As the head of Europe’s largest intercontinental airline, Jean-Marc Janaillac can speak with authority on the complexities of cross-border travel. He carries some political insight, too, because he is CE of a business, Air France-KLM, that is 17%-owned by the French government. At the intersection of pan-European travel and politics lies Brexit, of which Janaillac is a dispassionate observer. After all, it is not his business that will be most affected by a split between London and Brussels. Janaillac says Britain leaving the EU is neither “an opportunity nor a catastrophe” for a business created by the merger of the French and Dutch national airlines in 2004. “For Air France-KLM, and other airlines, the British market is important but it is not a huge part of our activity. I think it is more a problem for British airlines than continental operators,” he said. The 64-year-old gives a tour d’horizon of the issues facing British rivals come the leaving date of March 2019. They range from the threat of not being able to fly beyond British borders to having to having to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice – the latter being a red line in the Brexit negotiations for Theresa May. But first, the basics: will the likes of BA and easyJet be able to fly to Europe once the UK has exited the EU? Janaillac says that the British government should be planning for the worst-case scenario, in which a new agreement between the UK and the EU does not materialise. This would mean flights between Britain and the continent could be grounded because the UK will no longer be a member of the European Common Aviation Area. Story has more details.<br/>
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Garuda Indonesia is targeting a return to profit next year after a loss in 2017 as the flag carrier works to reduce expenses and operations improve. The airline is predicting a profit of $75m in H2 ending December but won’t be able to post a profit for the 12-month period following a larger loss in the first six months of the year, CEO Pahala Mansury said. Losses in the first half totaled $284m, he said. The Indonesian carrier is boosting aircraft use by reducing flight turnaround time and cutting expenses, steps that will help Garuda turn in a profit next year, Mansury said. The executive, who took the helm six months ago, said Garuda aims to bring down its cost per available seat kilometer to 5.5 cents to 6 cents, from 6.7 cents currently. “We have been increasing the utilization rate of our aircraft and will continue to do so,” Mansury said. “This will be the key factor to determine whether we are profitable in future and whether our financials improve.” By comparison, cost per available seat kilometer across Singapore Airlines group, which includes budget carrier Scoot, was 6.83 Singapore cents (5 cents) in the latest fiscal quarter ended June.<br/>
China Southern Airlines has agreed to order eight Boeing 777-300ERs as well as 30 737 Max 8 jets. It will take delivery of five 777s and 12 737s in 2019 with the balance of the order arriving in 2020. The carrier has disclosed the agreement in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. All 777-300ERs are fitted with General Electric GE90 engines while the 737 Max is exclusively powered by the CFM International Leap-1B.<br/>