Latest News
-
San Francisco and Port of Oakland resolve airport trademark litigation
According to a Tuesday press release, the City of San Francisco & the Port of Oakland have settled their dispute over the trademark "San Francisco". Port?of?Oakland decided to rename its airport to "San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport" before. San Francisco claimed in a court case that the name would confuse people with its San Francisco International Airport. According to the press release, the agreement allows Port of Oakland to refer its airport as "Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport", but restricts its use of "San Francisco Bay" and "International". Port of Oakland attorney Mary Richardson stated: "We are proud that Oakland fought and preserved the right to keep our airport's name, which puts Oakland first. It also recognizes OAK’s location in San Francisco Bay." San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu stated that the city was "pleased" that they were able to reach a resolution that met Oakland's needs while protecting the San Francisco International Airport trademark. Port of Oakland has announced that it will change its name to Oakland International Airport in March 2024. San Francisco sued Oakland in April for infringement of its trademarks, claiming the Oakland airport would confuse travelers with its similar new name. Thomas Hixson, U.S. Magistrate judge, temporarily blocked the name change later that year. He found "San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport", would likely confuse consumers into believing it is affiliated with the city of San Francisco. The port argued that this name accurately describes the airport's position on San Francisco Bay and stated that airports in Chicago, Dallas, London, Paris,?and Beijing shared their cities' names peacefully. Oakland International Airport is located just 30 miles (48 km) from San Francisco International Airport. Blake Brittain, Washington Bureau Chief; Daniel Walling, Editor
-
US companies show resilience as Iran war threats mount
The top American companies, from GM and Coca-Cola to Coca-Cola, are trying to reassure their investors that they will be able to weather the financial fallout of the Iran War despite the fact that fuel prices and packaging costs have risen. Since the beginning of the conflict, oil prices have increased dramatically. This has pushed up the cost of inputs in industries that are already under pressure from U.S. Tariffs. This increase forces companies to consider price increases at a time consumers are already feeling the strain. Reviewing company statements from the'start of war' revealed that 24 companies had withdrawn or reduced their forecasts. 35 of them have indicated price increases and another 35 warned of financial losses. But on Tuesday, a number of executives sounded confident, relying on hedging and prior purchase contracts, strong demand, or the ability offset costs in other areas. Coca-Cola is one of the companies that has been optimistic, relying on the demand for their sodas. CFO John Murphy stated that, like PepsiCo had secured some lower prices prior to the start of the current disruption. Even though the beverage giant has a higher cost of packaging plastic and aluminum, it still faces a higher price for certain finished products. Murphy stated that the company "is working hard with our bottling partners" to deal with the consequences of the Middle East situation. Wall Street has also been influenced by the optimism. Analysts increased expectations for the first quarter S&P 500 'earnings to 16.1% by April 24, up from 14.3% before the war started. David Morrison is a senior analyst at Trade Nation. He noted that CFOs and CEOs were required to give bullish signals. The market could punish these stocks if they start to sound less bullish, citing increased energy costs, or the war in Iran. United Parcel Service, for example, took a more conservative approach, repeating its revenue targets for the full year, while also warning of the potential impact that rising fuel prices may have on demand. "It's early in the year, and there is war in the Middle East." UPS CEO Carol Tome stated that high gasoline prices may have an impact on demand at the end of the calendar year. Detroit automaker General Motors, for example, signaled they've been through this before and are in a good position to navigate the storm. Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, said: "We clearly operate in a dynamic environment. This is not unusual for our industry." GM expects raw material, chip and logistics inflation to reduce annual earnings by $1.5 - $2 billion. This is $500 million more than what it had estimated at the end of last year. However, it still raised its earnings forecast for the full year, citing a strong U.S.'market and a tariff refund that was expected. Procter & Gamble, the global consumer goods bellwether, was the only one to be outliers, at least in comparison with airlines. Last week, the company warned that oil prices would cause a $1 billion loss on its fiscal 2027 profits. Jet fuel prices have nearly doubled in the last two months, putting airlines at risk of spiraling costs while also selling tickets. JetBlue Airways will?slow hiring, reduce capacity and raise fares to ease the blow following a larger first-quarter loss which threatens to derail their turnaround. The risk of further margin erosion and the 'limitation on how much cost can be passed along? still looms large. "If energy costs continue to rise, every sector of the economy will be affected." "The cost of manufacturing goods increases, which leads to higher inflation, which is then passed on to consumers, and this means a weaker consumer," said Peter Cardillo. Chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, New York. In other words, consumers are cutting back on their spending.
