American Airlines Group, the most shorted major US carrier, surged after a mention on Reddit’s Wall Street Bets forum. “AAL the next GME?” said Reddit user u/cardiffgiantthe1st in an online discussion Wednesday, referring to the stock tickers of American and GameStop Corp., the video-game retailer that has quintupled in value this week alone. American’s stock gain adds to a flurry of share increases this week as Reddit-fueled retail traders take on short sellers and drive up prices. With stock after stock, legions of day traders have identified companies with high levels of short interest and piled in. In the case of GameStop, the soaring price has forced many short sellers to give up their positions. American rose 6.6% to $16.56 at the close in New York, the most since Dec. 3, after paring gains from an intraday surge of as much as 15%. Other companies on a Standard & Poor’s index of big U.S. airlines fell. The gain isn’t “justified by anything fundamental,” Darryl Genovesi, an analyst at Vertical Research Partners, said in an email. He expressed the same view about the stock surge during the session of another company he covers, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.<br/>
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Airline industry chiefs have urged the Hong Kong government to rethink its plans to quarantine aircrew for 14 days, as Cathay Pacific told staff the rule could start after February 11. In a brief memo to employees on Wednesday night, Chris Kempis, the airline’s director of flight operations, said Cathay was waiting for confirmation on when the new measures would take effect. “Rest assured we will update you with the full details as soon as we are able to,” Kempis said. “This is also the reason why we have not been able to produce a roster beyond February 11.” While officials have yet to announce finalised plans, the IATA expressed grave concern over the damage the measure could inflict. The association called for the government to treat Hong Kong-based aircrew as essential workers and make them a “top priority” for Covid-19 vaccinations. “We are a bit worried about this potential new measure for the crew in Hong Kong and particularly because the Hong Kong aviation sector is already fragile,” said Alexandre de Juniac, the IATA’s CEO and director general.<br/>
Shares in Hong Kong's marquee carrier Cathay Pacific plunged on Thursday after the struggling airline unveiled a HK$6.7b (S$1.15b) bond sale to try to stem its rampant cash burn. The firm tumbled as much as 9%, days after it warned new quarantine measures planned for passenger and cargo crew arriving in Hong Kong would further hurt its finances. Cathay Pacific said on Thursday that it would offer five-year bonds maturing in February 2026 that could also be converted into shares at a 30% premium above the previous day's close.<br/>
Qantas and BP Thursday announced a strategic partnership to reduce carbon emissions in the aviation sector in Australia as part of their goals to become carbon neutral companies by 2050. The agreement, along with Air NZ on Thursday backing the New Zealand government’s decision to implement a biofuels mandate to cut carbon emissions in the transport sector, is a sign that the coronavirus pandemic has not killed long-term industry environmental goals. Qantas and BP said they will jointly explore opportunities and projects in areas including advanced sustainable fuels, advocacy for further decarbonisation in the aviation sector, renewable power solutions and generation, carbon management and emerging technology. "This is another move towards our ambition to be a net zero company by 2050 or sooner and help the world to get to net zero,” BP Australia President Frederic Baudry said. Qantas said the pandemic had not changed its target of becoming net carbon neutral by 2050 and even though it had been flying less, the same proportion of customers had been choosing to purchase emissions offsets. “Airlines globally have a responsibility to cut emissions and combat climate change, particularly once travel demand starts to return,” Qantas Group Executive Government Andrew Parker said.<br/>