The CE of BA said the airline would oppose any move by its main airport, Heathrow [FERHT.UL], to raise its charges if the London hub is given permission to expand. The British government will decide on whether to build new airport capacity at London's Heathrow or Gatwick airports at some point this month, with the country's busiest airport, Heathrow, in pole position to win the right to grow. Alex Cruz, the CEO of BA, part of International Airlines Group, said that Heathrow should not hike its airport fees to pay for any new runway it builds, echoing comments made by his boss Willie Walsh, the CEO of IAG. "If we were to get some sort of news that it was going ahead at Heathrow, and Heathrow Airport were to react very quickly saying from Jan. 1 we're going to add 10 pounds (to airport charges), we wouldn't react very well," Cruz said Wednesday. "We would very much oppose such a move." Some of the funding for expansion is expected to come from an increase in the per departing passenger fees Heathrow charges to airlines, meaning airlines and passengers operating over the coming years could have to pay for infrastructure that they won't be able to use until 2025 at the earliest. Walsh has previously said that IAG's airlines will look to expand elsewhere if a bigger Heathrow increases its fees.<br/>
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Cathay Pacific, Asia’s biggest international carrier, scrapped its profit outlook and said the airline is doing a "critical review" of its business amid a deteriorating outlook. The airline’s result in the second half of the year "is no longer expected" to be better than that of the first half, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific said in a statement Wednesday. In August, the carrier reported an 82% drop in net income in the first six months of the year and warned that premium travel was declining. CEO Ivan Chu has struggled to revive profits at Cathay Pacific amid a slump in passenger yields -- a key measure of profitability in the industry. Singapore Airlines has also warned of tougher days as competition with Middle East carriers increases. With Chinese airlines offering more direct services to the US and Europe from the mainland, Cathay Pacific’s Hong Kong hub is no longer so critical for travellers. “Any targets, any projections they had have been thrown into the wind,” said Mohshin Aziz, an analyst at Malayan Banking in Kuala Lumpur. “They will have to relook at their network. They should put their arsenal on where it still works for them.” Cathay and its unit Dragonair carried 1.8% more passengers in the first eight months of this year, taking the number to 23.3m. Yields dropped 10% in the first half amid increased competition. "We are engaged in a critical review of our business, the goal of which is to improve revenues and to reduce costs," Cathay Pacific said. "The review will consider all options for improving efficiency and productivity."<br/>
Qantas will begin daily flights between Sydney and Beijing next year, returning to the route for the first time since the global financial crisis, as a record number of Chinese tourists visit Australia. Daily services, code-shared with Chinese partner China Eastern, will start Jan. 25 next year, the Australian airline said in a statement Thursday. Qantas already runs daily return services to Shanghai. CEO Alan Joyce, whose turnaround plan has delivered record profits for Qantas, is building an Asia-focused network after axing unprofitable routes to Europe. About half of Qantas’s international capacity is now in Asia, up from 30% a decade ago.<br/>“The potential is tremendous,” Joyce said. “The business travel market is another key focus for this route.” Joyce plans to load up Qantas’s domestic network with many of the arrivals from Beijing by timing touchdowns with departures to other Australian cities. Each Chinese visitor typically takes two or three domestic flights on a visit to Australia, Joyce said last year. Qantas controls about two third of the local market.<br/>