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Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation is planning an initial public offering of the carrier, the airline’s DG Saleh Al Jasser said Monday. The listing is part of a 5-year strategy to make the airline profitable by 2020. But a decision on when to list the carrier or how much of a stake would be floated is yet to be determined, according to Al Jasser. “The programme we are going through, the restructuring programme, will help... turn that company into profitability and ready for listing,” Al Jasser said. Saudi Arabia decided in 2006 to partially privatise 6 units of the carrier. Saudia’s catering arm was the first with US$347m raised in a 30% stake sale in 2012. Saudia has since listed a 30% stake of its ground handling unit, though plans to list the cargo, maintenance and training units have so far not been followed through. <br/>

Bombardier faces a pivotal week that may see a key deal announced with Delta Air Lines but a federal aid package is unlikely to be approved in time for its annual meeting Friday. The deal Delta for up to 125 CSeries jets is critical for Bombardier as Delta would be the first major US airline to purchase the CSeries, which is entering service years late and billions of dollars over budget. Delta’s board is widely expected to approve the purchase, which includes 75 initial orders, this week. A Delta commitment, coupled with a firmed up agreement for 45 CSeries jets with Air Canada, would put Bombardier's CSeries order book above the 300 mark, allowing the company to hit a psychologically-important internal target by the time the first plane enters service in July 2016. <br/>