Iran does not have a problem obtaining financing for its aircraft deals and the delivery of purchased aircraft is on track, its deputy transport minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan said Saturday, according to state media. The state news item noted that an Iranian media outlet, which it did not name, had reported recently that Airbus had sold aircraft intended for delivery to Iran to other customers because Iran was having trouble obtaining financing. Fakhrieh Kashan on Saturday described that report as a “rumour and media lie”. “The financing has been finalised ... and until now there has been no change in that situation,” Fakhrieh Kashan said. “The timing of the delivery of the airplanes is in line with the contract.” The next plane will be delivered next summer, Fakhrieh Kashan said. Airbus said in June that two Iranian airlines had committed to buying 73 planes.<br/>
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A US congressional proposal that would eliminate income tax exemptions for certain airlines could affect major Gulf carriers, potentially worsening an international spat between US airlines and their Middle East rivals. US airlines have been petitioning the federal government for years to intervene in what they see as unfair competition by the three major Gulf carriers. The proposal, tucked deep in the Senate tax-cut plan, calls for airlines headquartered in foreign countries to pay the US incorporate tax rate if: 1) the carrier’s home country does not have an income tax treaty with the United States and 2) the carrier’s country of origin has fewer than two arrivals and departures, per week, operated by major US airlines. Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways have for years been accused by US competitors of being illegally subsidized by their governments. The Gulf carriers deny the accusation. They could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday. If the proposal passes, it could leave the Gulf carriers more vulnerable because their home countries – the United Arab Emirates and Qatar – do not have income tax treaties with the United States, according to the Internal Revenue Service website.<br/>
Business jet operators, already offering double digit raises to attract pilots, could face a labor shortfall in North America as they compete with US airlines for talent, executives and analysts said. Competition is intensifying from airlines, which generally offer higher salaries and better benefits and are taking delivery of new aircraft at a fast pace, U.S.-based aviation consultant Rolland Vincent said. Boeing and Airbus left the Dubai Air Show this week with around 700 provisional orders for narrowbody commercial jets, potentially adding to already hefty backlogs. It is expected that the world’s rapidly growing commercial aviation industry will need an additional 255,000 pilots by 2027, according to training specialist CAE Inc. US legacy carriers are recruiting employees to fly new aircraft and replace retiring staff, with American Airlines expected to hire 900 mainline pilots in 2018, up from just over 500 in 2017, said Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots’ Association (APA), which represents American Airlines pilots. “It’s really a buyers’ market and the buyer is the pilot now,” Tajer said in a telephone interview on Friday. “If you don’t pay pilots the market rate you’re going to lose them.” By contrast, in Europe corporate jet operators did not lose many pilots this year to commercial aviation because carriers had an adequate supply of pilots after Air Berlin and Monarch Airlines ceased operations, said Adam Twidell, CE of PrivateFly, a global private jet charter broker.<br/>
Whether by car, plane, train or bus, more Americans are expected to travel this Thanksgiving holiday than in previous years, jamming airports, roads and rails and testing the patience of fellow travelers. According to AAA, nearly 51m Americans — the highest number in 12 years — are expected to venture 50 miles or more from home, a 3.3% increase over last year. In the Washington region alone, 1.2m people are expected to be on the move for the holiday. AAA defines the holiday travel period as Wednesday through Sunday. “A strong economy and labour market are generating rising incomes and higher consumer confidence, fueling a strong year for the travel industry,” said Bill Sutherland, a AAA senior VP. He said the trend will probably extend through the remainder of the holiday season. Airlines for America predicts that between Nov. 17 and Nov. 28, more than 28.5m people will fly on US airlines. AAA also says Americans will pay the lowest holiday airfares since 2013.<br/>