Qatar Airways reiterated it is keen to buy a stake in IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, to help the Doha-based company bolster its presence in the world’s fastest-growing aviation market. The company, which signed a code-share partnership with IndiGo’s owner, Interglobe Aviation, on Thursday, first showed interest in acquiring a stake in 2015. Qatar Airways will still wait for a battle between IndiGo’s shareholders to end before it announces any decision, Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said in New Delhi. The company has no interest in buying the government’s stake in flag carrier Air India, he said. A stake in an Indian carrier will help Qatar Airways to compete with its Middle Eastern rivals by expanding in a market where air-travel penetration remains low. IndiGo has emerged as the biggest Indian airline following the collapse of Jet Airways India. India has been trying to sell Air India to help raise funds to bridge a budget shortfall. An attempt made to sell the carrier last year failed as no one showed interest in the airline. “No, we are only interested in IndiGo,” Al Baker said when asked if Qatar Airways will be interested in buying Air India.<br/>
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The Australian competition watchdog has given its official approval for Virgin Australia to co-operate with Virgin Atlantic on flights between Australia and the UK and Ireland, via Hong Kong and Los Angeles. The determination is in place until 30 November 2024 and allows for other future connecting points. “The arrangements which have been authorised will not lessen competition on any route, and are likely to provide public benefits, including through improved scheduling and enhanced loyalty program benefits,” says the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) commissioner, Stephen Ridgeway. Virgin Australia expects that the co-operation will increase its passenger numbers, making its Hong Kong service more sustainable, says the ACCC. It adds that both airlines can now coordinate on a wide range of matters, including jointly managing prices, inventory, and marketing strategies, all of which are not permitted under existing codeshare and loyalty arrangements.<br/>
Azul reported a Q3 net loss of 438m reais, taking a hit from the depreciation of the Brazilian real, the company said Thursday. Azul, Brazil’s third biggest airline, is expanding rapidly and, like other airlines in the country, has felt the impact of currency fluctuations because much of their expenses — especially aircraft rent, airport fees and fuel — are denominated in US dollars. Azul said it lost 879m reais ($216.87m) during the quarter because of exchange rate losses, compared to a loss of 329m reais a year ago. The carrier updated its operating margin forecast to 18%, from a previous range between 18% and 20% for the year. Azul also reduced its forecast for growth in available seats to the bottom of its previous guidance range to 23% growth for domestic flights and 20% growth for international flights.<br/>
Initiators of a new regional “peoples’ airline” to be based in Switzerland’s capital Bern, have started a crowdfunding campaign to launch it ahead of the 2020 summer holiday travel season. flyBAIR, which was presented to the public on 1 November, plans to begin operating daily direct flights from Bern to several European holiday destinations in Spain, Italy and Greece from 1 May 2020. Later in the year, it hopes to connect the city to a major hub such as Munich, Amsterdam or London. Currently, no commercial airlines serve the airport in the Swiss capital. Passengers must travel to the airports at Geneva, 93mi (150km) to the southwest, or Zurich, 75mi to the northeast, in order to reach any other destination by air. On its website, flyBAIR explains that it needs 2.5m Swiss francs to launch and is aiming to raise 1 million francs from the citizens Bern in the first 30 days of its kickstarter campaign. As of early morning on 8 November local time, 415,000 francs, or about 41% of that goal had been reached. “Our idea is crazy,” the website states. “We are calling on the population of Bern to support our dream because we believe that it is high time that an airline connects Bern to Europe again.”<br/>
Emirates Airline saw its net profit nearly quadruple in H1 of its financial year, but warned that stiff competition would put pressure on the aviation industry in H2. The carrier reported 1H net income of AED862m ($235m), up 282% year-over-year (YOY) compared to AED226m a year ago. Overall Emirates Group net income rose 8% to AED1.2b. “This result was driven by increased agility in capacity deployment, with healthy customer demand for Emirates’ products driving improved seat load factors and better margins,” the group said Nov. 7. Revenue for the period was down, however, declining 3% to AED47.3b at the airline and 2% to AED53.3b at the group. The lower revenue was primarily the result of planned capacity reductions during the 45-day southern runway closure at Dubai International Airport, and unfavorable currency movements in Europe, Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan, the group said. The coming months could also pose challenges, group CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said. “The global outlook is difficult to predict, but we expect the airline and travel industry to continue facing headwinds over the next six months, with stiff competition adding downward pressure on margins,” he said. The group’s profit increase was primarily attributed to a 9% decline in fuel prices, partially offset by the negative currency movements.<br/>