Scheduled Kenya Airways flights were taking off as planned on Thursday morning, hours after the expiry of a strike notice by the pilots union, an airline source and the union told Reuters. KALPA, a union that represents more than 400 pilots at the carrier, issued a notice that was set to trigger a strike at midnight on Wednesday, drawing the wrath of the airline’s management and board. The pilots did not immediately start the strike, said Muriithi Nyaga, the general secretary of the union. “We are still negotiating,” he told Reuters, adding that they were set to talk with government officials. The Kenyan government owns close to half of the airline. If the strike had gone ahead, it would affect thousands of passengers and cost the airline 300m shillings ($2.47m) a day, Kenya Airways said this week. <br/>
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Korean Air Lines, Korea's national flag carrier, said Thursday its Q3 net profit more than tripled on recovering travel demand following eased antivirus curbs. Net income for the three months that ended in September amounted to 431.4b won ($302.6m), up from 134b won tallied a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit nearly doubled to 839.2b won from 438.6bi won a year ago. Sales jumped 65% year-on-year to 3.7t won from 2.2t won. The rise in earnings stemmed from a spike in revenue from passenger and cargo businesses as most antivirus curbs have been lifted. Sales in the passenger business jumped more than four times to 1.4t won from 331.9b won a year earlier. Q3 sales in the cargo division rose 12.5% on-year to 1.8t won from 1.6t won. "Demand for overseas travel has been on a sharp rise as mandatory quarantine for international arrivals have been removed at home and abroad," Korean Air said. "Passenger traffic soared 67 percent on-quarter thanks to a resumption of major air travel routes to Europe and Southeast Asia." The airline has resumed passenger flights to Las Vegas, Milan, Barcelona, Rome, Da Nang and Bali over the July-September period. Korean Air said a global economic slowdown is expected to drag down cargo demand in the fourth quarter, but demand for overseas travel will likely increase. "We will swiftly cope with possible external uncertainties like a hike in oil prices and volatile exchange rates," it said.<br/>
Garuda Indonesia rebounded to the black in its nine-month earnings, helped by a 60% increase in revenue as international borders reopened. For the nine months to 30 September, the national carrier reported an operating profit of $3.9b, reversing the $1.8b loss it posted in the year-ago period. Garuda saw revenues increase 60% year on year to $1.5b, with passenger revenue increasing two-fold. The airline has said passenger numbers grew this year as border restrictions eased, with a three-fold jump in international passengers. Nine-month expenses fell 6% to $1.9b, helped by a reduction in costs across various sectors including maintenance, as well as passenger services, though an increase in fuel expenses offset any further decline in costs. The airline disclosed nearly $2.9b in income gained from debt restructuring, which helped it swing to a strong profit for the nine-month period. Garuda posted a net profit of $3.7bi, reversing its $1.66b net loss last year. It had previously said it hopes to wrap up restructuring by the end of the year, after it gained approvals for its restructuring plan, including on debt reconciliation, capital increase, as well as state equity participation. Garuda will end the year with 61 aircraft, with low-cost unit Citilink flying 58 jets, according to earlier fleet plans.<br/>