Boeing
FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight from Los Angeles taxis after landing at Reagan National Airport shortly after an announcement was made by the FAA that the planes were being grounded by the United States over safety issues in Washington, U.S. March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
April 26, 2019
(Reuters) – American Airlines Group Inc cut its 2019 profit forecast on Friday, saying it expected to take a $350 million hit from the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes after cancelling 1,200 flights in the first quarter.
The company said it now expects its 2019 adjusted profit to be between $4.00 per share and $6.00 per share.
Analysts on average had expected 2019 earnings of $5.63 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
The No. 1 U.S. airline by passenger traffic said net income rose to $185 million, or 41 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $159 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.
Total operating revenue rose 2 percent to $10.58 billion.
(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: Jet Airways aircraft are seen parked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, India, April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
April 26, 2019
By Aditi Shah and Abhirup Roy
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) – The grounding of India’s Jet Airways is turning into a quick windfall and long-term opportunity for international airlines keen to scoop up nearly a million outbound passengers from what was once the nation’s biggest airline.
Jet, which previously had a fleet of around 120 largely Boeing Co planes, was forced to indefinitely halt all flight operations on April 17 after its banks rejected the carrier’s plea for emergency funds.
The carrier’s descent into crisis has benefited international airlines in the form of rising fares and demand, data showed.
Fares from India to cities such as Dubai, London, New York, Singapore and Bali in the first quarter of 2019 rose between 4 percent and 32 percent from a year ago, according to Indian travel portal MakeMyTrip Ltd.
In the peak travel months of May and June, fares to London have spiked as much as 36 percent and tickets to San Francisco are up nearly 20 percent from a year ago, according to data from travel portal Yatra.com.
“For the next three months it’s actually bonanza time for international players,” said Ashish Nainan, a research analyst at CARE Ratings. “At least until the middle of June, the fares are not going to come down.”
Due to rising demand, even before Jet’s lessors grounded planes, carriers such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, Singapore Airlines Ltd and United Airlines saw an up to a 27 percent increase in passenger numbers from India in the last quarter of 2018, data from India’s aviation regulator showed. That is the latest period for which the data is available.
India is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, clocking 15-20 percent domestic growth in recent years. It has long had only two full-service long-haul carriers, state-run Air India and Jet.
Jet is now hoping to be bailed out by a new investor, with final bids due on May 10.
INCREASING CAPACITY
Before its grounding, Jet had the biggest share of India’s outbound international air traffic, carrying 12 percent of the 7.8 million passengers headed overseas in the Oct-Dec quarter, down from 14 percent a year earlier, data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed.
For an interactive graphic on Jet’s market share, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2WvDQYi
For an interactive graphic on average daily flights by the airline, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2FeFDel
The total number of passengers traveling overseas with Jet fell 10 percent during the last quarter of 2018 even as the outbound travel market grew about 5 percent.
Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines posted a 27 percent increase in passengers from India, Cathay registered 17 percent growth and British Airways saw a 10 percent rise in the same period.
Cathay said the events at Jet combined with increasing demand for travel had led it to deploy larger aircraft with more seats on some Indian routes.
“In the long term we would certainly like to be able to offer more capacity into India, not just on our existing routes but by establishing new services to secondary cities,” Cathay said in a statement.
Singapore Airlines, in an email to Reuters, said the Indian market is “very promising” but declined to give details of airfare levels or demand patterns in the wake of Jet’s exit, citing a quiet period before the release of its annual results.
DOMESTIC GAINS
Jet’s grounding has also had a big impact on the domestic market, with inter-city air fares to major cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata soaring more than 20 percent in May and June, according to Yatra.com.
The spike in fares is expected to underpin strong earnings for IndiGo and SpiceJet Ltd, which are set to report results for the quarter ended March 31 in the coming weeks.
“Domestic Indian carriers are the main benefactors, but I suspect if Jet fails to be revived by May 10 then Vistara and other airlines that ply international routes, particularly the lucrative Gulf market, are the main winners,” said Shukor Yusof, the head of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics. Vistara is a joint venture of India’s Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.
