US regulators closed a probe of five of the largest airlines after finding no price gouging or unfair service changes following a deadly Amtrak crash in 2015 that shut down trains in the Northeast. Investigators found that fares increased on some routes and decreased on others after the derailment and that there were “no unconscionable increases” of prices beyond normal levels, the Transportation Department said in a letter to the airlines posted on its website Wednesday. American Airlines, Delta, United Continental, Southwest and JetBlue were part of the probe. The Transportation Department’s investigation covered 76 flight segments on 62 routes. The inquiry is separate from a broader Justice Department probe into possible price collusion by American, Delta, United and Southwest, the four largest US airlines. There have been no updates about the status of that effort, which began in July 2015 to examine whether airlines were cooperating on capacity decisions to maintain pricing power.<br/>
general
Surveillance video released by Oklahoma City police showed people rushing to help a Southwest Airlines employee after he was fatally shot while crossing a road outside the Will Rogers World Airport. Police said Lloyd Dean Buie, 45, killed Michael Winchester, 52, on Nov. 15. Winchester's body is barely in the camera's frame when he is shot. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Buie was later found dead in his pickup truck in the parking garage from which he shot Winchester. Oklahoma City Police Capt. Paco Balderrama said the second shot heard on the video is of Buie taking his own life with a handgun. Authorities said the shooting was likely in retaliation for Buie having lost his job with the airline last year. Buie used to work as a ramp agent under Winchester, but quit in April 2015 after being asked to take a drug test. <br/>
Construction of Changi Airport's Terminal 4 is now complete, Changi Airport Group announced Friday. It achieved the Temporary Occupancy Permit this month, and the next stage of development will be focused on its interior fittings, as well as preparing the terminal for operations, CAG said. The terminal's design focuses on the experience of the passenger, making the check-in and boarding process fast and seamless, it added. Construction work on T4 commenced in early 2014, and it is now preparing for its opening in the second half of 2017, it added. "The preparatory works in the lead-up to its opening will involve the installation and testing of key airport systems and processes including the new FAST self-service and automated options covering check-in, bag-drop, immigration clearance and boarding. There will also be training and familiarisation programmes organised for airport staff and partners, to prepare them for operations in the new terminal," CAG added. <br/>
Deliveries to China by Boeing, the largest US exporter, support approximately 150,000 American jobs every year, Vice Chairman Ray Conner said. Chinese customers are expected to take delivery of 30 percent of all its top-selling 737 models and about 25% all aircraft produced in Washington State and South Carolina, Conner said Thursday at a National Committee on US-China Relations event in New York. "Obviously these deliveries are very significant to the nearly 76,000 Boeing employees who design, assemble and support our commercial airplanes," Conner said. "China is enormously important to our success as a company and as a major US exporter." The comments come as Boeing, long a bellwether for trade relations between the world’s two largest economies, faces new risks from US President-elect Donald Trump’s threats of punitive tariffs on China. A trade war could cause Boeing to lose a chunk of the $1 trillion market for airplane it forecasts over the next 20 years, and one Communist Party newspaper recently said orders could be given to Airbus Group should a trade tiff erupt.<br/>
Dubai aims to spend $35.7b to develop its second airport and logistics hub in the south of the city and is likely to rely on debt for a significant part of the financing, two people with knowledge of the plan said. The investments will be made in Dubai World Central and associated facilities, including Al Maktoum International Airport, over the next 12 years, the people said. The spending plan is outlined in documents inviting banks to bid for a $3b loan the government is seeking to raise for initial expansion, the people said. HSBC Holdings is the financial adviser on the loan. The loan is being raised by a special purpose company, which will be paid by Dubai’s department of finance based on a formula linked to passenger numbers at the city’s two airports, said the people. The company will also raise future funding for the project including debt, the people said.<br/>
Airbus Group has delayed delivery plans for one of its newest long-range planes, adding to pressure on the European plane maker to meet commitments to airline customers. TAP Portugal CE Fernando Pinto Friday said the carrier’s first A330neo plane wouldn't arrive until March 2018. Airbus had initially promised the plane would be delivered around the end of next year. Airbus is upgrading its A330 widebody with engines made exclusively by Rolls-Royce Holdings. The enhancement, called the A330neo for new engine option, promises greater fuel efficiency and range. Airbus declined to comment. For Toulouse, France-based Airbus, it is the latest in a string of setbacks which have hit the airplane maker. Airbus is struggling to meet a target to deliver more than 670 planes this year. The company has to deliver at least a record 94 planes this month to achieve that promise to shareholders. Plane deliveries are crucial to Airbus’s cash flow.<br/>