Jet Airways India is running out of money, forcing it to weigh re-starting bailout talks with Tata Group, the nation’s biggest conglomerate, according to people with knowledge of the matter. While its founder and Chairman Naresh Goyal has been discussing a deal with Etihad Airways, talks with the foreign partner stalled over the latter’s demand that Goyal step aside from his management role, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. With Jet Airways set to run out of cash in about a month, the carrier is now looking to restart talks with the Tata Group, they said. Tata said in November that it held “preliminary” talks with Jet Airways though no proposal was made. Acquiring Jet Airways’s business could give the conglomerate’s fledgling aviation unit a shot at dominating the fastest-growing major air-travel market, where fares as low as 2 cents have kept the industry unprofitable for a decade. “I don’t see a dead end for Jet, and continue to believe it is an attractive target for acquisition, subject to conditions,” said Kapil Kaul, South Asia CEO at Sydney-based CAPA Centre for Aviation. “Some of of the options under consideration may still be open.”<br/>
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British regional airline Flybe Group is close to being taken over by a consortium led by Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic, Sky News reported on Thursday. An offer for Flybe worth significantly less than the company’s closing share price on Thursday of 16.38 pence will be announced to the London Stock Exchange on Friday, Sky said, citing sources close to the deal. Virgin Atlantic has agreed to team up with Stobart Group Ltd (STOB.L), Flybe's other suitor, to form a new company that will also include the Stobart Air franchise operation, the report said.<br/>
Frontier Airlines pilots have approved a new contract nearly three years after starting negotiations. The Air Line Pilots Association said 77% of pilots for the Denver-based discount carrier backed the deal in a vote that ended Thursday. The union says the new contract, which will take effect Wednesday, will provide an average 53% pay increase. Frontier pilots have been working under a contract changed in 2011 to keep the airline out of bankruptcy. Negotiations began in March 2016 and soon turned into mediation overseen by federal officials. Pilots voted to authorise a strike in 2017. However, federal law makes it difficult for airline workers to strike so pilots staged demonstrations, including sending a "strike bus" to cities in Frontier's network, to raise awareness about their cause. “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with our pilots and believe it gives them best-in-class salary and benefits while also ensuring Frontier’s continued growth,” Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said. <br/>