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Trade group: US government shutdown is starting to affect airline passenger bookings
On Wednesday, the head of an industry group that represents major U.S. carriers said that bookings are starting to drop as the government shutdown entered its 36th record day. "We've seen an industry-wide pullback on people booking travel plans just a few days ago, and it grows a little every day," said Chris Sununu who is the head of Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines and United Airlines as well as Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, and other major airlines. He added that carriers have not noticed a spike in cancellations. Sununu stated that they were trying to encourage travelers to keep their plans and bookings. He said that airlines are contacting lawmakers to urge them end the shutdown, as the busy holiday season of Thanksgiving approaches. Sununu stated that "no political party will win if the Thanksgiving is ruined because of their politics - everyone loses." "They'd better get their act in order and solve this problem." The shutdown forced 13,000 air-traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers to work for free and disrupted tens thousands of flights. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Tuesday that if federal government shutdown continued another week, it could cause "mass confusion" and force him to shut down some national airspace for air traffic. This drastic measure could disrupt American aviation. Sununu, four of the largest U.S. Airlines and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association all urged Congress to pass a temporary funding bill as soon as possible to allow the government to reopen. Airlines have repeatedly called for an end to the government shutdown, citing safety concerns. U.S. Aviation has already experienced tens and thousands of flight delays in the last month. More than 3.2 millions passengers have also been affected by delays or cancelled flights because of a spike of air traffic controller absenteeism since October 1. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated on Tuesday that "anywhere between 20 and 40% of our controllers don't come to work" at the 30 largest airports. Air travel disruptions in 2019 forced lawmakers to end a 35-day shutdown of the government during Donald Trump's term as president. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese, Deepa Babington, and David Shepardson)
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UPS Air hub closure will cause delivery delays throughout its global network
Temporary closure of United Parcel Service's sprawling air cargo hub, located in Louisville, Kentucky following a fatal plane crash, will cause delays throughout the global delivery network. The Worldport hub is a hub and spoke model that UPS uses to manage air cargo. It processes millions of packages each day for approximately 360 aircraft, both incoming and departing. On Tuesday night, the company ceased operations at Louisville International Airport after a UPS cargo aircraft crashed, killing nine people including three members of the flight crew. UPS on Wednesday cancelled the Worldport shift from mid-morning until mid-afternoon that deals with Second Day air packages. The company has not stated when it intends to resume normal operations at its 5.2 million-square-foot (483.096-square-meter) facility, which is about the size of 89 U.S. soccer fields and can handle 416,000 packages an hour. UPS warned that scheduled delivery times of air packages and international packages could be affected in a Tuesday service alert. Niall van de Wouw is the chief airfreight officer of transportation pricing platform Xeneta. He said that UPS customers will experience delays because many UPS packages travel through Worldport to reach other destinations. He said that it would take several days to recover from a day's closure for air cargo, particularly as we approach the end of year peak season. He predicted that the impact of his decision would be limited on air freight services and rates. In early afternoon trading, UPS shares rose about 0.5% to $93.76. UPS's delays will have a wide-ranging impact, as its customers include many U.S. agencies and businesses. Customers include the U.S. Amazon.com and the Postal Service are among UPS's largest customers. UPS delivers packages to Walmart, Target, manufacturers, and many small businesses. Worldport also has inventory from more than 150 UPS clients, including Merck & Co. and other major pharmaceutical companies. UPS customers have not commented on possible delays. Reporting by Lisa Baertlein and Lisa Barrington, both in Los Angeles; editing by Paul Simao
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Telecom Italia increases 9-month core earnings by 5.3%
Telecom Italia reported a 5.3% increase in core earnings for the first nine-month period of this year. The company also confirmed that its earnings growth projection of around 7% by 2025. The company announced that customers of PosteMobile - the Italian financial conglomerate Poste Italiane's telecommunications arm - will migrate to its network in the first quarter 2026. Why it's important Poste Italiane replaced France's Vivendi, as the single largest shareholder in TIM with a 24,8% stake. Poste Italiane is owned by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the state bank, and the Italian Treasury. Its core business includes mail, parcels, financial services, insurance and broadband. TIM, having sold its landline network in a bid to reduce debt last year, is expected play a key role in the consolidation of Italy's telecoms industry, which has faced intense price competition for years. Last month, France's Boygues Telecom and Iliad Free and Orange made a joint bid of 17 billion euros (19 billion dollars) to purchase the majority of assets of France’s second largest telecoms operator SFR. This increased the appeal of European telecommunications firms and boosted TIM’s share price. The shares of TIM rose after reports that Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison is considering a possible tie-up between its Italian telecom unit Wind Tre, and the Italian operations from French telecoms group Iliad. By the Numbers The largest Italian telecoms group reported that its EBITDA (after leases) for nine months rose to 2.7 billion euro. The domestic EBITDAal was 1.5 billion euros in 2016, up 4.1% on the previous year. EBITDAal for its Brasilian operations was 1.2 billion Euros, an increase of 6.9%. As of September 30, TIM's net loan debt was 7.5 billion euro. The group revenue for the third quarter was 10 billion euros. This is a 2.3% increase year-on-year. TIM reported that its revenue and margins increased due to a strong performance on the Brazilian and domestic markets. Reporting by Philippe Leroy Beaulieu, Gdansk. Editing by Matt Scuffham.
