China's appetite for planes and pilots is building up, whetted by a slew of new airlines launched in the last three years as local governments, private firms and larger carriers fight for a share of the country's fast-growing domestic travel market. More than 10 Chinese carriers have begun flying since Beijing's aviation regulator relaxed a six-year suspension on new airlines licences in 2013. They now operate or have ordered at least 100 jets made by Airbus Group, Boeing and Embraer. Such breakneck expansion might give cause for alarm in mature aviation markets. But China's new breed of carrier is focusing on second and third-tier Chinese cities that have gleaming, newly built airports that helped stoke an 8.2% rise in domestic China passenger traffic in 2015, according to the IATA. While state carriers like Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines dominate for now, the newcomers have deep-pocketed backers like conglomerate HNA Group, plus support from local authorities as well as Air China itself. "By 2020 we want to have 40-50 planes," said Lan Yu, brand manager at Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines, a newcomer set up by the government of southwestern Guangxi province and Tianjin Airlines in 2015. Tianjin Airlines is a unit of HNA, an aviation and shipping giant.<br/>
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A league of startup companies is industrializing the process of claiming compensation from airlines, helping stranded passengers turn the table on carriers and transforming delayed flights into a fast-growing stream of revenue. Launched in Denmark, AirHelp offers to sift through your emails, check your booking information against effective takeoff and landing times for the past three years, and seek compensation you might not even know you were entitled to. The company promises to pick up all administrative and legal bills, and swiftly let customers know how much money they may collect—minus a cut of at least 25% it charges for fighting in their names. From lawyers to consumer-rights associations, compensation-claim intermediaries have been around for a long time but procedural costs typically exceeded potential rewards. “Airlines make it so difficult, that you will give up before you get reimbursed,” said Rune Knudsen, a New Yorker who relied on AirHelp to obtain compensation last year after his flight touched down behind schedule in Copenhagen. “They take away that headache.” By digitizing the claim procedure, the likes of AirHelp, Flightright, EUclaim and Gate28 are transforming the business into a mass-service that could tilt the balance of power between airlines and passengers.<br/>
Embraer made a US$33.7m net loss in Q3, up from the US$29.2m loss it reported in Q3, 2015. The Brazilian plane maker said adjusted net income, excluding non-recurring items, was USD$79.1 million, an increase from last year’s US$71.5m. Revenue for the quarter to September 30 was US$1.514b, a 17.9% increase from the same period in 2015. During the quarter, Embraer delivered 29 commercial aircraft and 25 executive jets. Its order backlog was US$21.4b, down from the US$22.8b reported in Q3 last year. During the quarter, Embraer showed the first E190-E2 prototype at the Farnborough Airshow. The E190-E2 is due to enter service in the first half of 2018.<br/>
Starting next year, the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) will introduce a new passenger service charge (PSC) tier for travel to ASEAN countries at RM35 (US$8.30) per departing passenger, down from the current RM65 (US$15.50) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Malaysia is the first ASEAN country to introduce such a tier, MAVCOM said. The aviation authority said Monday that the new tier for ASEAN flights is set between the revised PSC rate for domestic and international flights from KLIA, Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 and other Malaysian airports. <br/>