Robust demand for US rail amid shale boom
US railways are scrambling to at least treble capacity to move oil after rail-borne crude volumes soared in the first half beyond full-year 2011 levels amid booming shale oil production.…
US rail groups track shale boom
©Alamy On track: railways are optimistic that crude oil shipments and movements of fracking sand will offset loss of coal traffic When the cold, windswept plains of North Dakota opened…
Branson denies profit is driving rail move
Sir Richard Branson told MPs on Monday that profits were not his priority in trying to get the government to overturn its decision to award the west coast franchise to…
Japan Airlines – budget offering
There are always trade-offs in getting buyers and sellers to a single value. But the pricing of Japan Airlines’ initial public offering – the world’s second-largest this year – suggests…
JAL offering priced at top of the range
Japan Airlines’ Y663bn ($8.5bn) initial public offering was priced at the top end of the range on Monday, underscoring strong demand for shares in the second-biggest IPO this year after…
Virgin Atlantic chief to quit
The chief executive of Virgin Atlantic is set to leave the lossmaking airline after more than a decade at the helm. Steve Ridgway, who has led the airline since 2001,…
Qantas ties up with Emirates
Qantas announced plans for a far-reaching partnership with Emirates Airline on Thursday, in a move that the Australian carrier hopes will play a key role in restoring its international operations…
Aviation policy: Ill health of national carrier causes concern
The executive suite at Air Mauritius’ Port Louis headquarters features a glamorous and evocative but woefully outdated route map that takes up an entire wall. Bold red lines emanate like…
Deal flop would leave Sir John with Xplaining
Executives at Glencore and Xstrata will face criticism if the $70bn merger of the commodities trader and miner founders at a long-awaited shareholder vote. Sir John Bond, chairman of Xstrata,…
IAG in talks with Qatar Airways over Asia
International Airlines Group, parent of British Airways, has held talks with Qatar Airways about the possibility of the two carriers forming a partnership focused on Asia. British Airways and Qantas…
Qantas has high hopes for Emirates tie-up
©EPA Qantas is “sleeping with the enemy” by striking a far-reaching partnership with Emirates Airline, quipped one senior figure at another leading airline. This person was only half-joking. Emirates, the…
Lufthansa crews escalate strike action
Lufthansa cabin crew will step up their strike action on Friday, causing the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights and threatening the German airline with further costly disruption. The Independent…
Turbulent times for JAL listing
JAL’s listing this month comes at a time when the economic environment and stock market conditions are hardly favourable to selling the shares of a once-failed airline. Japan has suffered…
Japan airlines rises from the ashes
The emergence of Japan Airlines from the ashes of bankruptcy into the limelight of this month’s public listing is a tale marked by superlatives. JAL is relisting on the Tokyo…
Qantas / Emirates – long haul to recovery
If you can’t buy ’em, form an alliance. The airline industry is littered with such agreements. Emirates and Qantas claim theirs is a new sort of deal, but they would…