Inadequate bilateral traffic rights between India and other countries, however, could be an impediment to foreign carriers’ hopes of winning business lost by Jet, some analysts said.
“Even before Jet’s operational shutdown, international capacity was significantly constrained,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO for South Asia of consultancy CAPA. “We have now more serious capacity challenge … this is unlikely to be stabilized in the near term.”
A new national government likely to be in place sometime after elections end in May is expected to address the international capacity constraints, and once bilateral agreements are eased airlines including Emirates, Turkish and Qatar would immediately benefit, said Kaul.
“We would love to add more flights but we are at the limit of the allocation granted to us for traffic rights,” Emirates Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori told reporters in Dubai on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Jamie Freed in Singapore and Tanvi Mehta in Mumbai; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory in Renton, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo
April 25, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it is inviting top civil aviation officials from around the world to a May 23 meeting to discuss the now-grounded Boeing 737 MAX.
The aircraft has been involved in two deadly crashes since October.
The FAA said the meeting “is intended to provide participants the FAA’s safety analysis that will inform its decision to return the 737 MAX fleet to service in the U.S. when it is made.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Source: OANN
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan “fully complied with his ethics agreements and his ethical obligations,” according to the Pentagon’s watchdog review of potentially favoring Boeing, The Washington Post reported.
“While Shanahan did routinely refer to his prior industry experience in meetings, witnesses interpreted it, and told us, that he was doing it to describe his experience and to improve government management of DoD programs, rather than to promote Boeing or its products,” the probe concluded, according to the Post.
The investigation exoneration of the former Boeing employee and acting defense secretary opens the door for President Donald Trump to officially nominate Shanahan as the official secretary of defense, replacing the resigned James Mattis.
Shanahan, who spent 31 years at Boeing, faced allegations of bias toward Boeing stemmed from his 18 months as deputy defense secretary, beginning in July 2017.
In a written statement summarizing the outcome of its probe, which began March 15, the inspector general’s office said it “did not substantiate any of the allegations and determined that Acting Secretary Shanahan fully complied with his ethical obligations and agreements regarding Boeing and its competitors.”
A spokesman for Shanahan, Army Lt. Col. Joe Buccino, said Shanahan’s ethics agreement “ensures no potential for a conflict of interest with Boeing on any matter.” He said Shanahan is focused on “retooling the military for great power competition,” executing the national defense strategy and caring for service members and their families.
The 47-page report cited examples of Shanahan strictly adhering to the commitment he made in June 2017 not to be involved in Boeing matters. It said that in September 2017, Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, approach Shanahan to brief him on a Boeing program.
“General Hyten told us that Mr. Shanahan said, ‘Stop. That’s a Boeing program. I can’t talk about it.’ General Hyten told us that he asked Mr. Shanahan, ‘Not even conceptually about future capabilities?’ and that Mr. Shanahan said, ‘No, I can’t talk about that at all.'”
It quoted Mattis, who was among former officials interviewed by the IG’s office, as calling Shanahan “my ethical standard bearer” and “part of my solution when it came to ethical endurance.”
The report said the IG received allegations about Shanahan from several sources.
In March, a watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed an ethics complaint with the IG. It alleged that Shanahan has appeared to make statements promoting Boeing and disparaging competitors, such as Lockheed Martin. This and all other allegations investigated by the IG were found to be unsubstantiated.
Shanahan, 56, joined Boeing in 1986, rose through its ranks and is credited with rescuing a troubled Dreamliner 787 program. He also led the company’s missile defense and military helicopter programs.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: NewsMax Politics
Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan speak to the media at the State Department in Washington, U.S., April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
April 25, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Department’s Inspector General has concluded that acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan did not seek preferential treatment of Boeing Co, his former employer, while at the Pentagon, a U.S. official told Reuters.
The report could come out as early as today, the official said.
