Portugal's flag carrier TAP reported a 35% slump in third-quarter net profit on Monday to E118m, hurt by foreign exchange losses and a big jump in wage costs. Operating costs rose 6.5% at the airline, which is slated for privatisation, to E1.05b. That was driven by a 26% surge in wage costs after the reversal of pay cuts imposed under a tough restructuring plan following a pandemic-induced bailout. The airline's operating income rose 2% to E1.284b on a 0.5% increase in passenger revenues. Passenger numbers rose 1.3% to around 4.6m in the quarter and TAP said bookings for the fourth quarter were slightly higher than a year ago. CE Luis Rodrigues said management was pleased with the performance, "despite the two major challenges we faced: the difficult situation of managing European airspace, and significant currency devaluations." TAP's recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 4.8% to E372m and its EBITDA margin - a measure of profitability - fell to 29% from 31% a year ago. Portugal's new centre-right government plans to resume TAP's privatisation in 2025 and said it had received interest from over a dozen potential buyers, including Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and British Airways owner IAG.<br/>
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Ethiopian Airlines Group said it took only a minor hit from a more than 50% plunge in the country’s currency this year, shielded by income from its international routes. Africa’s largest carrier saw a “small impact” after authorities floated the birr in July, CEO Mesfin Tasew said Monday in an interview. Losses occurred when “local money in the banks was devalued” and the airline kept domestic ticket prices unchanged as a “social service,” he said, without giving figures. The effects are limited by the fact most of Ethiopian Airlines’ passengers take international flights priced in dollars, Mesfin said on the sidelines of an aviation event in Cairo, Egypt. Going forward, Ethiopia’s move will likely be a boon for trade and the economy, he added. The birr has lost 53.6% of its value against the US dollar since the start of 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Ethiopia is also moving ahead with its plans to build a new $5b airport near the capital, Addis Ababa, that’s set to be the continent’s largest. Authorities have secured the location and are working on planning new homes at another site for farmers who were on the land, Mesfin said.<br/>
Investigators are probing an in-flight oscillation at cruise altitude which affected a South African Airways Airbus A330-300 operating a domestic service. The aircraft – flying from Cape Town to Johannesburg on 27 October – had been cruising at 41,000ft when it started to oscillate in pitch, between nose-up and nose-down. French investigation authority BEA says the movements were “slowly gaining momentum”. The first officer observed the airspeed trend vector, which predicts airspeed based on the aircraft’s progression, increasing to 40kt in the overspeed protection range. In order to avoid the overspeed the crew disengaged the autopilot and the aircraft gently reduced pitch to 1.5-2°. This halted the acceleration of airspeed. BEA says the airspeed trend vector then indicated a 40-50kt change, towards the lowest-selectable speed and angle-of-attack protection range. The aircraft (ZS-SXJ) subsequently landed at Johannesburg. Four occupants of the twinjet sustained minor injuries during the occurrence. BEA states that South African investigators are leading the inquiry.<br/>