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When will US air travel return to normal? Not this week
Air travelers in the United States will still have to endure a few days of delays and cancellations before things return to normal. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has instructed airlines to reduce 4% of their daily flights at 40 major airports starting last week due to safety concerns regarding air traffic control. The Federal Aviation Administration has mandated that flight reductions reach 6% by Tuesday, and then 10% by Friday November 14. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that they could reach up to 15% or 20% if there is no end to the shutdown. If lawmakers restore federal funding this week, the government could reopen, but when flight reductions will be lifted is not clear. Flyers are also faced with daily delays of thousands due to the increasing absence of air traffic controllers. The longest shutdown in U.S. History has forced 13,000 air-traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents to work for free. Air traffic delays and cancellations affected more than 1.2 millions U.S. airline customers on Saturday and Sunday. It could take several days for the air traffic to return normal after the shutdown. Chris Sununu is the former New Hampshire Governor who runs Airlines for America. He told CNN Monday that "a difficult week still lies ahead." The FAA has still mandated cancellations that will increase over the next week. He added: "But, keep your holiday plans." By Thanksgiving and Christmas, the system will be operational and stable. What will happen to this week's flight choppings? When will the FAA lift the flight reductions required by the government? Duffy said that he wants to improve air traffic control and safety data before removing the current targets. Last week, the FAA reported that between 20% and 40% of air traffic control officers at 30 major airports were not present on any given day. American Airlines reported on Monday that the lack of staffing in air traffic control at the weekend caused delays and cancellations for 250,000 customers. The FAA told airlines that they could get their controllers' back pay about 24 hours after shutdown ended. It does not mean that all controllers will return to work immediately. When will delays start to disappear? On Sunday, the third day that government-mandated flight restrictions are in effect, airlines canceled or delayed 2,950 U.S. domestic flights. Around 800 flights were affected by the FAA's flight reductions to top 40 airports. However, major airlines had to cancel more than double that number on Sunday as a result of staffing problems in air traffic control. The delays won't end until the air traffic controllers are paid again. The shutdown will continue this week and air safety workers will miss yet another paycheck. This may lead to more people calling in sick to take on second jobs like driving for Uber, or making deliveries for DoorDash to earn money. It could impact air travelers during Thanksgiving, which is one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
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Abra Group to acquire Chile's Sky in the latest Latin American aviation reshuffle
Latin American airline holding Abra Group said on Monday it has reached an agreement-in-principle for Chilean low-cost carrier Sky Airline to join the group, which already includes Brazil's Gol and Colombia's Avianca. This move comes after Abra announced last month that it planned to make an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. It further consolidates Abra as one of Latin America's largest airline groups, competing with Chile-based LATAM Airlines. Abra was formed in 2022 when Gol and Avianca announced their merger under a single roof. Abra holds a strategic stake in Spain's Wamos and had a convertible debt that represented a minority share in Sky. Abra and Sky submitted documents to the competition authorities in order to obtain regulatory approval for this transaction. The holding added that Sky would keep its brand under the agreement. Abra Group CEO Adrian Neuhauser said, "Bringing Sky to the group will enable us to continue strengthening our region's aviation market." Abra announced that it would consolidate Sky's ownership at the closing of the transaction, and the majority shareholders in the Chilean airline will become minority shareholders of Abra. Sky's Holger Paulmann, its president, will continue as its chairman. No financial details are disclosed. Paulmann stated that the deal will bring Sky's customers more options and routes, as Abra has more than 300 aircraft in its fleet, including both Boeing and Airbus jets. Sky was established in the early 2000s. It operates a fleet Airbus A320/A321neo with subsidiaries in Chile, and Peru. It serves over 40 destinations across the Americas. Gabriel Araujo reports.
