Turkish Airlines is interested in HNA Group's minority stake in Virgin Australia as it seeks growth in the Asia-Pacific region, according to people familiar with the matter. TK is among companies looking at HNA’s 20% stake in the airline. Deliberations are preliminary and may not result in a deal, the people said. HNA is looking to offload assets such as its stake in Virgin Australia to reduce its debt. The troubled conglomerate was open to offers for its stake in Virgin Australia as part of its efforts to cut debt. SIA and Nanshan Capital, which each control about a fifth of Virgin Australia’s shares, were among the companies weighing a bid, people familiar with the matter said last year. TK has been evaluating potential investments in other airlines to help safeguard expansion if the rise in protectionism presents hurdles to growth. <br/>
star
Over the next several months, LOT Polish Airlines will add service to Seoul and 6 new European cities from its growing Budapest, Hungary, hub. Service to Seoul will begin Sept 22 and operate 3 times a week on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. LOT CE Rafal Milczarski said "tourism and business potential between Budapest and Seoul is huge." About 70,000 passengers travel that route each year, and more than 750,000 passengers travel between Seoul and Central and Eastern Europe every year. March 30, LOT also will add service from Budapest to Sofia, Bulgaria; Prague; Belgrade, Serbia; Stuttgart, Germany; Bucharest, Romania; and Brussels, bringing its total destinations from Budapest to 12. LOT has made Budapest its first base of operations outside Poland. <br/>
The head of Air NZ warns that the industry is facing a major challenge in the growing guilt about flying. CE Christopher Luxon says 4b of the world's 7.6b people flew on an aircraft last year, which brought great advantages socially and economically. But environmentally it was a growing challenge, because airlines generated 2-to-4% of global greenhouse emissions. Luxon said in Western Europe and Scandinavia a trend named "flying guilt" was starting to appear. He said environmental concerns were driving a passenger trend away from long-haul flying, and the industry had to adapt. "People are saying, 'well, actually, I don't know if I want to jump on a plane for 26 hours to go to New Zealand, to go and see a lovely place there. I might just go to a shorter-in destination, or I may not actually use a 'plane at all'." <br/>
Losses at its subsidiary carriers contributed to SIA Group posting a nearly 21% decline in Q1 net income. The group reported a net profit of SGD111mi (US$81.9m) for the quarter, down from SGD140m in the year-ago period. Total revenue rose 6.7% year-over-year to SGD4.1b, while expenses increased 6.9% to SGD3.9b. The gains were partially offset by losses at subsidiaries SilkAir and LCC Scoot. Parent airline SIA saw operating profit climb 28% to SGD232m. RPKs were up 9% and, despite a 7.4% capacity increase, load factor rose 1.2 points to 83.2%—a Q1 record. The group said its net income was also impacted by a “higher share of losses from associated companies,” with a performance improvement at Vistara, offset by higher estimated losses from its partnership with Virgin Australia. <br/>