United announced Tuesday that it would place the largest order for airplanes in its history and create about 25,000 jobs a year after a pandemic devastated its business, betting on a domestic travel boom and demand for more expensive, premium seats. The order, for 270 single-aisle Boeing and Airbus planes, is the biggest aircraft purchase from a US airline in a decade and will allow United to increase the number of planes in its fleet and their average size. As part of that expansion, the company expects to hire more people, including up to 5,000 in Newark and 4,000 in San Francisco. United’s purchase is the strongest signal yet that airline executives believe that the coronavirus pandemic is petering out in the United States and that demand for travel is set to increase strongly in the next several years. Just a year ago, the airline industry sought government bailouts and borrowed billions of dollars to survive. The order is also a big win for Boeing, which has struggled to regain its credibility with regulators and airlines after two fatal crashes grounded its top-selling plane, the 737 Max. The manufacturer will supply 200 of United’s new planes, all versions of the 737 Max. Airbus will provide the remaining 70, all from the A321neo line, which competes directly with the Max. United, which is based in Chicago, declined to say how much it was paying for the planes or how the orders would be financed.<br/>
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United plans to add 25,000 union jobs by 2026, a hiring spree aimed at supporting a massive jetliner order it announced Tuesday as the industry’s worst-ever crisis starts to fade. United has about 68,000 unionized workers currently, the airline said. The new jobs would be a more than 36% increase. The airline is planning to add 500 jets in the coming years, including 270 Boeing and Airbus planes it announced on Tuesday, along with new interiors that have seatback screens, larger overhead bins and other amenities. The jobs will be focused at United’s major hubs like those at Newark, New Jersey, where it will add 5,000 positions, as many as 4,000 at San Francisco, 3,000 in each Washington Dulles, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles. United and other carriers received $54b in federal coronavirus relief in exchange for not furloughing workers or cutting pay rates. But airlines urged employees to take early retirement packages and other voluntary options during the coronavirus pandemic to cut their payrolls.<br/>
United Airlines’ CE Scott Kirby anticipates broader transatlantic travel routes will soon re-open, as governments confer about the safest way to re-initiate cross-border travel after more than 15 months of travel restrictions. During a 29 June event highlighting a new aircraft order, Kirby says United is in discussion with the administration of President Joe Biden to allow non-US citizens and non-residents to re-enter the USA. The USA closed its borders to tourists from Europe’s Schengen Area in March 2020, soon after the WHO declared the coronavirus a global pandemic. “We continue to work with the administration on the data, the science. We’re encouraged to see progress on opening up the transatlantic [corridors], the data and science certainly support opening,” Kirby says. “We’re encouraged that the administration created a working group to work with the EU, the UK, Canada and Mexico to attempt to open those borders... I don’t know if it’ll be next week or two weeks or a month, but we’re confident that they’re going to be open."<br/>
Brussels Airlines is to introduce three Airbus A320neos in 2023, following an allocation decision by its shareholders. The Belgian airline currently operates an all-Airbus fleet comprising 30 conventional A319 and A320 twinjets, as well as eight long-haul A330-300s. But it will take three A320neos after Lufthansa Group and SN Airholding approved the fleet modernisation. “It’s the very first time in the history of Brussels Airlines that the company will phase in brand-new aircraft, coming right from the manufacturer,” says the carrier. The jets will be used to replace older A319s. “As a responsible airline, with ambitious sustainability targets, it’s crucial for us to continue our path of further modernising our fleet,” says CE Peter Gerber. The A320neos will be equipped with CFM International Leap-1A engines, continuing the relationship with CFM which powers the carrier’s single-aisle fleet. COO Edi Wolfensberger says the acquisition will bring the company closer to its aim of a “fully-harmonised” A320 fleet, reducing the complexity of its operation.<br/>
Shareholders in Devas Multimedia have sued Air India in an effort to recover sums Devas won in arbitration awards against the Indian government and seize its flagship carrier’s foreign assets, according to a US District Court filing. The shareholders said Devas and its affiliates were owed more than $1.5b by the Indian government. Describing state-owned Air India as the “alter ego” of India, three Devas investors - Devas (Mauritius) Ltd, Telcom Devas Mauritius Ltd and Devas Employees Mauritius Pvt Ltd - said in the petition to the US District Court for Southern District of New York reviewed by Reuters the airline should be held liable for the country’s debts and obligations. The move comes after Cairn Energy sued Air India last month to enforce a $1.2b arbitration award that it won in a tax dispute against India, further complicating the state’s efforts to sell the loss-making airline. That case is ongoing.<br/>
South Korea’s Asiana Airlines has raised W110b ($97m) from privately placed corporate bonds. These comprise three tranches – W57b with a one-year maturity, W23b due in 18 months, and W30b with a two-year tenor, the airline says Tuesday. This is Asiana’s first bond issuance exceeding W100m since 2015 and investor response was better than expected, the airline states, reflecting positive market outlook of its ongoing, government-backed merger with Korean Air, along with expectations for a recovery from the pandemic and good cargo performance. “The market’s expectation for the merger and acquisition with Korean Air was the driving force behind the issuance of the private placement bonds,” Asiana states. The airline adds that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is currently experiencing worsening domestic and overseas business environments, reduced sales and lack of liquidity. Separately, Asiana recently gave low-cost affiliate Air Busan a W30b cash injection, by acquiring non-guaranteed 30-year convertible bonds, according to the airlines’ Korean-language corporate disclosures dated 24 June.<br/>