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EU warship sent to Somali coast following suspected pirate attack
Sources in maritime industry said that the European Union's anti-piracy force had deployed a warship off the coast of Somalia, after a suspected pirate band tried to target vessels in the area. Sources from the maritime industry said that armed assailants fired at a commercial oil tanker Monday off the coast of Mogadishu after they attempted to board it. This was the first incident of suspected Somali piratery of this kind since 2024. The attack, as well as other incidents, has raised concern for the shipping lanes through which vital energy and goods are shipped to global markets. This week, a speedboat approached a Seychelles flagged fishing vessel. Meanwhile, maritime security sources reported that an unidentified assailant had seized a separate Iranian-flagged boat. British maritime risk management company Vanguard stated that it was very likely the fishing boat had been used as a mothership to launch attacks. Operation ATALANTA is the EU's maritime mission. It said that it was "aware" of the situation, and has deployed a naval asset in the area. However, they declined to comment further, citing security concerns. Ambrey, a British maritime security firm, said that it was highly probable that a Somali Pirate Action Group has been at sea and operating more than 300 nautical mile offshore Somalia. "Those (commercial ships) approached matched known target profiles and Somali pirate capabilities." The Somali pirate gangs that operated in the Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and other areas have largely been inactive since years. Since the Houthi militia, which is affiliated with Iran, first attacked commercial ships in November 20,23, in solidarity with Palestinians in response to Israel's Gaza war, the threat posed by the Houthi has increased. While the Houthis agreed to a ceasefire on their attacks against U.S. linked shipping, many shipping firms remain hesitant about resuming journeys through these waters. (Reporting and editing by Alexandra Hudson; Reporting by Jonathan Saul)
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Cathay Pacific buys back shares of Qatar Airways worth $897.3 Million
Cathay Pacific Airways announced on Wednesday that it will repurchase its entire shareholding in Qatar Airways at a cost of HK$6,97 billion ($897.33 millions). Cathay Pacific will repurchase 9.57% shares of its issued stock at HK$10.8374 each, and will be able to "fund its operations" after the completion of this share buyback. The price of the share repurchase is 3.9% below Wednesday's closing stock price. Qatar Airways is a state-owned airline Buy Tickets In November 2017, it acquired a 9.61% share in Cathay Pacific for HK$13.65. This was its first significant stake in an Asian carrier, allowing them to increase their global influence as well as traffic through the Doha hub. Cathay's share purchase price represents a discount of 20,6% compared to the Qatar Airways' 2017 purchase price. Qatar Airways has not responded to the request for comment immediately.
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Snam, Italy's Snam, raises its guidance after a rise in profit for the nine-month period
Snam, the Italian gas grid operator, increased its profit guidance for 2025 on Wednesday following a 6.6% increase in core earnings over nine months. The adjusted earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), came in at 2,23 billion euros ($2.6billion) for the period. This was slightly higher than the average estimate of 2,21 billion euros in a pool of analysts compiled by. Analysts had predicted that adjusted net income (excluding one-off items) would increase by 10% to 1.1 billion euro. The group's adjusted core earnings is now expected to be around 2.95 billion euro this year, compared with the previous guidance of 2,85 billion euro. Snam CEO Agostino Scornajenchi stated that "with (gas) storage being among the highest levels in Europe, and with strong liquefied gas inflows supported through the full operation of our (regasification) terminal fleet, we continue playing a pivotal part in guaranteeing the security of the country's supply." Germany's watchdog hasn't yet cleared the group's acquisition a minor stake in Open Grid Europe, creating uncertainty for Italian company. Snam stated that the deadline set forth in the purchase agreement was November 17. (1 euro = 0.8575 dollars) (Reporting and editing by Francesca Landini; Ros Russell, Cristina Carlevaro)
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Air Canada anticipates record labor costs and a record number of new aircraft in 2026
Air Canada executives said on Wednesday that the company will have to deal with increased labor costs in 2026 and a sluggish leisure travel market in the United States. The country's largest airline plans to add 35 new planes to its fleet. Canada's largest airline reported a lower third quarter profit late on Tuesday, as striking cabin crew forced thousands of cancelled flights and the waning demand of travel to and from the U.S. affected results. In early Wednesday trading, shares were down 2.9%. The airline stated that capacity in seat miles would increase by 0.75% compared to a year ago. The amount of leisure travel that crosses the border between Canada and America has decreased significantly in recent years. This is due to President Donald Trump's high tariffs on Canadian imports, which sparked widespread protests. Transatlantic travel revenues were flat quarterly on an annualized basis. Air Canada executives expect double-digit revenue growth for the entire company in the final three months of 2025. Air Canada CEO Mike Rousseau stated that the carrier expects to receive 35 new planes in 2026. This is the largest number of aircraft it has ever received in one year. The airline will also be retiring some older planes. Air Canada will be able to benefit from Canadian government efforts to diversify its trade away the U.S. by using new Boeing 787 wide body aircraft. Rousseau stated, "You know Canada diversifies trade around the globe and we believe we can play an important role." Air Canada also works on fleet changes that will enable its leisure carrier Rouge, to only operate Boeing 737 aircraft until the end of 2026. (Reporting from Allison Lampert, in Montreal, and Nandan Mandayam, in Bangalore; editing by Paul Simao).