-
Airline cancels flights due to Middle East conflict
Middle Eastern carriers increased capacity after the U.S. - Israel war against Iran caused severe disruption. Airlines outside the Gulf are continuing to reroute routes between Europe and Asia, away from major hubs within the region. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES The largest airline in Greece will resume flights from Athens to Tel Aviv on April 28. Flights from Heraklion and Rhodes, as well as Larnaca and Rhodes, will be resumed on May 21. Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights are cancelled until June 26. Riyadh will resume its flights on May 21. The flights to Beirut will be cancelled until June 26. Flights to Dubai will be cancelled until June 29. Erbil, Baghdad and Baghdad are also affected until July 2. 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 suspends its flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Dubai until May 10. KLM suspends flights to Riyadh and Dubai until the 14th of June. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has suspended its flights to Dubai, Riyadh and cargo freighter service to Dubai and Riyadh up until May 31, and until June 30, respectively. In April, the airline will increase passenger flights from London to Paris and Zurich to meet the increased demand for travel to Europe. It intends to continue operating all scheduled flights after June. The U.S. carrier cancelled flights between New York and Tel Aviv, and delayed the start of Atlanta-Tel Aviv until September 5. The launch of the Boston-Tel Aviv flight, scheduled for late October, was delayed. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES Israel's carrier announced that it will continue to expand its operations and, from April 27, operate flights to approximately 40?active Gateways. All flights to Dubai have been cancelled until May 31, 2019. EMIRATES The UAE airline announced that it will be operating a reduced schedule and flying to over 100 destinations. ETIHAD AERWAYS 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 to July 2 and continues to avoid the airspaces of Iraq, Iran Syria, and Israel. The airline will only resume its Dubai flights by October. British Airways, owned by IAG, will reduce?flights in the Middle East once services resume. Jeddah?will be permanently dropped as a destination. Plans to reduce service to Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv from two daily flights to one daily flight by July? Riyadh service will be reduced from two to one daily flight from 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 canceled flights to Tel Aviv until May 31. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until June 1 and until May 31. The Polish airline has suspended flights to Tel Aviv till May 31. The airline also cancelled flights from March 31 until May 30 to Beirut and Riyadh. The airline will operate its winter route from Dubai to October. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa has suspended flights from Switzerland, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Edelweiss to Dubai and Tel Aviv till May 31. The suspension of flights to Abu Dhabi is in effect until October 24, as are flights to Amman, Beirut Dammam, Riyadh Erbil Muscat and Tehran. Eurowings, a low-cost carrier, has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Beirut until May 11, Erbil and Beirut until May 14, and Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman to?October 24. ITA Airways has extended the suspension of flights from Tel Aviv, Riyadh, and Dubai to May 31. MALAYSIA AIRLINES Malaysian Airlines has suspended all flights to Doha through June 14. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost airline 'has delayed the launch of its Tel Aviv and Beirut service to June 15th. 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 airline is adding more flights to Rome and Paris in response to a surge in demand for European destinations. The number of flights to Paris is increasing from three to five per week, and the Perth to Singapore service will go from daily to ten flights a week. A new schedule will be implemented gradually for flights starting in mid-April, and running until late July. QATAR AIRWAYS From May 1, the carrier will resume daily flights to Damascus and Bahrain, as well as Kozhikode. Qatar Airways has announced that it will expand its international flight network from June 16 to more than 150 destinations. ROYAL MAROC The Moroccan carrier has announced that flights to Doha and Dubai have been cancelled until 30 June. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended its Singapore-Dubai suspension until May 31. TURKISH AIRLINES SunExpress - Turkish Airlines' joint venture Lufthansa has cancelled flights from Dubai to May 21. WIZZ AIR Low-cost carrier suspends flights from Europe to Amman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until mid-September. All flights to Medina are suspended indefinitely. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira Louma, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Olesnska, Bernadette HOG, Boleslaw LaSocki, Romolo Tosiani. Rod Nickel and Lisa Shumaker edited the book.
