Government confirms partial Air New Zealand sale

The New Zealand government confirmed Sunday the partial sell-off of national flag carrier Air New Zealand to local and offshore institutions.

It did not say how much it expected to raise from the long-expected sale but market analysts have previously forecast about NZ$400 million (US$330 million).

The government will reduce its holding from 73 percent to 53 percent in the sale which will commence on Monday, Finance Minister Bill English said.

"We expect the transaction to be completed by Tuesday evening," added English, without saying who might buy the shares.

Craigs Investment Partners, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs have been appointed to undertake the transaction and work with New Zealand stockbrokers.

Air New Zealand, which is listed on both the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges (NZX and ASX), has been trading in recent weeks around a five-year high and closed in New Zealand on Friday at NZ$1.65.

The airline said it would request a trading halt on the two exchanges while the sale process was carried out.

"Shareholding sell-downs of this type are typically conducted off-market when the company's shares are not trading on a stock exchange, to ensure the company's share price is not affected by speculative trading," English said.

"We expect Air New Zealand's shares to resume trading on the NZX and ASX on Wednesday."

The sale is being carried out just days ahead of a national referendum on the sale of government assets which has so far seen the disposal of 49 percent of electricity generating companies Mighty River Power and Meridian Energy.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall said the first two share offers had raised NZ$3.6 billion.

"The proceeds of the programme have been allocated to the Future Investment Fund so the money can be reinvested in new assets and new infrastructure without the need to borrow money from overseas lenders," he said.

Air New Zealand issued a statement saying it considered the sale "a matter solely for the government" and would not comment further.

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Merged American Airlines to land on Nasdaq

American Airlines and US Airways, essentially cleared for merger next month, on Friday said that the combined company, the world's biggest airline, will trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

American's parent, AMR Corporation, and US Airways Group knocked down a major hurdle for their merger Tuesday by agreeing to drop airport slots and other rights at key airports in a proposed deal settling a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit.

Court approval of the deal appeared likely, and the two companies announced plans for the new American Airlines to debut on the tech-rich Nasdaq, abandoning the rival New York Stock Exchange where US Airways currently trades.

American used to be listed on the NYSE but is now being traded over the counter as it undergoes Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

"Upon closing of the merger and AMR's emergence from Chapter 11, the combined company will be renamed American Airlines Group Inc. and will use the ticker symbol AAL," the companies said in a joint statement.

US Airways and AMR common stock will be cancelled and current investors will receive shares in the combined group under the merger terms.

The companies expect to complete the merger in December.

"Today we moved another step closer in our preparations to launch the new American Airlines. NASDAQ offers a most advanced trading platform driven by innovation and efficiency -- qualities that complement the new American," Tom Horton, AMR chairman, president and chief executive, and incoming chairman of the new American, said in the statement.

"We are very excited about the listing of our shares on the NASDAQ Global Select Market," said Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of US Airways, and incoming CEO of the new giant airline.

The head of Nasdaq OMX, operator of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Bob Greifeld, welcomed the planned market debut.

"We are pleased to have the new American Airlines call NASDAQ home and we look forward to celebrating many milestones with the company and its shareholders in the years to come," Greifeld said in the statement.

Nasdaq OMX crowed on Twitter about landing the big global airline. "SHARE this historic switch:@AmericanAir will be traded on #NASDAQ$AAL," it tweeted.

US Airways shares closed almost 1.0 per cent higher, AMR lost 1.5 per cent in over-the-counter trade and Nasdaq OMX dipped 0.3 per cent.

Shares in Intercontinental Exchange, which took over the NYSE Euronext on Wednesday, were up 1.6 per cent.

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Week 33: PPL Flight School Week 2

Another week passed by without much going on. However the lack of action on the training side has allowed us to slowly get used to things over here. The weather, the food, the culture, the way of life etc. I can safely say all of us has settled in quite well in terms of life in Australia.

Talking about way of life, it is actually much more expensive to take their public transport over here than to drive your own personal car. And with the huge consumption of food/expendables in the house, we have to do grocery shopping almost once every alternate days. Without the use of a car would be quite troublesome considering the nearest supermarket is some 3km away from our residence. So yup, we have gotten wheels to aid us in our daily lives. This is our biggest happening of the week, haha.

Weather here at 1500ft elevation is erratic

This morning it was -2'C

This is a form of Aussie lunch

Lunch 111113

Studying and watching the weather

Lunch 121113

Dinner 121113

The cold weather makes me very hungry every morning

More studying

Dinner 131113

Fruits in Aussie are huge fresh and rich in colour

Chicken rice dinner by a course mate that tasted so much like home

Simple breakfast

Lunch 151113

All Friday nights are pizza nights!!

Oh, alcohol is very cheap here

Pictures right now are pretty much portraying what I'm going through everyday. There should be more about the training once it starts picking up in pace.

Boeing mulls sites for new plane production after union rejection

US aerospace giant Boeing said Thursday it was reviewing site options to build its new 777X airplane after a key union rejected a contract extension at its Seattle base.

The International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers District 751 voted late Wednesday to turn down Boeing's proposal to extend by eight years the current contract that expires in 2016.

The contract extension notably would have reduced retirement benefits and provided a one percent pay increase every other year, in exchange for the long-term stability of production of the new long-range, twin-aisle plane.

