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Virgin Australia announces 28% increase in annual profit
Virgin Australia announced a nearly 28% increase in its underlying profit for the full year on Friday. This was its first result after relisting. The strong performance of its airline and loyalty programs segments drove this. Virgin, Australia's second largest airline in terms of market share, after Qantas Airways was delisted from the stock exchanges in 2020, after Bain Capital, a private equity firm, rescued Virgin from administration. The company Return to the Homepage The Australian Securities Exchange valued the company at A$2.32 Billion on a fully diluted base in June of this year, after it had an IPO. The company's Airlines division saw its earnings grow by more than 36% for the year ending June 30. This was due to an increase in seats filled with a better passenger mix. Velocity, the company's loyalty program, saw its earnings rise 10.5% on the back of a growing number of active members. According to the airline, its pro forma underlying profit after taxes for the year was A$331 (215.08 millions) in line with its forecast provided at the time it filed its IPO.
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Brazil updates sector trade agreements with Mexico
Geraldo Alckmin, the Brazilian Vice-President, said that Brazil and Mexico will sign complementary trade agreements in August next year. This was after a Thursday meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Alckmin, speaking at a Mexico City press conference, said that the authorities had signed preliminary agreements on agriculture, health, and biofuels. Brazil wants to export more beef to Mexico. Mexico recently surpassed the U.S.A. as the second most popular destination for Brazilian meat. Brazil is looking to ship more beef to Mexico, which recently overtook the U.S. as the No. Alckmin stated that Mexico demands "traceability" for livestock and Brazil is working to meet this requirement. Alckmin stated, "We want the sale of Brazilian goods to continue while Brazil makes its transition towards traceability. This is something we both agreed upon." Alckmin called the meeting "very good", and added that the two also discussed biofuels, and possible battery production. Alckmin stated that Sheinbaum was interested in the Brazilian biofuel mandate which requires more biofuels to be mixed with fossil fuels. He said that Mexico and Brazil can work together in order to produce electric vehicle batteries. Brazilian motor manufacturer WEG operates in Mexico. He refused to name the Brazilian companies that could be part of an agreement for Mexico to produce ethanol, but said Brazil was interested in providing technology to make it happen. Alckmin stated that the sectorial agreements would refresh deals signed two decades ago. He added that Brazil could not negotiate a free-trade agreement with Mexico outside of the Mercosur bloc. (Reporting and editing by Kylie Madry Ana Isabel Martinez, Nia Williams, Alistair Bell, and Nia William;
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US FAA to close satellite offices Washington
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to cancel the leases of its satellite offices located in the Washington, D.C. area. It will consolidate operations and move headquarters staff into the building housing the U.S. Transportation Department. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated in an email previously unseen by staff that this move would improve the collaboration. Bedford wrote, "We'll work more efficiently together than if we were spread out over six different offices." This will reduce operating costs significantly and improve collaboration. Bedford announced that the dates of the office moves will be finalized soon. USDOT announced on Tuesday that it would relocate thousands of FAA workers from its headquarters in Washington to the main office of the department. It also plans to consolidate other agency systems and IT. USDOT is a group of agencies that includes the FAA. The Department plans to relocate several thousand employees who work in the Orville and Wilbur Wright Headquarters buildings to its department headquarters located southeast Washington. The question remains as to how many FAA departments -- possibly purchasing, IT and human resources -- will be merged into USDOT, and whether the consolidation will lead to workforce reductions. Nearly 53,000 employees work for USDOT. The FAA is the largest department. This week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy informed employees that the department would begin retiring legacy systems in order to embrace advanced technologies and "streamline processes, consolidate administration functions, and modernize infrastructure" as part of its efforts to "modernize our infrastructure, streamline our processes, and consolidate our administrative functions." Duffy stated that the FAA building was in a serious state of disrepair. Employees were unable to drink the water. Duffy told reporters that it was important to have all the employees working together under one roof. He suggested that some FAA employees may not want to move and "become an entity unto themselves, not responsive to anyone in government." The Trump administration is consolidating office space and reducing the federal workforce. (Reporting and editing by David Shepardson)
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Trump officials confirm that the end of US low-value packages tariff exemption is permanent.
