United Airlines Holdings Inc.’s shares fell the most in six months after the carrier warned that the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv and higher jet fuel costs would drag profit this quarter well below Wall Street’s expectations. Adjusted earnings will be $1.80 a share in the fourth quarter if those flights remain grounded through Oct. 31, United said late Tuesday in a statement, compared with an average $2.10 from analysts’ estimates. If fighting in the Middle East keeps the ban in place through the end of 2023, the airline’s profit will be as low as $1.50 a share. “Guidance is bleak and worse than our estimates,” Helane Becker, an analyst with TD Cowen, said in a note. “Given the projections that this will be a long war, we are looking at the lower end of the forecast range and assuming no service until at least year-end.” US carriers suspended service to Tel Aviv earlier this month after the Hamas attack on Israel, and United has said it won’t restart flights “until conditions allow.” United has the most service to Tel Aviv among US-based airlines, accounting for 2% of the carrier’s annual capacity, with flights from San Francisco, Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey. United operates 28 weekly flights between the US and the Israeli city.<br/>
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Air India mapped out an aggressive expansion plan for its low-cost unit, targeting a fleet of 170 aircraft over the next five years as the airline takes on budget leader IndiGo. Air India Express is in the “final stages” of absorbing AirAsia India into its operations, according to a statement from Air India CEO Campbell Wilson on Wednesday. The company unveiled a revamped orange, turquoise and gray livery for the unit, which will retain the Air India Express brand. The move marks the latest step in Air India’s renewal under the ownership of Tata Group, India’s largest conglomerate, which founded the airline decades ago and retook control of the flagship carrier in 2022. The merger and new aircraft will roughly triple the Air India Express fleet from its current levels. Air India Express will add 50 of the 170 narrowbody aircraft over the next 15 months, Managing Director Aloke Singh said at an event in Mumbai. The airline will fly domestic and short-haul international routes, Singh said, pitting it directly against Indigo, a dominant force in India with about 63% of the domestic market. The new planes are a part of 470-jet deal inked by Air India in February. Air India Express aims to double its domestic and international market shares from about 8% and 12% respectively as it gears up services to the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South Asia, Singh said.<br/>