Portuguese green energy investments that require European Union funds and the privatisation of airline TAP are among the projects at risk of being derailed in the wake of Prime Minister Antonio Costa's resignation, experts said on Wednesday. Costa resigned after an investigation into alleged corruption in his inner circle around projects linked to lithium mining, green hydrogen and a large data center. Prosecutors detained Costa's chief of staff and are investigating the outgoing Socialist prime minister, who denied any wrongdoing. The resignation means the government will act only in a caretaker role, pending a decision by the country's president on whether to call fresh elections or allow the Socialists to form a new government. Miguel Frasquilho, an economist and former TAP chairman, said the privatisation of the national carrier, which the government hoped to start this year, will be suspended and "it will only be able to proceed with a new government" exercising full powers. Frasquilho, however, added that TAP's sale value might benefit from a longer wait. "The harsh restructuring imposed to make the company profitable and sustainable is now bearing fruit and the government should not rush its privatisation," he said. <br/>
star
Korean Air Lines has offered concessions to the European Union competition regulator as it seeks approval for its 1.8t won ($1.4b) bid for smaller rival Asiana Airlines Inc. An update to the EC’s case page on Wednesday said the firms filed remedies on Nov. 3, without disclosing what the proposed fixes are. The Commission has set a deadline of Jan. 13 to decide if the deal should be cleared. Korean Air was earlier in discussions with EU regulators over a plan to sell part of Asiana’s cargo business as well as to enable entry for competitors on certain passenger routes between South Korea and Europe to appease their concerns. The EU’s antitrust watchdog had warned that the deal could thwart competition on routes between South Korea and France, Germany, Italy and Spain, as well as distort competition on the market for cargo transport services between South Korea and the EU. The proposed deal was announced in 2020 and was an attempt by Korean Air parent Hanjin Kal Corp. to stabilize South Korea’s aviation industry amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hanjin Kal said at the time it expected Korean Air to be ranked as one of the world’s top 10 airlines once the deal is completed.<br/>
Thai Smile expects to have ceased operations and transferred its aircraft and employees to parent entity Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) by January 2024. Thai Airways CEO Chai Eamsiri confirmed the timeline to The Nation newspaper last week. By January, all twenty A320-200s used by Thai Smile will transfer to Thai. According to ch-aviation fleets advanced data, nine of those 20 planes have already transferred. When the process is complete, Eamsiri says Thai will notify the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, and this will trigger the cancellation of Thai Smile's air operator's licence. However, Eamsiri says Thai may retain rights to the Thai Smile brand. The ch-aviation schedules module reveals Thai Airways has already begun operating the transferred A320-200s on routes formerly operated by Thai Smile. Eamsiri says the primary reason for integrating Thai Smile into Thai Airways is to improve aircraft utilisation and contribute to the overall profitability of Thai Airways. He says Thai Smile had utilised each A320-200 for about nine hours each day. Thai Airways intends to have each plane in the air for around 13 hours each day. By better managing the A320 fleet, Eamsiri says he expects to reduce the fleet's day-to-day operating costs by approximately 20%.<br/>
An Air New Zealand flight to Chicago has had to return to Auckland overnight because of a technical issue. Flight NZ26 departed around 8.40pm on Wednesday and was around four hours into the 15-hour flight when it turned around and headed back to Auckland, a Flightradar24 map shows. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner landed at 7.30am on Thursday – with the round trip taking just under 11 hours. An Air New Zealand spokesperson said the flight was forced to turn back to address a technical requirement which was identified en route. “This has resulted in the cancellation of this service, as further inspection had to be carried out on the aircraft, on landing,” the spokesperson said. “All customers have now been rebooked on the next available service. We thank customers for their patience while we work quickly to return the aircraft to operation.”<br/>