hughes, CEO of HCS International, which specializes. in vehicle sourcing and shipping. I'm actually scared that it. is going to be ugly. The disagreement is likewise wedging labor-friendly U.S. President. Joe Biden into a virtual no-win position as Vice President. Kamala Harris runs a razor-tight election race versus. Republican former President Donald Trump. Biden administration officials had actually met with both USMX and. ILA ahead of the strike to encourage a deal. But Biden's. administration has repeatedly dismissed making use of federal. powers to break a strike in case of a deadlock. U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark advised Biden. on Monday to reevaluate, saying it would be unconscionable to. enable a contract dispute to inflict such a shock to our. economy. Merchants accounting for about half of all container. shipping volume have been busily executing backup strategies as. they head into their necessary winter season vacation sales season. Many of the huge players entered Halloween and Christmas. product early to avoid any strike-related disturbances,. incurring additional expenses to ship and store those goods. Retail behemoth Walmart, the largest U.S. container. shipper, and subscription storage facility club operator Costco. state they are doing everything they can to alleviate any effect. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Monday the state. expects no instant effect on food providers or necessary. items.
Maguire: UK's final coal plant shut down bodes well for US Liquefied Natural Gas exports
The United States exporters who are involved in the liquefied gas industry (LNG) will likely be pleased with the closure of the United Kingdom's last coal-fired plant, since this move secures the long-term demand for gas by the world’s sixth largest economy.
The UK has made significant progress in achieving its energy transition and pollution targets by closing the coal-fired plant of 2,000 megawatts (MW) in Nottinghamshire.
The UK will need to increase gas imports in the future, even though power companies continue to deploy renewables and other forms clean power output.
It's great news for LNG exporters from the U.S. They are the largest suppliers in the world of super-chilled fuel, and they are aiming to grow into European markets that are more accessible and less expensive than distant Asian buyers.
GAS DEFICIT
According to the 2024 Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, UK gas consumption is higher than domestic gas production.
The UK will have a gas shortage of just over 29 billion cubic metres in 2023. This is the same as the gas production of Kazakhstan which was the world's 24th largest producer last year.
According to UK government statistics, Norway has historically provided a majority (41%) of UK gas imports via pipeline.
Over the last decade, however, a combination of pipeline capacity limitations and a desire to improve UK energy safety has led to a steady increase in UK LNG imports.
Importing LNG allows power firms to store more gas in the UK and act as a hedge for price and supply volatility caused by a heavy reliance on a small number of pipeline suppliers.
According to the Energy Institute, UK LNG imports will increase by 171% between 2018 and 2023 from 7.2 billion cubic metres (BCM) up to 19.4 BCM.
This growth was greater than that of Europe overall over this period. In volume terms, the United Kingdom ranked second only behind France as an LNG importer in Europe between 2018 and 2023.
US BOOM
The surge in UK LNG demand coincided with the efforts of U.S. exporters to expand their LNG sales outside Asia.
In the period 2008-2018, around 64% (or 63%) of U.S. exports of LNG was shipped to Asian countries such as Japan and China.
These countries are regarded as long-term markets for growth in natural gas and are therefore natural targets for all LNG suppliers.
Due to the longer travel times, U.S. sellers have a serious competitive disadvantage when it comes to serving Asian markets compared to Australia or Qatar.
According to LSEG, a trip from the U.S. East Coast down to Southern China can take up to 35 days.
This is almost four times as long as the route from Australia, and two times longer from Qatar. The U.S. vessels will be stranded on these routes for much longer than their competitors.
On European routes, the freight economics has flipped.
The journey time from Cove Point, on the U.S. East Coast, to Grain LNG's import terminal in the U.K. is approximately 11 days.
This is compared to the nearly 20-day delivery time from Qatar, and the 30-day delivery time from Australia. U.S. LNG ships can therefore offer more rapid schedules for deliveries and lower freight rates than their competitors.
In 2022 and 2023, when Europe's energy markets were booming after Russia's invasion in Ukraine, many buyers were willing to pay top dollar to ensure regular and fast LNG deliveries to avoid power outages.
CAPTIVE
U.S. Exporters have taken full advantage of the surge in European LNG demand in 2022-2023. They more than doubled shipments in 2022, reaching a record-breaking 52.5 million metric tonnes, and increased sales by an additional 8 percent in 2023.
Kpler data show that the pace of sales into Europe in 2024 has decreased by 22%. This is a blow for the short-haul routes from the U.S.
The sales to the United Kingdom have fallen by approximately 60% this year, the lowest level since 2021.
The U.S. LNG industry is fortunate that a 43% increase in LNG imports out of Asia has compensated for the volume lost to Europe and has driven overall LNG exports up to a record high this year.
The increased shipments to Asia are accompanied by longer journeys and longer turnarounds before ships can be reloaded.
The U.S. exporters of LNG will now be looking forward to a recovery in UK LNG demand. This could help avoid any power supply problems following the closure of the coal plant, and also fuel new growth in one the most lucrative U.S. trade routes for LNG.
(source: Reuters)