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CANADA-CRUDE-Discount on Western Canada Select widens
On Monday, the discount between West Texas Intermediate and Western Canada Select futures (the North American benchmark) widened. CalRock reported that WCS for Hardisty, Alberta delivery in December settled at $11.70 per barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI. This compares to Friday's closing price of $11.65. Since September 1, the differential has traded in a narrow band between $10.25 to $11.70 below WTI. Analysts have noted a strong demand for Canadian crude oil off the Pacific Coast via the Trans Mountain Pipeline, particularly from China. The Gulf Coast also bought more Canadian barrels than usual to re-export. This was in response to the additional sanctions against Russia. * Oil prices rose globally on Monday, as analysts focused their attention on the potential disruption of fuel supplies from new U.S. sanction and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries. However, predictions about a crude surplus held gains in check. (Reporting from Amanda Stephenson, Calgary; Editing Alan Barona).
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Mexico's Esentia is expecting to raise $610 Million in IPO
Mexico's Esentia said it aims to raise 610 million dollars through an initial public offer. Esentia Energy Development is a company dedicated to transporting and selling natural gas. It plans to sell 224,000,000 common shares in this operation. The company stated that it would sell its shares between $2.70 to $3.90. Esentia has not provided any details about the dates of the transactions. Esentia stated in an investor presentation that the funds raised will be used for financing expansion plans of the company and partially paying off some debts. The Waha System (also known as Wahalajara) is its main asset. It's a network of over 2,000 km that transports gas at low cost from Waha in Texas to industrial centers in central west Mexico. The company's adjusted revenue for last year was $403 million. This is a 0.5% rise compared to the previous year. Its adjusted EBITDA increased by 1.6% and reached $311 million. (Reporting and editing by Kylie Madry; reporting by Noe Torres)
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Klook, a travel booking platform, has reported a robust growth in revenue during its US IPO.
Klook, a travel booking website owned by SoftBank, reported a 24.4% increase in revenue for 2024. The online platform announced this in its Monday filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, indicating that investor demand is still strong despite the shutdown of the federal government. The U.S. IPO Market has recovered from tariff-driven volatility, as a rally of equities, and interest rate reductions, boosted investor demand for new offerings. However, a prolonged shutdown in the government has caused some delays. Klook's offer follows recent debuts of molecular diagnostics company BillionToOne, and another Apollo-backed group Grupo Aeromexico earlier this month. Hong Kong's company reported revenues of $417.1 millions in 2024 compared to $335.2million a year ago. The IPO comes as the global tourism sector is experiencing rapid growth after the COVID-19 Pandemic. This growth is being driven by a surge of consumer spending. According to a report released by the World Travel and Tourism Council in May, the travel sector is expected to contribute $11.7 trillion to global GDP in 2025. This represents 10.3% of GDP. Klook, founded in 2014, offers tours, attractions and transport as well as other travel experiences at a variety of global locations. It competes against global platforms like Booking.com, TripAdvisor and China's Trip.com as well as South Korea's Yanolja. Klook raised $100m in February through a funding round that was led by European investment company Vitruvian Partners. However, the valuation of Klook at the time was not disclosed. Klook plans to list at the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol "KLK". Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the main underwriters of the offering. (Reporting and editing by Shilpa Majumdar in Bengaluru, Prakhar Srivastava from Bengaluru)
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Urals diffs stable in opaque trade
In an opaque market, the differentials between urals crude and other grades remained stable on Monday as participants assessed the impact of sanctions placed on Lukoil last month and Rosneft the previous month on the supply of this grade to India and Turkey. Sources in the trade said that two Indian state refiners bought 5 million barrels from spot markets as they continued to search for alternatives to Russian oil supplies. Sources said that Lukoil declared force majore at its Iraqi field of oil, while Bulgaria was preparing to seize the Burgas refinery as its international operations buckled due to U.S. sanctions. PLATTS WINDOW There were no bids or offers reported for Urals, Azeri BTC Blend or CPC blend crude in the Platts window. * Bulgarian authorities conduct inspections and implement security measures at Russian oil giant Lukoil’s Burgas refinery in order to preserve critical infrastructure. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced on Monday that the government is preparing to take control of the site. * The Kremlin announced on Monday that it is "actively" preparing for President Vladimir Putin's visit to India before the end the year, and hopes it will be a substantive journey. Reporting by Richard Chang; Editing by Richard Chang