-
FedEx and UPS promise to refund tariff refunds to their customers
FedEx and UPS, the two largest parcel delivery companies in the United States, said that they would refund any tariff refunds to customers on Tuesday as the U.S. Government began reclaiming the levies illegally collected. Last week, thousands of 'companies' rushed to submit claims following the launch of a system to refund tariffs to companies by the U.S. Government. The U.S. Supreme Court, in?February, struck down the tariffs that President Donald Trump sought under a law intended to be used in times of national emergency. This was a crushing defeat for the Republican president. Around $166 billion of U.S. tax collections could be refunded. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have disrupted global trade and affected earnings of a variety of companies including logistics providers. UPS CEO Carol Tome stated in an investor call after earnings that the company collected tariffs worth about $5 billion from its customers. "We are working closely with Customs Border Protection in order to obtain these refunds. We are working with the U.S. Tome said that the U.S. government should not be sued. She added, "We believe it will take some time before the Treasury sends us money. But as soon as it does, we will remit that money?right to our customers." FedEx also said it would refund customers "as quickly as it receives refunds from CBP." (Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
-
JetBlue to increase fares and reduce capacity as fuel costs rise, causing a quarterly loss
JetBlue Airways announced on Tuesday that it will slow hiring, reduce?capacity, and raise fares in order to lessen the impact of rising jet fuel prices. The carrier reportedly reported a larger first-quarter loss which threatens to derail its turnaround efforts. Joanna Geraghty, CEO of JetBlue Airways, said that the airline has also suspended its previous full-year forecast due to external factors. U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. This has disrupted nearly a fifth of world oil and gas supply. Fuel costs are on the rise, and this puts pressure on smaller carriers such as JetBlue. They have less financial flexibility, and they're more exposed to uncertainty. Geraghty stated that the three main levers at our disposal are to adjust fares in order to align them with input costs, to moderate unproductive capacity, and to pursue?additional savings opportunities. The carrier's shares were up over 4% late in the morning as it saw its pricing power improve during the quarter. This was due to strong demand, its expansion into Florida and strength in the premium segment. JetBlue will continue to seek ways to improve its revenue performance for the remainder of the year. The airline said it plans to reduce capacity further during shoulder and off-peak periods during the second quarter, and the last half of the year following the peak summer travel season. JetBlue also said that it will slow down hiring in order to meet capacity expectations. It expects to save money on landing and maintenance fees by reducing flying. The airline expects to recover 30% to 40% of increased fuel costs by the second quarter and all of them by early 2027. The New York-based airline expects to see an average fuel cost per gallon between $4.13 and $4.28 during the second quarter. This compares with $2.40 a gallon in the same period of last year. Revenue per available seat mile (a metric that is commonly used to measure pricing power) increased by 6.5% during the same period. "While the demand outlook ?is encouraging and JetBlue ?is doing everything it can to manage (costs), we expect concerns around the competitive implications of a White House bailout of the ultra-low-cost-carrier segment to weigh on the shares," TD Cowen ?analyst Tom Fitzgerald said in a note. The airline stated that it would continue to expand in South Florida regardless of any potential bailout for?Spirit Airlines. It has also taken advantage of the gate availability. Geraghty said to employees that JetBlue did not consider 'bankruptcy', according a memo viewed by?. He added the carrier had access to additional capital and ample liquidity. The airline secured a $500m debt financing commitment with the option to raise $250m more using additional planes as collateral. JetBlue's adjusted loss per share was 87 cents, while analysts expected a loss of 71 cents.
-
Ryanair boss: Risk of jet fuel shortages in Europe is receding
Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair Group, said that the threat of a 'jet fuel shortage' in Europe because of the Middle East conflict is receding. Fuel companies have informed the airline that they do not see any risk of disruptions until the end June. He predicted that Ryanair would be able to lower fares by using its fuel hedging positions. O'Leary warned in April that the jet fuel supply into Europe could be disrupted as early as June if the conflict did not end by this month. Fuel companies are more confident now than they were a week or two ago, O'Leary said. In an interview with Reuters, O'Leary said that the risk of a disruption in supply was receding. He cited a Monday?conference call held by all of their suppliers across Europe. He dismissed a warning issued by Sweden on Tuesday about a possible shortage of "jet fuel". NO SUPPLY DISSRUPTION BEFORE JUNE. "A month back, we said we'd be fine until the end May. O'Leary stated that the?fuel companies now say they see no risk of supply disruption until June. He said that Britain was the most vulnerable market due to its high oil imports from Kuwait. He also said that the risk has receded, and that the oil companies that Ryanair works with have stated that they will step in if Kuwait runs out. O'Leary stated that while demand for last minute bookings was stronger than expected in April and may, it was "a bit weaker" between June and September. This prompted the airline to lower certain fares to stimulate interest. FARES UNDER PRESSURE DOWNWARD He said that Ryanair would also continue to keep the downward pressure on prices in order to put pressure rival airlines, whose fuel costs were not hedged as far as Ryanair. He said that average fares would therefore not grow by the 4-5% forecast previously, but instead remain flat in the financial year ending March 2027. He said: "If I were to guess today, and if I were to guess completely, I would say that our original planning predicted fares going up by 4, 5%. I think we're moving towards a kind of 'flat' fares compared with last year. He added, "We'd still be very profitably if the fares were flat in this year." He added that if the Middle East conflict ends quickly, "fares may rise by more than three or four percent". Reporting by Gwladys Fauch in Oslo; writing by Padraic Hapin; editing done by Sarah Young and Keith Weir
-
Germany talks to Poland about oil supplies after Russia announces a halt in supply
Germany and Poland are in discussions to see if short-term replacement oil can be delivered to the PCK Schwedt refining plant via Gdansk port after Russia announced it would stop the supply of Kazakh oil through the Druzhba pipe. A spokesman for the German Economy Ministry said that this was the case. The spokesperson said that the talks were in progress and refused to give any details. She noted that the supply contracts are between the companies concerned, but the government was closely following the process. A spokesperson for the Polish energy ministry stated that the country has the technical capability to handle these deliveries and any possible increase in volume depends on operational, logistics and market factors. Russia announced that it would stop supplying Kazakh crude oil to Germany via the Druzhba Pipeline on May 1. This will force a major refinery near Berlin to make up for the shortfall. Kazakhstan's oil exported to Germany via the Russian pipeline amounted to 2.146 mt, or 43,000 barrels a day last year. This is a 44% increase compared with 2024 and 730,000 tonnes in the first quarter 2026. (Reporting and writing by Holger Hansen, Friederike Heine and Madeline Chambers, editing by Madeline Chambers).