Officials from the Trump administration said that on Friday, the U.S. tariff-free package shipment exemption will end permanently. However, there is a six month transition period during which shippers of postal services can choose to pay a flat rate of $80 - $200 per package, depending on their country of origin. After 12:01 am EDT (0401 GMT), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency will begin collecting normal duties on all parcel imports from around the world, regardless of their value. This move expands on the cancellation by the Trump administration of the de minimis exception for shipments coming from China and Hong Kong. Peter Navarro, White House trade advisor, told reporters that President Trump's closing of the deadly de minimis loophole would save thousands of American life by limiting the flow of narcotics. (Reporting and editing by Leslie Adler; Andrea Shalal and David Lawder)
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BNSF faces a lawsuit from the US EEOC alleging hostile treatment of women at Nebraska railroad yard
On Thursday, a federal appeals court revived an U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against BNSF Railway accusing them of allowing a severe, pervasive and hostile work environment towards women in a western Nebraska railroad yard. The 8th U.S. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Omaha, said a judge dismissed wrongly claims that BNSF sexually harassed Rena Merker, a train conductor, and other female employees at the Alliance Railyard from 2011 until 2022. The allegations include sexual advances, derogatory remarks about women's body, sexually explicit graffiti on locomotives and at the railyard, the soiling of bathrooms for unisex, and the placement of a dead bird on the toilet of a female train conductor. The EEOC accused BNSF of Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on sex. BNSF belongs to Warren Buffett and his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. Railroads and lawyers in Fort Worth, Texas did not respond immediately to comments. Circuit Judge Lavenski Smith, writing for a panel of three judges, said that the EEOC claims were plausible and the trial judge shouldn't have required the agency show that the same harassment was experienced by female workers at the same time. The appeals court rejected the judge’s conclusion that the sexist remarks were "sporadic", and the graffiti was excused because of its "social context", which is a railyard where there are mainly male workers, not a professional office. Smith wrote that "viewing the evidence most favorably for the EEOC," "we conclude that a jury could reasonably find that Merker had been subjected to harassment which was objectively severe, pervasive and widespread." The EEOC has not responded to comments immediately. Merker died on January 20, 2024, but the case continues. The appeals court sent it back to U.S. district judge Brian Buescher of Omaha. Berkshire wasn't a defendant and Buffett’s Omaha-based conglomerate is minimally involved in the day-today operations of its businesses. The case is EEOC v BNSF Railroad Co, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 24-2082.
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FAA: Arriving flights at Newark Airport were halted by a telecom issue
The Federal Aviation Administration halted arriving flights for over an hour at Newark Liberty International Airport on Thursday due to a telecom frequency issue. This is the latest technical problem to cause delays at the airport in New York City. Flightradar24 is a flight-tracking site that reports flights to Newark, the hub of United Airlines, are currently suspended. Flights already in the air are held, but the departures are unaffected. The FAA reported that delays are increasing as flights resume following a 75-minute pause. In April and May, there were two major communications failures for the air traffic controllers in Newark. This caused hundreds of flights to be disrupted. The FAA cut flights at Newark in May after a series major disruptions. Has proposed to extend these through Late October Last year, the FAA moved control of Newark's airspace from Newark to Philadelphia in order to deal with staffing issues and congestion in New York City. The FAA has since upgraded its communications technology in order to prevent similar incidents, but is still working on adding air traffic controllers. (Reporting and editing by Diane Craft; David Shepardson)
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India extends IndiGo's leasing agreement with Turkish Airlines