The inspector general launched the investigation in March after a watchdog group filed a complaint alleging Shanahan promoted Boeing in meetings and disparaged competitors.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: A number of grounded Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are shown parked at Victorville Airport in Victorville, California, U.S., March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
April 25, 2019
(Reuters) – Southwest Airlines Co reported a 16 percent drop in quarterly profit on Thursday, saying a U.S. government shutdown, maintenance disruptions and the grounding of its Boeing 737 MAX jets knocked $150 million off its bottom line.
Dallas, Texas-based Southwest, the world’s largest MAX operator with 34 jets in its fleet and dozens more on order, said it lost more than $200 million in revenue during the quarter, above its previous estimate of $150 million.
The No.4 U.S. airline has canceled thousands of flights since the 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in March following two fatal crashes, in addition to cancellations due to bad weather and unscheduled maintenance disruptions as it worked out a new labor contract with its mechanics union.
The low-cost carrier has removed the fuel-efficient, longer-range MAX from its flying schedule through Aug. 5 as it waits for Boeing Co to submit a software fix and new training guidelines to global regulators for review.
“Flight cancellations are expected to drive unit cost pressure for the duration of the MAX groundings,” Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 70 cents per share in the first quarter, beating estimates of 61 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Total operating revenue at the airline, which launched a service to Hawaii from California last month, rose 4 percent to $5.15 billion.
(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago and Rachit Vats in Bangalore; Editing by Bill Rigby and Shounak Dasgupta)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: A Norwegian Air Boeing 737-800 is seen during the presentation of Norwegian Air first low cost transatlantic flight service from Argentina at Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci
April 24, 2019
OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian Air has agreed with Airbus and Boeing to reschedule delivery of aircraft to cut capital spending, the loss-making budget carrier said on Wednesday.
The Oslo-listed airline has shaken up the long-haul market by offering cut-price transatlantic fares, but its rapid expansion has left it with hefty losses and high debts.
In total, the announced restructurings and postponements of Boeing and Airbus aircraft delivery will reduce capital expenditure for 2019 and 2020 by $2.1 billion, the company said.
Norwegian said it would provide updated total capex guidance on Thursday, when it reports first-quarter results.
The company said its Dublin-based subsidiary Arctic Aviation Assets DAC had reached an agreement with Boeing to postpone delivery of 14 737 MAX aircraft which were originally due in 2020 and 2021.
In a separate statement, it also said that the subsidiary had agreed in principle with Airbus to restructure delivery schedule of both A320neos and A321LRs.
The deal with Airbus would reduce capital expenditure by approximately $670 million for 2019 and 2020, and $2.4 billion over the next five years, Norwegian added.
Those savings come on top of the reductions from the previously announced postponements, it said.
On Feb. 6, Norwegian announced postponing deliveries of 12 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft from 2020 to 2023 and 2024, and four Airbus 321LR aircraft from 2019 to 2020, and on April 10 announced further postponements, including Airbus 320neos.
At the end of 2018, Norwegian had multi-year commitments to take a total of 63 A320neos, 30 A321LR and 92 Boeing 737 MAX 8, its annual report published on April 10 showed.
The company said in the report it expected in 2019 to take delivery of five new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which it uses on its intercontinental routes, as previously planned.
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Tom Brown)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: A trader speaks to a floor official on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 23, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
April 24, 2019
By Sruthi Shankar and Amy Caren Daniel
(Reuters) – Wall Street was set to open flat on Wednesday after a record-setting rally in the previous session, as investors assessed quarterly reports from industrial bellwethers Boeing and Caterpillar.
Boeing Co shares gained 1.5% in premarket trading even as the planemaker suspended its 2019 outlook and reported quarterly revenue below Wall Street estimates due to grounding of its 737 MAX jets. Its stock has lost 11.5% since the deadly Ethiopian crash in early March.
Caterpillar Inc fell 2.6%. The company topped analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit but posted a 4% decline in construction revenue in Asia-Pacific, one of its key markets dominated by China.
“Thus far you’ve had pretty strong reactions to earnings and investor sentiment is nervously positive,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.
“The nervousness has to do with valuations and the concern being, ‘Am I going to get good enough results and guidance to justify the markets going higher?’”