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Belgium recruits foreign forces to fight drone incursions
Belgian officials have enlisted foreign forces to help them track or seize drones that are making incursions near its airports and military bases, as well as a nuclear power plant. They claim this is all a result of Russian interference. Last Tuesday, drone sightings caused the authorities to temporarily close Belgium's busiest airport, Brussels Airport. This was one of several recent incursions which also resulted in a brief closure at the cargo hub, Liege Airport, and disrupted a nearby airbase. "We don't say it's Russia. "We're not saying it's Russia. It is impossible to link any incident with a specific actor. "We have nothing", said a Belgian official, who spoke under condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly. We are working with our partners to either get a hold of a drone or to detect the launch point and destination. Russia has denied involvement in the drones. In a statement issued last week, its Brussels embassy stated that it had "neither a motive nor an interest in such activity". Theo Francken, Belgium's defence minister, told Het Laatste Nieuws that there are assumptions that Russia is behind the incursions. "But I can't prove" it. He said that Belgium was being closely watched because Russian assets were frozen at the securities depository Euroclear in Brussels. The EU has suggested using these funds to finance Ukraine. Russia has warned that it will respond with a "painful" response if this happens. French and German anti drone teams have arrived in Belgium. Twenty British Royal Air Force specialists are due to deploy systems that can jam electronic signals required by drones to operate. Richard Knighton told the BBC that the British armed forces would help the Belgians by providing their equipment and capabilities. The Belgian official stated that in some cases the drones were large and flew in formation. This indicates they likely had been operated by specialists who are trained. The Belgian government gave approval on Friday for the expenditure of 50 million Euros ($58.3 millions) on systems that detect drones and put them out-of-action. However, it is unclear when this equipment will be ready.
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Bloomberg News reports that Verizon wants to raise $10 billion through bond sales to fund the Frontier deal.
Bloomberg News reported Monday that Verizon Communications was looking to raise $10 billion on the corporate bond markets to fund the $20 billion Frontier deal. A person familiar with the situation confirmed this. The wireless carrier filed a five-part sale of bonds earlier that day without revealing the size. The report stated that the initial price discussion for the largest portion of the deal - a bond with a maturity of 40 years - is about 1.6 percentage point above Treasuries. Verizon didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. Last year, the company bought Frontier for $9.6 billion. It also agreed to absorb $10 billion of Frontier's debt. The company is hoping to complete its purchase of the fiber-optic provider in early 2019. It received regulatory approval for its agreement to terminate its diversity program back in May. Meta Platforms announced a bond sale worth up to $30 billion last month. This news comes as companies rush to fund expensive artificial intelligence expansion plans. Oracle, a cloud infrastructure and software company, is also looking to raise 15 billion dollars in bonds.
Air Current reports that Boeing has been given the go-ahead to begin next phase of certification trials for the 777X.
The Air Current reported Monday that Boeing was given approval by the U.S. Aviation Regulatory Agency last week to start the third phase of certification flight testing for its 777-9 Wide-body Jet.
According to people familiar with the program's progress, the aviation industry publication said that this was the biggest round of evaluations ever for the long delayed aircraft program.
Air Current's report could not be verified immediately.
Boeing and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration have not responded to'requests for a statement.
Boeing's wide-body strategy is based on the 777X, which was previously dominated by Boeing's 747 and its 777 jets. The repeated delays in certification and production have delayed deliveries by several decades, adding more than $15 billion to the costs and putting pressure on the company's finances.
As international travel recovers, Airbus' rival A350 has an opportunity.
Boeing's earnings report for last month revealed that it had delayed the delivery of its long-delayed program 777X to 2027, and taken a $5 billion charge larger than expected.
Boeing updated its assessment of 777-9 certification timeline and predicted that the first delivery would be in 2027.
The FAA approved the long-awaited increase in 737 MAX production from 38 to 42 aircraft per calendar month.
(source: Reuters)