Good week

Emirates 777-300ER
©BaoLou/AirTeamImages.com
EMIRATES Dubai's airline continues to defy economic gravity, lifting revenue for its year to the end of March by 26% to Dh51.3 billion ($14 billion) and profit by a whacking 42% to Dh4.72 billion despite the rising fuel costs that threaten to ground many rivals. And, to confound critics of its breakneck expansion - the carrier took delivery of eight Airbus A380s during the year - finance costs were net positive. Seems like the Dubai-as-mega-hub business model is working.

Bad week

US Treasury
© AgnosticPreachersKid/Wikipedia Commons
US TREASURY Since its 2008 bail-out-cum-nationalisation of mega-insurer AIG, whose companies include airliner lessor International Lease Finance, the Treasury has been looking to sell down the 92% stake for which it paid $47.5 billion. Sadly, natural disasters made for a grim first quarter at AIG, and with its share price falling since January to hover around break-even for the Treasury, plans to offer some of the shares this month look like getting scaled back.

 

Source: Flight International

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