Taiwan directed schools and offices along its eastern coast to close early Thursday as Typhoon Nepartak threatened to unleash strong winds and heavy rain across the island through Friday. Airlines canceled or rerouted flights.<br/>The first typhoon to form in the northwest Pacific Ocean this year recorded sustained winds of 198km an hour, gusting to 245km an hour, the Central Weather Bureau said. As of 4:15 p.m., the storm was 300 kilometers off the coast of eastern Taiwan’s Hualien. Wind and rain are expected across the whole island through Friday, the agency said. Strong winds are likely to lash the island in the early morning, Wu Wan-hua of the Central Weather Bureau said in a broadcast shown on cable news channels. Cathay Pacific cancelled or rerouted 41 Taiwan flights scheduled on Thursday and Friday. Taiwan’s largest carrier China Airlines Ltd. cancelled flights into or out of southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung between 7 p.m. Thursday and before 2 p.m. Friday. High speed rail service will be suspended Friday until 5 p.m. In China, the meteorological administration forecast Nepartak to make landfall Saturday morning on the coast of Fujian province in the southeastern part of the country, which has experienced severe flooding after days of record rainfall. <br/>
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The US government proposed eight airlines to begin scheduled passenger service to Havana, as carriers hustle to open regular flights to the Cuban capital for the first time in half a century. Flights may begin as early as this fall, the DoT said Thursday. The airlines winning approval for Havana service were American, Delta, United, Southwest, Spirit, Alaska, Frontier and JetBlue. The proposed flights would begin normalising air links between the US and Cuba after the Cold War rivals’ decades-long estrangement. US airlines applied for almost 60 flights a day to Havana, triple the 20 daily frequencies authorized under the arrangement between the US and Cuba. “By restoring regular air service for the first time in more than 50 years, we have before us the chance to reunite Cuban-American families and foster educational, cultural and commercial opportunities and experiences for American citizens and businesses,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. US airlines had competed for authorisation since March, lining up scores of airport directors, travel agencies and chambers of commerce in support of their applications. Last month, the agency approved six US airlines to begin scheduled flights to nine Cuban cities other than Havana. Travellers flying to Cuba must be from one of 12 categories, including people visiting family, working journalists, people on official government business and others. Tourist travel is not yet approved. US cities set to receive flights to Havana include New York, Atlanta, Houston and Los Angeles, as well as Charlotte, North Carolina, and Newark, New Jersey. Four Florida cities will also get service: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa.<br/>
Global demand for air travel rose 4.6% in May, slowing from a strong start to the year, with attacks in major cities and the fragile global economy affecting travel demand, IATA said. Capacity measured in available seat kilometres rose 5.5%, with load factor dropping 0.7 percentage points to 78.7%, IATA said in its monthly traffic update. "The shocks of Istanbul and the economic fallout of the Brexit vote make it difficult to see an early uptick", added IATA Director General Tony Tyler. The airport association ACI Europe said that Britain's vote to leave the European Union was not expected to impact overall European air traffic levels this summer but could knock demand for air transport later this year.<br/>
A week before the one-year anniversary of the Iran nuclear deal, the Republican-led House approved measures aimed at blocking US companies from selling commercial passenger aircraft to Tehran. By voice vote Thursday, lawmakers passed two amendments directed at Chicago-based Boeing, which had offered Iranian airlines three models of new aircraft to replace the country's aging fleet. The amendment was added to a financial services spending bill that the House cleared by vote of 239-185. The House must reconcile differences between its bill and the Senate's version. The Obama administration is certain to threaten to veto any legislation that undermines the nuclear agreement with Iran. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., the amendment's sponsor, said the aircraft could be used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. "To give these types of planes to the Iranian regime, which still is the world's largest state sponsor of terror, is to give them a product that can be used for a military purpose," Roskam said. The Boeing aircraft could be reconfigured to carry 100 ballistic missiles or 15,000 rocket-propelled grenades, according to Roskam. The US, Iran and other world powers reached the landmark nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015. The deal ended international economic sanctions against Tehran, allowing airline manufacturers to re-enter the market.<br/>