-
UPS maintains full-year revenue targets, but says that fuel prices spike from the Iran war could affect demand
United Parcel Service reiterated on Tuesday its full-year target for revenue despite a projected?return of growth in the?June quarter. This was due to soaring fuel costs resulting from?the U.S. war with Israel in Iran, which put an improvement in their business at risk. The largest parcel delivery company in the world forecast revenue of $89.7 Billion for 2026, an increase of 1.2%. UPS shares, which are regarded as economic indicators because they include customers such as retailers, factories, and prescription drug manufacturers, fell by 5.2% during early trading. Shares of rival FedEx fell?1%. "It's early in the year, and there's a war in Middle East." Carol Tome, CEO of Carol Tome Inc. said that high gasoline prices may?potentially affect demand towards the year's end". UPS charges a fuel surcharge for packages moving on planes and vehicles, protecting its profits from price increases. Brian Dykes, CFO, said that the surcharges would boost revenue, but costs are also higher. Dykes stated that "we don't view this as a windfall." UPS and FedEx, two U.S. logistics firms, have seen their volume drop due to changes in U.S. Trade Policies. This includes tariffs on products from China and key exporting nations as well as the removal of duty-free treatment "de minimis", which was previously applied to low-value ecommerce shipments linked to China-linked discount retailers such as Shein or Temu. UPS has decided to deliver millions of packages fewer for Amazon.com as it eliminates work that is 'weakening profits. UPS CEO Tome stated that the company will return to revenue growth and profit growth in the second quarter, due to the transition from lower-paying shipments to higher-paying premium shipments as well as the cost-cutting measures it has taken recently. UPS has been cutting thousands of jobs over the past year as it increases automation at sorting centers in an effort to reduce operating costs. Atlanta-based UPS reported Tuesday adjusted net income per share of $1.07, compared to $1.49 a share a year earlier, but surpassed analysts' expectations of $1.02 according to data compiled LSEG. The quarterly revenue dropped 1.6% to $21.2 Billion. The core domestic segment saw a 6.5% increase in revenue per unit. Analysts have said that the domestic segment of the company, which is its top revenue generator, has missed their expectations. Jefferies stated that the segment's operating margin was 4%, which is at the lower end compared to its expectation of 4%-5%.
Joby performs first point-topoint air taxi flight test in New York
Joby Aviation has been testing the first point to point?air taxi demonstration flight in New York City for a week as it gets closer to gaining government approval for commercial electric'vertical takeoff & landing?aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced a pilot program in September that included the testing of eVTOLs.
On Monday, a Joby aircraft departed JFK Airport and landed in the existing heliport networks of New York, including Downtown Skyport and the West 30th Street & East 34th Street Heliports located in Midtown. There are more tests planned throughout the week.
Air taxi companies are racing to obtain?approvals for air taxi aircraft and to commercialize them to meet the demand for a faster, more efficient and sustainable urban transportation. They promote eVTOLs which can land and take off vertically, making it easier for them to get to airports.
The company aims at connecting Lower Manhattan and?Midtown with JFK within 10?minutes, a journey that would otherwise take over an hour due to New York traffic.
Joby has said that it is making progress on the FAA certification process after its recent flight. This was a necessary step before FAA Pilots could perform additional tests.
Joby stated that the New York campaign builds on a series of piloted demonstrations in the San Francisco Bay Area. The New York campaign places the aircraft into real flight routes, and in real environments, within one of the most dynamic cities around the world, to demonstrate the acoustics, and performance metrics, which are critical for unlocking the urban aerial share market.
In June, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create the program. Other countries such as India, China, and the United Arab Emirates are also working to accelerate deployment of eVTOLs. These aircraft could start carrying paying passengers later this year.
Delta Air Lines will invest $60 million and get a small stake in the partnership in?2022. The partnership will eventually provide air taxi transportation to and from New York Airport and Los Angeles Airport. (Reporting and editing by Edward Tobin; David Shepardson)
(source: Reuters)