A solid 67 percent of the roughly 31,000 members of the IAM machinists union who work for Boeing in the Seattle area of Washington state rejected the deal.

Boeing had argued that the contract extension would allow the company to maintain thousands of jobs in the Puget Sound area, home to its biggest aircraft plant in Everett, where the 777 family of airplanes is built.

"We are very disappointed in the outcome of the union vote," Ray Conner, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive, said in a statement.

"Our goal was two-fold: to enable the 777X and its new composite wing to be produced in Puget Sound and to create a competitive structure to ensure that we continue market-leading pay, health care and retirement benefits while preserving jobs and our industrial base here in the region," he said.

"But without the terms of this contract extension, we're left with no choice but to open the process competitively and pursue all options for the 777X."

IAM representative Tom Wroblewski said the union had preserved members' pensions, "something sacred" that will help members retire with more comfort and dignity.

"It is my belief that we represent the best aerospace workforce in the world and hope that as a result of this vote Boeing will not discard our skills when looking to place the 777X," Wroblewski said in a statement.

Boeing, headquartered in Chicago, signalled that the union rejection had shut the door to further negotiations.

"There are no plans to re-engage with the union regarding contract negotiations until prior to the current contract expiration in 2016," Boeing spokesman Doug Alder said in an email to AFP.

The spokesman declined to identify the potential 777X locations.

In late October, another Boeing spokesman, Marc Birtel, told AFP that the company would design its new 777X aircraft at five US sites and in Moscow, Russia, but had made no decision about using its key Washington state facilities.

Much of the detailed design will be carried out by Boeing engineering teams in Charleston, South Carolina; Huntsville, Alabama; Long Beach, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and St Louis, Missouri, the company told employees in an internal memo seen by AFP.

The 777X is Boeing's working name for its planned newest member of the 777 family. It plans to launch the 777X this year, with entry into service with launch customer Lufthansa expected around the end of the decade.

Shares in Dow member Boeing closed 1.4 percent higher at $135.09 in New York trade.

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Singapore Airlines increases baggage allowance

Travellers can now look forward to more free checked-in baggage allowance for Singapore Airlines (SIA) and SilkAir flights from Friday (Nov 15), for all classes of travel, SIA announced today.

Checked-in baggage allowances will increase by 10 kg across all classes of travel for all flights (except to and from United States and Brazil), bringing the free baggage allowances of Suites and First Class, Business Class and Economy Class to 50 kg, 40 kg and 30 kg respectively.

For flights to and from the United States, where a per-piece allowance applies, customers travelling in Suites, First Class and Business Class will be entitled to check in two pieces of luggage of up to 32 kg each, up from 23 kg previously.

SIA Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing, Mr Chin Yau Seng said: “Increasing baggage allowances across all classes of travel is in response to feedback from our customers and reaffirms our commitment to constantly enhancing customer service.”

KrisFlyer Elite Gold and Star Alliance Gold members will continue to enjoy an additional 20 kg of baggage allowance across all travel classes, or one extra piece of checked-in baggage when travelling to or from the United States and Brazil.

PPS Club members will also continue to be entitled to double the checked-in baggage allowance in their respective class of travel.

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SIA posts 78% jump in Q2 net profit

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Tuesday its net profit in the second quarter rose 78 per cent year-on-year but warned that intense competition and a strong local dollar will put pressure on yields.

Net profit for the three months ended September was S$160 million (US$128 million) on revenue of S$3.90 billion, the airline said in a statement.

It said the rise was "mainly attributable to the higher operating profit, share of profits from associated companies and gains from the sale of aircraft".

However it cautioned that "the operating landscape for the airline industry remains challenging amid continued global economic uncertainty".

While advance bookings for the coming months are likely to be higher than the year before, "ongoing promotional activities necessitated by intense competition and a strong Singapore dollar are expected to place pressure on yields," SIA added.

Its cargo arm SIA Cargo reported a narrower operating loss of S$31 million from S$50 million in the same period last year, but said the freight business remains subdued.

"Cargo demand is expected to remain flat due to weak international trade volumes and excess capacity in the market," SIA said.

SIA is facing stiff competition from Middle Eastern and other Asian carriers as well as from budget airlines which have grown in number in Asia.

The airline reported a net profit in the year ending March of S$379 million, up 12.8 per cent, boosted by the sale of aircraft, spares and spare engines.

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Emirates posts modest H1 profit due to rising fuel cost

Dubai's Emirates Airline on Tuesday posted a two percent increase in half yearly profits, blaming high fuel costs and an "unfavourable" currency exchange environment for the slow growth.

The carrier's net profits in the first half of the fiscal year to March 31, 2014 stood at 1.7 billion dirhams ($475 million), "up two percent from the same period last year," Emirates said in a statement.

"High fuel prices, accounting for 39 percent of our expenditures, and the unfavourable currency exchange environment continue to eat into our profits," said Emirates chief executive officer, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum.

Revenues for the airline reached $10.8 billion, 12 percent up from $9.6 billion in the corresponding period last year.

The airline that operates the world's largest fleet of A380s and the largest fleet of Boeing 777s, said its Passenger Seat Factor averaged 79.2 percent, slightly below last year's 79.7 percent.

Emirates flies to 137 destinations in 77 countries, up from 126 cities last year in 74 countries.

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