The main indexes are holding within a hair’s breadth of all-time highs after a rally this year, sparked by a dovish Federal Reserve, hopes of a U.S.-China trade resolution and an upbeat earnings season.
The benchmark S&P 500 index is just 0.25% away from its intra-day record high of 2,940.91 hit on Sept. 21.
About a third of the S&P 500 companies are expected to report this week, determining if investors should be concerned about the start of an earnings recession or whether back-to-back quarters of negative growth can be avoided.
Profits of S&P 500 companies are expected to decline 1.1% for the quarter, according to Refinitv data. However, 77.5% of the 129 companies that have reported so far have surpassed earnings estimates.
At 8:39 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 15 points, or 0.06%. S&P 500 e-minis were down 1 points, or 0.03% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 1.25 points, or 0.02%.
Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc, set to report after the closing bell on Wednesday, were up more than 0.5%.
EBay Inc shares jumped 3.6% after the company raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts.
AT&T Inc shares declined 2.5% after the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier reported quarterly revenue below Wall Street estimates.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp shares jumped 11.4% after Occidental Petroleum Corp sought to scuttle Chevron Corp’s takeover of the company with a $57 billion bid. Occidental’s shares fell 5.2%.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Amy Caren Daniel in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory in Renton, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo
April 24, 2019
(Reuters) – Boeing Co reported a 21 percent fall in first-quarter profit on Wednesday and suspended its 2019 outlook as the world’s largest planemaker worked to get its 737 MAX jets back in the air after two deadly accidents.
The company said it would be issuing a new forecast in the future when it has more clarity around the issues surrounding the 737 MAX.
Excluding certain items, Boeing said its core earnings fell to $1.99 billion, or $3.16 per share, in the quarter ended March 31 from $2.51 billion, or $3.64 per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Rigby and Anil D’Silva)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory in Renton, Washington, U.S. March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson
April 23, 2019
By Tracy Rucinski and Eric M. Johnson
CHICAGO/SEATTLE (Reuters) – Boeing Co has told some 737 MAX owners it is targeting U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approval of its software fix as early as the third week of May and the ungrounding of the aircraft around mid-July, two sources told Reuters.
The dates are part of a provisional timeline that Boeing has shared in meetings with airline customers as it explains an upgrade to software that played a role in two fatal crashes and led to the worldwide grounding of its MAX 737 jetliner in March.
However, Boeing has not yet submitted its completed software package to the FAA for approval, two other sources said.
None of the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, said they knew for sure how long the re-certification process will take.
A Boeing spokeswoman said the company is focused on the safe return to service of the MAX and its engagement with global regulators and customers.
Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said last week the company had made the final test flight with the new MAX software before a final certification flight, indicating that the company believed it was making progress toward regulatory approval.
On April 1, the FAA said that once it received Boeing’s completed software package it would run a rigorous safety review before approving the software for installation.
The agency also plans to work with other international regulators on MAX certification in their countries and regions before lifting the flying suspension in the United States, with Boeing prepared to address any concerns, one source said.
Aside from the software certification, international regulators must also decide on new pilot training.
This process is separate from an FAA-led international review panel, which the agency has said may not be completed before the MAX flying suspension is lifted.
The two largest U.S. MAX owners, Southwest Airlines Co and American Airlines Group Inc, removed the aircraft from their flying schedules into August but have said they could use their MAX jets as spares if they are ungrounded sooner.
United Airlines, with 14 MAX jets, said last week that it expected the aircraft to return to service this summer, with deliveries resuming before the end of the year.
Boeing halted MAX deliveries to customers after the grounding in mid-March and said earlier this month that it would cut 737 production to 42 airplanes per month from 52.
One industry source said that as of last week, Boeing planned to keep the lower production rate in place for two months, meaning it aims to resume a rate of 52 aircraft in July but the timeline could shift.
Global airlines have had to cancel thousands of flights and use spare aircraft to cover routes that were previously flown with the fuel-efficient MAX.
(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Tom Brown)
Source: OANN
MAGA One Radio