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United Airlines is the best-performing U.S. airline stock this year. It wants to be the most profitable carrier, too. United shares are up more than 80% since Jan. 1, more than double the gains of Delta Air Lines, the country’s most profitable airline. United has been flying for nearly a century and is the world’s largest airline by capacity. The Chicago-based carrier has been trying to expand its profits by investing heavily in roomier seats and growing a network that will excite high-spending travelers, with routes going beyond vacation bread-and-butter destinations and into places like Greenland and Mongolia. “We’ve been able to offer more seats at more price points, and that has allowed us to compete with the low-cost carriers in a price-effective way for the the basic economy traveler,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of global network planning and alliances. “But it also allows us to compete with the foreign flag carriers by offering a better product in the front of the cabin.” United has the most international routes of any U.S. airline. “We still have not achieved that domestically. We’re still, you know, No. 3 or 4 depending on how you measure it,” said Andrew Nocella, chief commercial officer of United Airlines. “But we think we have a lot of runway in front of us there as well. So we’ll see where we are in a few years.” The top two U.S. airlines are locked in an arms race to win over customers. Story has more.<br/>

Air France-KLM wants to take part in the privatisation of Portugal's carrier TAP and is open to various options the government may offer, including purchasing a minority stake, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The minority government is finalising consultations with potential suitors for TAP, who also include Lufthansa and British Airways owner IAG, to hear their views before coming up with a privatisation plan. Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who had previously insisted on a total privatisation, on Oct. 9 signalled that a partial sale was a possibility. The privatisation must be approved by parliament, where the main opposition Socialists have promised to vote against the sale of a majority stake. The source said that, "considering that several schemes are being explored for the approval of TAP privatisation in parliament at a later stage, Air France-KLM remains open to the various options and is also comfortable with a minority stake sale".<br/>

South African Airways is keen to recover some R1b ($59m) in funds from a Zimbabwean legacy debt, but admits it has achieved only minimal success. The carrier’s senior management appeared before a parliamentary public accounts committee on 22 October, laying out the need to source funding after a privatisation effort failed earlier this year. SAA chief financial officer Lindsay Olitzki told the committee that the carrier had been holding “intense negotiations, back and forth” with the Zimbabwean government and reserve bank. “We’ve looked at all the options, many options, in order to get those funds repatriated,” she says. “We’ve not been that successful.” Olitzki says that, in May, the Zimbabwean side put forward a payment plan which involved retaining $9m, enabling SAA to cover in-country costs without transfers from South Africa. But she adds that the plan also indicated a repayment plan of $1m per quarter for the remaining $50m. “That’s a very long payment plan,” she says, adding that the Zimbabwean authorities are “struggling with currency” and SAA has yet to receive the first instalment. The debt was fully impaired in 2019, says Olitzki, but would be a “great bonus” for SAA if the funds can be recovered. “But the [$50m] is going to take a lot of time to be able to release, and we’re still waiting on the first payment,” she adds.<br/>

First-class travel on Japan’s airlines now comes with another perk: Limited-edition bottles of Suntory’s Hibiki 100th anniversary whisky at a relatively reasonable close-to-shelf price. The rare bottles, which can only be purchased duty-free in-flight on ANA Holdings Inc. and Japan Airlines Co., are highly sought-after items among whiskey aficionados and often sell for a lot more in liquor shops and online stores. The airlines are limiting sales to one bottle per person for those lucky enough to be traveling first class: ANA’s bottles sell for ¥50,000 ($330) while Japan Airlines is pricing theirs at ¥60,000. ANA confirmed the offer. The chance to snag the coveted whisky at a bargain price has created a buzz on internet flier forums and also offers an arbitrage opportunity, travel writer Ben Schlappig said on his blog. The Hibiki bottles by Suntory Spirits Ltd., part of Suntory Holdings Ltd., can fetch around ¥150,000 online and even more in the US and Europe.<br/>

Air New Zealand’s inflight quiz is getting a Kiwi takeover this November, with all questions submitted by trivia buffs from across the country. After inviting the nation to submit their best brainteasers, the airline received more than 1400 quiz questions. From these, more than 250 have been picked to feature onboard throughout the month, with each question displaying the submitter’s name and region. The quiz has been helping passengers pass the time on domestic flights since 2008. Air New Zealand general manager Domestic Scott Carr said the November quiz will be packed with Kiwi flavour, with submissions from all over the country. “We asked our customers to flex their trivia muscles, and they certainly delivered! From fun local facts to obscure knowledge, the variety was fantastic. Some of my personal favourites include: ‘What do polydactyl cats have more of than other cats?’, ‘Which Southland town is the self-proclaimed Sausage Capital of New Zealand?’, and the always controversial question… ‘Which country invented the dish Pavlova?’""<br/>