United Airlines Holdings Inc. shares rose sharply after the company forecast an improved industry outlook now that carriers are cutting excess flights that suppressed profits over the summer. “There’s an incredible amount of unprofitable capacity in the US marketplace and we’ve seen that exiting at a rapid pace starting in mid-August that continues into next year,” CCO Andrew Nocella told analysts during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. “The changes we’ve seen so far are only actually the tip of the iceberg.” United jumped as much as 13% in New York trading Wednesday, the most since April. Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc., Southwest Airlines Co. and American Airlines Group Inc. also rose. Prices have improved “rapidly” for leisure trips thanks to carriers that are slashing money-losing flights, United executives said on the call. At the same time, revenue from business bookings is up as more employees return to working in offices and budget carriers sell more of their new and costlier premium options. United’s Q3 operating margin of 10.5% is expected to be the highest of the four largest US airlines, Conor Cunningham, a Melius Research analyst, said in a report. Delta reported adjusted operating margin 9.4% last week, while American and Southwest both are set to report results on Oct. 24.<br/>
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From December of this year, Avianca’s new Business Class Americas, on single-aisle aircraft (Airbus A320), will be on 23 routes in addition to the 11 that have been available since the middle of this year. This option offers access to seats in the first three rows of the aircraft, with greater recline and space, adjustable headrests, cargo ports and comfort elements. In addition, passengers have meals and beverages included and connection to the Avianca on air entertainment system from their devices. The Business Class experience is also available on flights operated by Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, on selected frequencies on routes connecting Bogotá with New York (JFK), Miami, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile. “The expansion of Business Class availability in the Americas consolidates the positioning of this experience, which is based on high quality service in every detail, to offer exceptional trips. An example of this is the incorporation of comfort elements and a menu, which on most of the routes from Bogota has been designed by Colombian chef Alvaro Clavijo, recognized as one of the best in the world,” said Catalina Nannig, Avianca’s Vice President of Sales.<br/>
European airlines urged Brussels on Wednesday to do more to secure a level playing field in the industry, complaining that Chinese rivals enjoy a huge cost advantage because they can fly over Russia and do not face extra environmental costs. A number of carriers, including IAG-owned British Airways and Lufthansa have recently cancelled their routes to Beijing as they struggle with competition from Chinese airlines on Europe-Asia routes. Action is all the more important because many carriers are also facing delivery delays as planemakers Airbus and Boeing struggle with supply chain problems and, in Boeing's case, industrial action, the airlines said. At an industry press conference in Brussels, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said all flights into Europe should be required to avoid Russian airspace to ensure fair competition. "We are not allowed to cross Russia but Chinese carriers are. If you want a level playing field, we need to ensure any airline landing in Europe avoids Russian airspace. Until that happens there will be enormous advantages to Chinese carriers," he said. He also said that Chinese airlines did not have costs related to Europe's emissions trading system, describing that as another "financial advantage". The press conference, which brought together some of Europe's leading airline CEOs, was focused on improving the European sector's competitiveness. IAG CE Luis Gallego also pointed to difficulties with getting acquisitions approved by regulators in the sector. "We cannot have bigger airlines or groups of airlines, because consolidation is difficult ... we are going to kill European aviation if we don't change this," Gallego told journalists.<br/>
More than 200 Air India passengers have landed in Chicago after a bomb threat forced their flight to be diverted to Nunavut. The airline issued an update overnight via social media, thanking the Royal Canadian Air Force for helping ferry the 211passengers of Flight 127 from India to their final destination. Since Iqaluit was not equipped to house that many unexpected guests, Ottawa gave the green light to use military resources to help the waylaid travellers. Air India flight diverts to Nunavut airport after online security threat<br/>The flight from New Delhi was diverted early Tuesday morning as a precautionary measure. A spokesman for Air India did not explain why its plane could not leave Nunavut with the passengers. As for the bomb threat, Air India says it and other airlines have been subject to "a number of threats" recently, which were later found to be hoaxes.<br/>