Air India has floated a tender to raise US$535m to bridge finance a loan raised to acquire 3 Boeing 777-300ER planes. Two of the planes will be used by the govt for ferrying important officials, a spokesperson said. The planes are part of the historic and much-debated $15b 111 plane order placed by the airline in 2005-06. They included 68 Boeings and 43 Airbus planes. The Boeings included 15 777s, 12 of which have been delivered. They are deployed into long haul routes like the US. Two of the remaining 3 will be delivered in January and the last one in Feb 2018. The bridge finance will be availed for 12 months or till the refinancing of the loan, whichever is earlier. The airline has solicited interest from lenders for loan worth up to $535m, for which 2 separate term sheets would be inked. <br/>
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ANA has announced the expansion of its code share agreement with Vietnam Airlines, providing additional benefits to its ANA Mileage Club members. Since the second half of 2016, ANA has been cooperating with Vietnam Airlines on codeshare flights and mileage programs, and has introduced Vietnam Airlines' cabin attendants as in-flight service assistants on ANA flights. The newest expansion forms part of the strategy of the commercial and capital partnership agreement between the two companies. Now, code share flights from Hanoi to Siem Reap in Cambodia and from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City have been added, allowing ANA Mileage Club members to accrue miles on all Vietnam Airlines operated flights on those routes. <br/>
A United Airlines flight bound for Washington was forced to return to its departure airport in Beijing after a passenger became involved in an altercation with a member of the cabin crew. Flight UA808 left Beijing Capital International at around 7pm Friday carrying 212 passengers, but it sent out an emergency code around 2 hours later. News reports suggested that the passenger in question had been involved in a dispute with someone sitting in a neighbouring seat and then turned on a flight attendant who tried to calm the situation. The flight log said the crew had issued an alert at threat level 2 – sent in cases of physically abusive behaviour – after attempts to alleviate the situation failed. According to The Beijing News, the incident began when 2 passengers became involved in an argument. <br/>
Los Angeles International is unique among American airports. Most big hubs have one or two dominant airlines. But LAX is a major base of operations for each of the 5 largest airlines in the US. This has led to epic congestion there -- and a brutal competitive environment. A few years ago, United Continental was the largest carrier in Los Angeles, but it has slimmed down since then. However, United's new leadership team now appears determined to grow again in Los Angeles. In 2018, United plans to continue its growth at LAX by adding more short-haul flights. Cities under consideration for new routes include Eugene, Medford, and Portland in Oregon and Spokane in Washington. "The key to making Los Angeles work is really having lots of connectivity and feed here," said company president Scott Kirby in late September. <br/>
United Continental Holdings is considering replacing older wide-body planes with new Boeing 767 jets. Boeing stopped making the passenger version of the twin-aisle plane 3 years ago but recently increased production of models converted for use as military refuelling tankers and freighters. Now Boeing is looking at ways to restart production of a passenger 767 to meet emerging demand from airlines seeking to replace aging jets in the next several years, according to people familiar with Boeing's plans. The focus is on reviving the 767-300ER, the most popular version of the jet family which can seat about 200 passengers. This would also help satisfy demand before the company launches a new twin-aisle jet in the middle of the next decade. <br/>
SAS issued preliminary financial results Nov 3, prior to releasing its full-year financial figures Dec 12. The carrier’s financial year ended Oct 31. The airline anticipates full-year revenue for 2016/17 to amount to roughly SEK42.5b (US$5.2b), compared to SEK39.5b for the preceding 12 months, with pre-tax income of around SEK1.7b, up from SEK1.4b for the previous year. In its forthcoming 2017-18 financial year SAS expects to increase its capacity by just 1-3%, a dip on previous expansion rates. SAS anticipates that total market capacity will accelerate in autumn and winter 2017/18 compared to a year earlier, but it plans to consolidate the capacity growth it has introduced in recent years. The introduction of larger aircraft to the fleet also means that SAS expects a year-on-year drop in its load factors at the start of its fiscal year. <br/>