Prime minister Justin Trudeau’s govt is loosening the legal shackles on Air Canada by easing its maintenance requirements after the carrier agreed to buy jets from struggling manufacturer Bombardier. The changes introduced Thursday by transport minister Marc Garneau would alter the Air Canada Public Participation Act, a set of rules imposed when the former Crown corporation first went public 3 decades ago. The changes will allow Air Canada to move its maintenance centres within 3 provinces and change employment levels. The govt is not granting other changes previously sought by the airline in a bid to level its playing field, such as to rules that require its headquarters to be kept in Montreal and operating under the Official Languages Act. Foreign ownership limits also won’t be changed, for now. <br/>
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Eyeing to generate revenue from asset sale during the next financial year, the govt is reportedly considering selling up to 49% stake in Air India. The govt said Wednesday that it is planning to form a panel that would include members from civil aviation ministry, cabinet secretariat, Air India and finance ministry to consider selling the stake. Air India last made profits in 2007. Since then, the company has recorded losses owing to stiff competition from private airlines. The carrier is expected to earn an operating profit of INR80m in the current financial year, the govt said Tuesday. In the previous year, it posted operating losses of about INR26.36b. "Air India is expected to post substantial improvements as per the revised estimates of 2015-16," said Mahesh Sharma, aviation minister of state. <br/>
If there were any doubts about how seriously Air NZ is viewing opportunities in Australia, the airline's sparkling new lounge at Brisbane International should put them to rest. The facility is part of the airline's 4-year NZ$100m program of developing its lounge network and follows the completion of the Sydney international, Auckland international, Auckland regional and Invercargill lounges. Others are in the pipeline. Air NZ's strategic emphasis on "enhancing customer experience", both on the ground and in the air, is reaping rewards, with record results and international awards. The latest purpose-built lounge covers more than 770 square metres and with room for 200, offers more than 70% more seating than its predecessor. <br/>
After activist hedge funds nominated potential directors for United Continental's board earlier this week, the founder of one of the firms says that move is intended to help its CE, Oscar Munoz, not hinder him. "First and foremost…we have tremendous admiration for Oscar...We are supportive of Oscar," said Brad Gerstner, CE and founder of Altimeter, Thursday. "Our first response is not to launch an activist campaign. Some people have called us 'reluctavists,'" he added. Altimeter and PAR Capital announced earlier this month that they would be nominating 6 director candidates to the board. The firms have previously described United's response to shareholder discontent as "knee-jerk," referencing how the airline tapped 3 new board members and expanded the size of the board after Altimeter and PAR announced their campaign. <br/>