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Trump calls for an end to filibustering as the longest shutdown in history drags on
The U.S. president Donald Trump again asked Republican senators on Wednesday to terminate the filibuster in an attempt to end the longest government shut down in history. This would be a radical departure from long-standing Senate traditions and make it easier to push through legislation by the majority. "We must open the country." We're going do it today by ending the filibuster," Trump said to the senators gathered in the White House for breakfast. "It is possible that you won't do it, and I will follow your wishes." "You're smart people and good friends but I think this is a terrible mistake," Trump said. It would be a terrible mistake. Actually, it's time." Filibustering is a Senate rule that requires 60 out of 100 senators to agree on a majority vote in order to pass legislation. The Senate is dominated by Republicans, with a majority of 53 to 47. In the House of Representatives the Republicans have a majority of 219 to 213. Trump has previously called for the elimination of the filibuster, but Republican legislators have been reluctant, partly because Democrats would cease to adhere to the rule once they gained a majority. Trump downplayed concerns about the Democrats taking power during the Wednesday meeting. He said that if Republicans can maintain power if the Senate does away with the filibuster and rams through legislation he believes is popular, they will do so by eliminating the filibuster. Trump said that the government shutdown is impacting on the stock market as well as airline companies and SNAP food assistance for low-income Americans. He blamed Republican defeats in Tuesday's elections in various parts of the country in part on the shutdown of the federal government, which he claimed had not affected Democrats as he believed it should. The shutdown has now lasted 36 days. This is a record, surpassing the 35-day mark set by Trump during his first term from 2017-2021. Reporting by Jeff Mason, Gram Slattery and Colleen Jenkins; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Colleen Nomiyama
Delta Air Lines is being investigated by US House of Representatives for using AI to price tickets.
On Wednesday, a group of 20 U.S. House Democratic members asked Delta Air Lines' CEO Ed Bastian to respond to questions regarding the use of artificial intelligence in setting ticket prices.
In a letter, the lawmakers including Jesus "Chuy” Garcia, Jerrold Ndler, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and Dan Goldman asked Delta to reveal whether it would use AI to increase prices by "individualized, surveillance based price discrimination."
Delta announced on Wednesday that "there are no fare products Delta has used, is currently testing or plans to implement which target customers with personalized offers based upon personal information or other factors."
Legislators have expressed concern that airlines may use AI, consumer data, or internet usage (such as visiting a funeral website) to determine when people want to travel and then increase air fares.
Delta has not addressed concerns raised by senators in July, according to the lawmakers.
Delta hasn't explained the safeguards it uses to comply with federal law.
Sean Duffy, the Transportation Secretary, said in August that his department would look into whether any airline was using AI to set its prices.
Duffy stated that "we would be very concerned if any company tried to use AI for pricing their seats individually."
Delta announced earlier that it planned to deploy AI-based technology for revenue management across 20% of the domestic network in partnership with Fetcherr.
The House letter stated that Delta President Glen Hauenstein previously said that Delta would use AI-generated pricing to tailor airfares to "that flight at that time and to you as an individual".
The letter was signed by Rashida and Greg Casar, both Democratic legislators. In July, they introduced legislation to prohibit companies from using AI for setting prices or wages on the basis of Americans' personal data. They also wanted to ban airlines from increasing individual prices based upon a search made for an obituary. The legislation has not yet been passed.
Delta told senators in August that it has been using dynamic pricing since the 1970s. Pricing is based on factors such as overall demand, fuel costs, and competition but not personal information. (Reporting and editing by Nia William; David Shepardson)
(source: Reuters)