Shareholders of Embraer approved a deal Tuesday to sell 80% of the company's commercial plane division to Boeing, enabling Boeing to compete with Airbus in the market for jets with up to 150 seats. About 96.8% of shareholders voted in favour of the deal after Embraer overturned an injunction that had put the shareholder meeting on hold. The transaction must now be approved by antitrust regulators around the world. Under the terms of the deal finalised in December, Boeing will pay US$4.2b to control Embraer's most profitable division, supplying passenger jets to airlines. Brazil's govt, which holds veto power over important business decisions at Embraer, a former state company, said last month that it would not block the partnership. <br/>
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Over the past 5 years airline ancillary revenue has more than doubled, with Europe leading the way, according to the latest data from ancillary specialist IdeaWorksCompany. IdeaWorks estimates worldwide airline ancillary revenue—including baggage fees, assigned seats, refreshments, priority boarding and entertainment—totaled US$65b in 2018, up from $28.5b in 2014. “The prevalence of low-cost carriers in a region actually drives the level of ancillary revenue; a higher concentration of LCCs boosts ancillary revenue and a la carte results,” the company said. According the latest data, Europe and Russia are leading the way, with LCCs generating nearly 25% of operating revenue for the region. Of that, around $22.5b comes from ancillaries, up from $11b in 2014. <br/>
IFC provider Gogo, which was once considering selling or splitting up the company, now expects to close on a large investment this year as it eyes major growth—a dramatic turnaround for a company seemingly on the brink of collapse just last summer. Gogo expects to close a round of funding from strategic and financial investors by early May, on better terms than a round of debt and credit financing the company closed late last year during unfavorable debt market conditions, CE and president Oakleigh Thorne said. What is more, selling a division or more of the company now appears unlikely. “Over time, we continue to believe that the IFC industry would benefit from consolidation and we would like to play a role in that consolidation from a position of strength.” <br/>
British tourists to Spain could face airport queues of 5 hours or more after a no-deal Brexit, according to analysis by Which?, and the consumer group suggests travellers should take food, water and even nappies to survive prolonged delays. Alicante airport, which serves Benidorm and other Costa Blanca resorts, is likely to be the worst-affected airport, and Which? said visitors to Tenerife, Lanzarote and Málaga were also facing “life in the slow lane”. It calculated that if airports spent only 90 seconds making extra checks on each UK passport, it would take a single passport lane in an EU airport 5 hours longer to process a Ryanair flight with 189 UK passengers on board. Alicante is likely to be worst hit because 43% of its arrivals are from the UK. <br/>
An unprecedented travel boom in Asia has spawned new budget carriers and millions of first-time fliers, but a shortage of pilots is threatening to choke that demand. In Southeast Asia alone, LCCs have about 1,400 aircraft on order, compared with fewer than 400 for full-service carriers, according to CAPA. With the supply of pilots lagging behind, the airlines will struggle to find skilled cockpit crew. “There’s a real crunch coming,” Peter Harbison, executive chairman of CAPA . “For new airlines, it’s much, much harder and it’s going to be a real struggle.” Boeing forecasts the region needs 16,930 new planes and about 261,000 pilots through 2037. That means the current fleets and the number of pilots will need to double during that period, according to the planemaker. <br/>