Georgia state legislators Thursday struck down what would have been a lucrative tax exemption for hometown carrier Delta, after vowing to punish the airline for ending its relationship with the NRA. Led by a Republican majority, state lawmakers passed a tax bill that excludes a jet fuel tax exemption designed to benefit Delta, the state’s largest private employer. It was the most significant blowback yet after the carrier said last week it was cutting ties with the NRA following a Florida school massacre. Delta said it was ending a discount program for NRA members and had asked the gun rights group to remove its information from the group’s website after the Feb. 14 slaying of 17 students and educators at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Delta did not respond to a request on Thursday for comment about the Georgia tax bill. Georgia Republicans had criticised the airline’s move to cut its ties to the NRA. They were led by Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, president of the state senate, who vowed to kill any tax legislation that benefited Delta. The bill that passed the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate on Thursday had previously included tax exemption language that had been projected to save Delta some $40m a year in jet fuel tax.<br/>
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Aeroflot Group reported a 2017 net income of RUB23b (US$399m), down 41% from RUB38.8b for 2016, which the Russian flag carrier attributed to higher oil prices and foreign exchange losses. Revenue for the year grew 7.5% year-over-year (YOY) to RUB532.9b. Operating profit decreased 36.1% YOY to RUB40.4b. “Higher oil prices and the change in ruble and currency correlation pattern rate put pressure on fuel costs, a key expense item accounting for 24.9% of operating costs,” Aeroflot deputy CEO Shamil Kurmashov said. Aircraft fuel costs grew 20.8% to RUB122.7m. “Given the impact of FX [foreign exchange] swings and higher fuel prices—as well as the lack of the material currency differences on returns of pre-payments for aircraft that affected the 2016 results—the financial result for 2017 was lower, reflecting the normalisation of profitability,” Kurmashov added. Aeroflot Group’s airlines carried 50.1m passengers in 2017, up 15.4% YOY. “The group continued its sustainable growth on domestic and international routes. The group utilized its significant capacity additions—up 14.2% YOY—efficiently, resulting in an increased load factor of 82.8%, 1.4 points higher than in 2016,” Aeroflot said. <br/>