Airlines & Lessors

Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), now a government-controlled entity of Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah, said in its May Quarterly Progress Update (QPU) it was seeing “strong indications [of] positive results” as a result of ongoing restructuring.

The problem of fraudulently obtained travel documents is outstripping forged passports as one of the key identity validation issues facing the air transport industry today.

A Korean Air Boeing 777-300 experienced an engine fire and aborted takeoff from Tokyo Haneda International Airport May 27.

India’s Jet Airways Group posted a net profit of $185 million for the 2015-16 financial year, reversed from a net loss of $342 million for the year-ago period.

China’s HNA Group will buy an initial 7% stake in Atlantic Gateway, a private consortium that owns 50% of TAP Portugal.

Italian flag carrier Alitalia is tapping its relationship with Etihad equity partner airberlin to strengthen its historically weak northern network.

Icelandic budget carrier WOW Air is to add three Airbus A321-200s, one A321-200neo and one A320-200neo to its fleet, sourced from Air Lease Corp. (ALC).

Aurigny Air Services, a regional airline based on the Channel Islands, has placed a firm order with Swiss technology company RUAG for a second Dornier 228.

Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) president and CEO Osamu Shinobe said the Star Alliance member is working to reduce unit costs up to 18% by 2020.

European low-cost carrier Wizz Air reported a net profit of €193 million ($218.2 million) for the financial year ended March 31, 2016, up 5% compared to the €183 million net profit reported for the previous financial year.

Kunming-based Hongtu Airlines has launched its inaugural flight—Kunming-Nanchang service—after the Civil Aviation Administration of China loosened its grip on approving new entrants into the domestic airline industry.

Etihad Airways Group and its partner airlines have raised $500 million in fresh financing, which will be used for capital expenditure, fleet investments and refinancing.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary believes it will be difficult to increase his airline’s load factor above 93%, which it achieved in its 2015-16 financial year.

A clear message from the 2016 SITA Passenger IT Trends Survey is that passengers prefer technology-delivered over people-delivered service.

US-based FedEx Corp. completed its €4.4 billion ($4.9 billion) acquisition of Dutch TNT Express on May 24.

Richard Anderson, who resigned as Delta Air Lines’ CEO May 2, had some direct, if tongue-in-cheek words of advice for his successor, Ed Bastian: “Don’t screw it up.”

Lufthansa has grounded three Airbus A340-600s, as the carrier reduces its summer schedule following weaker travel demand.

Lithuania-based AviaAM Leasing and China’s HNCA will create a Henan-based aircraft leasing joint venture (JV), which ultimately aims to manage a $900 million narrowbody fleet.

Dublin-based ASL Aviation Group has acquired two cargo airlines owned by the Dutch TNT Express, which is also being acquired by US-based FedEx.

Low-cost carrier Norwegian has firmed up eight Boeing 737 MAX 8 purchase options and agreed to lease two more 787-9s.

International Airlines Group (IAG) acquired Aer Lingus in September, bringing it under the Group umbrella that includes British Airways and Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling. Stephen Kavanagh joined Aer Lingus in 1988 and was appointed CEO in March 2015.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw a move to an overall $6.9 billion in net earnings in calendar year 2015 compared to a collective loss of $1.2 billion during 2014, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines will cancel 150 flights in June because of a pilot shortage again this year.

Irish budget carrier Ryanair reported a full-year net income of €1.24 billion ($1.35 billion), up 43% from a €867 million profit in the year-ago period.