Political turmoil caused by Britain's vote to leave the EU could knock demand for air transport later this year, the DG of airport association ACI Europe said. Shares in major European airlines such as easyJet, British Airways owner IAG and Ryanair have been hard hit since the Brexit vote, due to fears over travel demand and whether flying rights will be affected. The vote is not expected to impact overall European air traffic levels this summer, ACI said in its monthly traffic update on Thursday. "However, the political instability and uncertainty it has created in the UK and beyond is already hurting business confidence and might end up doing the same for consumer confidence – this could affect demand for air transport later in the year," Olivier Jankovec said. Three percent of Britons with holidays booked this summer plan to cancel due to concerns over the value of the pound, according to results of a survey commissioned by online deals website Travelzoo and carried out after the Brexit vote.<br/>
East Africa’s skies are set to become busier after Uganda floated plans to revive its national airline and carriers in Tanzania and Rwanda proceed to expand their fleets. But analysts and economists are sceptical whether demand for air travel in the region is strong enough to justify governments spending scarce funds on what have largely been lossmaking businesses. Expansion will put pressure on carriers including Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, South African Airways and Fastjet, a London-listed, Tanzania-based low-cost carrier that was launched in 2012 but has scaled back its growth targets amid lacklustre passenger numbers. Kenya Airways, where the government is the largest shareholder with a 29% stake, is midway through a restructuring and is expected to embark on a capital raising soon. State-owned South African Airways is dependent on government aid to keep operating. Despite this backdrop, Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s president, told a cabinet meeting last month that one of his priorities was to revive Uganda Airlines, the state-owned carrier that went bankrupt in 2001 and ceased operations. “Ugandan travellers are suffering because of, apparently, not having a national airline,” he told ministers, arguing that the economy was now in much better shape than 15 years ago. “I thought that our brothers in Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa would serve all of us. That, however, is apparently not the case.” In Tanzania, President John Magufuli’s government allocated funds in its first budget last month for state-controlled Air Tanzania, which currently has one aircraft, to acquire at least two more. <br/>
As a bond trader at Lehman Brothers Holdings and JPMorgan Chase & Co., Navdip Singh Judge worked for spreads and bonuses at temples of modern-day capitalism. Now, he says the global capitalist system is broken and he’s looking to mend it. The Briton of Indian origin isn’t your typical aviation entrepreneur. With business executives the world over wondering about the economic impact of Brexit, Judge aims to start a crowdfunded budget carrier by raising GBP8.5m that will fly a single plane between London and some Indian cities. He has vowed to plow most of the profits into charity. The plan is to raise 3.5m pounds from the public online, and 5m pounds more from wealthy individuals using a UK tax-saving plan. “I am not trying to reinvent any wheel or criticize anything,” said Judge, who’s now at BGC Partners Inc. “The only thing I am doing is to modify capitalism -- that’s the inclusive part, where businesses support society and the planet.” Judge, 51, has little history of a crowdfunded airline to draw inspiration from and airline industry’s past is riddled with failures, billions of dollars in losses and low profit margins. Judge says his venture hasn’t yet managed to get the desired response since the two-month crowdfunding campaign was kicked off on June 1. He declined to reveal how much he has raised so far. Backers won’t get an equity stake, but will get loyalty benefits and upgrades. He has less than a month to achieve his goal. “Many come to this industry and they have ideas,” said Harsh Vardhan, chairman of New Delhi-based Starair Consulting. “But only after you get the aircraft flying can you claim that you’ve set up an airline.”<br/>
Boeing is stepping up efforts to conserve cash, cut costs in its supply chain and trim inventory of parts in its factories, telling vendors it will take longer to pay bills, Boeing and aerospace industry executives said. Under the new terms, Boeing is taking up to 120 days to pay, rather than 30 days as in the past, these people said. The new payment schedules are being rolled out this year. Boeing also is reducing its factory inventory and is relying on suppliers to hold parts instead, these people said. The moves come at a time when investors are closely watching Boeing's cash flow. Boeing confirmed the changes in payment and inventory terms, saying they were necessary to compete when airlines want more capable planes at lower prices. "To align with industry norms" and remain competitive, "we are in the process of adjusting the payment terms of our large suppliers," spokeswoman Jessica Kowal said in the statement. "In most, if not all cases, our new payment terms are in line with their payment schedules to their own suppliers."<br/>