SIA, first in the world to put a double bed, mattress and duvet on a commercial plane, posted a surprise loss at its marquee brand for the first time in three years. Intense competition from Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad, which offer services such as a personal butler and shower on board aircraft, has crushed profits at SIA. To fight back, Singapore Air CEO Goh Choon Phong is boosting borrowings to fund a record $53b order for new planes. “Evidently, the pressure of the Middle Eastern carriers and the lack of a domestic market is impacting, similar to Cathay,” Joshua Crabb, head of Asian equities at a unit of Old Mutual Plc, said. Singapore Air group -- which includes brand Singapore Air, a regional airline and two budget carriers -- announced a surprise net loss of S$138.3m in the three months ended March. The company, which took a previously-announced provision of S$132 million in the quarter relating to its cargo unit, said Friday it was re-integrating the business into the main airline. Brand Singapore Air had an operating loss of S$41m in the quarter while Budget Aviation Holdings - which operates the two low-fare carriers Scoot and Tiger -- had a profit of S$22m at the operating level. The loss at the main airline is the first since Q4 of fiscal year 2014. “A dedicated transformation office is conducting a wide-ranging review, encompassing network and fleet, product and service, and organisational structure and processes, to better position the group for long-term sustainable growth across its portfolio of full-service and budget airline operations,” Singapore Air said.<br/>
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For the first time in 94 years, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will be known as something else. USC has a deal in place to sell the stadium’s naming rights to United Airlines. The name of the stadium has not been revealed, though Coliseum Commission President Mark-Ridley Thomas said he reviewed the agreement and said it is "gratifying to know that this historic landmark will always retain 'Memorial Coliseum' as a part of its name." The news was first reported by Sports Business Daily, which said United would pay $70m over 15 years. That would make it the most lucrative naming-rights deal in college football. A spokesman for United did not respond to a request for comment.<br/>
Turkish Airlines may give technical assistance to the Albanian government in setting up its own national carrier, Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama announced at a May 9 joint press conference in Tirana, Albania. Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi confirmed to ATW there has been some discussion on the project, but “there is no board decision yet.” PM Rama was not able to give a deadline, but said he hoped flights under the new national carrier would start within a year. Albawings is the nation’s single carrier that operates one Boeing 737-500. Turkish ended an airline partnership in the Balkan region with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s B&H Airlines by disposing of its 49% stake in the carrier in 2012. <br/>