India has allowed IndiGo, India's biggest airline, to continue leasing from Turkish Airlines two planes for another six-month period. This is a change from a May decision when New Delhi had told IndiGo that the agreement must be terminated by August 31, 2015. A source with knowledge of the situation said that the new extension will expire on February 28. IndiGo said that the extension would help it cut costs caused by geopolitical constraints. The airline was referring to a ban on airspace imposed earlier this year by Pakistan against Indian airlines, which led to longer routes as well as higher costs. IndiGo said that the extension would be subject to the conditions set by India's aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which was not available outside of regular business hours. IndiGo confirmed that it had requested an extension. IndiGo's spokesperson stated in a press release that "this extension will provide much-needed stability and continuity in operations." IndiGo's partnership Turkish Airlines with Turkish Airlines has been criticised in India since Turkey supported Pakistan in the recent conflict between two South Asian neighbours. In May, it was reported that rival Air India had also been irritated by the tie-up and lobbied for the Indian government's halting of the partnership. In May, the DGCA announced that it had rejected IndiGo's request to extend its contract by six months and only approved three. IndiGo's new extension comes after the airline reported a slower revenue growth in its first quarter, due to border tensions with Pakistan and an Air India crash that killed a pilot. Turkish Airlines has leased two Boeing 777 wide-body aircraft to IndiGo since 2023. The aircraft are equipped with crew and pilots. IndiGo can now carry more passengers on its narrow-body aircraft than it did before, as the aircraft are currently operating on Delhi-Istanbul or Mumbai-Istanbul routes. Reporting by Abhijith Ganahapavaram Editing Mark Potter
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Druzhba restarts as the end of driving season approaches
The oil prices fell on Thursday due to the lower demand for fuel in the United States at the end the summer travel period and the restarting of Russian oil supplies through the Druzhba Pipeline. Brent crude futures dropped 46 cents or 0.7% to $67.59 at 12:04 pm. ET . U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) were down 57c, or 0.9% at $63.58 per barrel. The long Labor Day weekend in the United States ends summer driving. The U.S. gasoline demand is expected to fall, even though crude oil supplies are rising due to OPEC+'s plan to increase September output by 547,000 bpd. Ritterbusch and Associates stated in a report that the mismatch would cause oil inventories rise. They said that as the summer fades into the fall and the gasoline demand drops, refiners will switch to the cheaper winter grade product. After a disruption caused by an attack on Russia by the Ukrainians last week, Russian crude oil supplies to Hungary have resumed through the Druzhba Pipeline. This was announced Thursday by MOL (Hungarian Oil Company) and Slovakia's Economy Minister. After President Donald Trump doubled the tariffs on Indian imports, they could reach 50%. Tony Sycamore, IG's market analyst, said that India is likely to continue buying crude oil from Russia in the near future. This should help limit the impact of new tariffs on the global supply. Official data released on Wednesday showed that U.S. crude inventory levels fell more than anticipated last week. This was a sign of a strong demand and helped to support prices. The data released on Wednesday led to a 1% increase in both crude benchmarks. Russia and Ukraine also intensified their attacks on the energy infrastructure of each other. Ukraine officials reported that Russia had launched a massive drone strike on the energy and gas transportation infrastructure in six Ukrainian regions over night, Wednesday. The attack left more than 100,000 Ukrainians without electricity. (Additional reporting from Sam Li in Beijing, Siyi Liu and David Gregorio in Singapore. Editing by Louise Heavens and Ros Russell)
Thai Airways shares surge after resuming trading
Thai Airways International stock prices surged up to 231% when shares resumed trading Monday, before dropping back down later.
At 12:50 pm (0550 GMT), the stock price was up 186% to 9.5 Baht ($0.2872). In 2020, the national carrier entered a bankruptcy-protected restructure at the start of the pandemic.
It was in trouble long before the pandemic. The airline has been reporting losses almost every year since 2012. This is because low-cost carriers have been eroding its market share in Southeast Asia, particularly on short haul routes. Thai Airways received a debt restructuring of 400 billion baht when COVID hit. The company brought in senior executives to its restructuring committee, which was chaired the former energy minister Piyasvasti Amranand. Amranand was also the chief executive of Thai Airways from 2009-2012 when it was profitable. The committee began debt-to-equity plans, and then reduced its support staff by half to 16,000 people. The committee also announced plans to reduce its fleet of 103 aircraft to 85 and to eliminate its budget airline, Thai Smile.
In five years, starting in 2020, the airline will have reduced its debt by 190 billion Baht and achieved operational profit in 2023. In the first three months of this year the airline's net profit reached $9.8billion, up by 300% compared to the same period in the previous year.
The airline currently operates 78 jets, and the cabin factor (the percentage of seats occupied by passengers) is 83.3%.
The carrier has an option to purchase 35 additional Boeing 787-9 widebody jets. It said in July that it would be able to exercise its option as part the Thailand-US tariff negotiations.
(source: Reuters)