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Tens of thousands of German transport workers strike
Tens of thousands of public transport workers walked off the job in a strike in Germany, leaving commuters on empty platforms as they face freezing temperatures. Verdi, which represents almost 100,000 transport workers, called the strike after talks with municipal and state employers over working conditions stalled last week. The union is demanding shorter shifts, longer rest breaks and higher pay for night and weekend work. The walkout has impacted about 150 municipal transport companies in all but one of Germany’s 16 federal states, including Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen. This was one of the largest coordinated actions in the local transport sector in years. Leading negotiator for Verdi, Serat Canyurt, told RBB radio that the strike began as planned and that public transport operators were now expected to return to the negotiating table. In Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Freiburg, services will grind to a halt for the entire day, union officials said. As temperatures fall below zero, commuters will have to seek alternative transportation. Still, Deutsche Bahn said its urban railway S-Bahn trains in cities including Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart, along with long-distance services, would run as normal on Mo
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American Airlines profits fall amid US govt shutdown
American Airlines’ profits fell below estimates last quarter amid the impact of the United States’ government shutdown, with shares dropping 7%. Its earnings per share were US$0.16, down from $0.86 one year ago and under LSEG estimates of $0.34. Revenue was a record $14.00 billion, up 2.5% but below estimates of $14.03 billion. “American Airlines is positioned for significant upside in 2026 and beyond,” said CEO Robert Isom. “We have built a strong foundation, and we look forward to taking advantage of the investments we have made in our customer experience, network, fleet, partnerships and loyalty program. The strategy we have in place will put American in the right position as we celebrate our centennial and embark on our next 100 years as a premium global airline.” The company’s revenue received a $325 million hit from the 43-day government shutdown in October and November. Domestic passenger revenue dropped 2.5% during the quarter due to the shutdown, with American saying it would have seen positive growth otherwise. Total passenger revenue rose 2.1% to $12.66 billion last quarter. Cargo revenue was up 2.8% to $226 million, and other revenue increased by 7.4% to $1.12 billion. Operating income plummeted by 60
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United Airlines beats estimates despite govt shutdown
United Airlines beat earnings estimates despite a hit from the United States government shutdown, sending its shares up 3.3% after-hours. Its revenue was a record US$15.40 billion, up 4.8% from one year ago and in line with LSEG estimates. Earnings per share were $3.10, dipping from $3.26 but besting estimates of $2.94. "Our results are built on winning more and more brand-loyal customers — it's clear they get the most value flying United," said CEO Scott Kirby. "This was the highest-revenue quarter in United's history and the highest quarterly RASM [revenue per available seat mile] of the year providing strong revenue momentum that is continuing into 2026.” The U.S. 43-day government shutdown in October and November impacted pre-tax earnings by $250 million, the company said, due in part to refunds. United’s passenger revenue was up 4.9% to $13.93 last quarter, while cargo revenue fell 6% to $490 billion. Other operating revenue rose 9.1% to $981 billion. Premium revenue increased 9% year-over-year last quarter, loyalty revenue grew 10%, and Basic Economy class revenue rose 7%. The airline carried 45.68 million passengers last quarter, climbing 3%, and a record 181 million passengers during 2025. Its capacity
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Airbus deliveries were up 4% year-over-year in 2025
Global airliner Airbus has reported 793 commercial aircraft deliveries across 2025, up 4% year-over-year. The aircraft were distributed to 91 customers globally and registered 1,000 new gross orders in the Commercial Aircraft business wing. The backlog at the end of December 2025 increased to a new year-end record of 8,754 aircraft, highlighting the strong market demand for Airbus’ product portfolio. The A320 Family led the charge with 607 deliveries in 2025, growing from 602 in 2024 and 571 in 2023; at the same time, Airbus’ smallest model, the A220, rose 24% year-over-year to 93 aircraft. "It does indicate the supply chain remains challenged, but I think Airbus will argue they could have achieved (original) 2025 guidance were it not for the relatively late new quality issue," aviation analyst Rob Morris told Reuters. "But that illustrates an increasingly complex supply chain that they are not fully on top of." Airbus is set to release its 2025 full-year financial results on 19 February 2026.Challenging air superiorityMeanwhile, Boeing is on track to report that it has delivered the most aircraft since 2018 - a sharp turnaround after years of safety crises and snowballing quality defects. According to CNBC, B
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Suspended animation: Is Corporate Travel’s ASX run over?
While Corporate Travel Management’s (ASX: CTD) shares have been suspended since 26 August - after the beleaguered global travel management company revealed accounting irregularities in its UK operations – a growing cadre of institutional investors has decided to pre-empt the next tranche of bad news by writing off their holdings ahead of further share price falls. Based on serious doubts over the company’s integrity or viability, the one-time share market darling was removed from the ASX 200 Index in the December rebalance, and the market is under no illusions that the value will continue to fall when trading resumes. What we know so far is that the UK branch has been overcharging clients since 2023.Please explainAs a result, the UK and Australian governments – both of which are CTM clients – have since launched separate investigations into the company’s accounts. CTM’s removal from the ASX200 coincides with decisions by Forager Funds Management and Wilson Asset Management to mark down their investment in the company by 50%. By his own admission, Wilson Asset Management's portfolio manager, Oscar Oberg, called CTM’s recent update a major shock and considers it one of his worst stock picks in a decade. "We are incr

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Expedia beats estimates with B2B growth, shares up 14.7%
Expedia beat estimates on revenue and earnings per share driven by strong business-to-business bookings growth, with shares surging by more than 15%. Revenue grew by 9% year-over-year to US$4.41 billion, above Zacks estimates of $4.3 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $7.57, up from $6.13 and passing estimates of $7.21. “Our strong third quarter results exceeded both our top and bottom-line expectations, reflecting an improved demand environment, disciplined execution and tangible progress on our strategic priorities,” said Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin. “Notably, we grew room nights in the U.S. at the fastest pace in over three years, delivered our 17th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in B2B—up 26%—and grew consumer bookings by 7%. We’re confident that our strategy and the reinforcing power of our two-sided marketplace will continue to drive greater value for both travelers and partners, and growth for our business.” Booked room nights increased by 11% to 108.2 million, with gross bookings up 12% to $30.73 billion. The company credited this to the fastest United States booked room nights growth in three years. Business-to-consumer gross bookings rose by 7% to $21.23 billion, and business-to-business gr
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Delta Airlines beats on earnings, passengers increase
United Airlines beat estimates on earnings per share last quarter, as its passenger numbers rose. Earnings per share were US$2.78, down from $3.33 year-over-year but above LSEG estimates of $2.62. Revenue was $15.23 billion, up 2.6% but below estimates of $15.33 billion. “We’ve invested in customers at every price point: Seatback screens, an industry-leading mobile app, extra legroom, a lie-flat United Polaris seat, and fast, free, reliable Starlink on every plane by 2027. Our customers value the United experience, making them increasingly loyal to United,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said. “Those investments over almost a decade, combined with great service from our people, have allowed United to win and retain brand-loyal customers, leading to economic resilience even with macro economic volatility through the first three quarters of the year and significant upside as the economy and demand are improving in the fourth quarter.” Passenger revenue was up 1.9% to $13.82 billion, while cargo revenue grew 3.2% to $431 million. Other revenue increased by 13.2% to $979 million. The company recorded 48.38 million passengers last quarter, a 6.2% increase. It flew around 427,000 passengers each day. United is set to
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Lufthansa cuts 4,000 jobs, leans on AI for profit push
In an attempt to increase efficiency across business areas and activities, German airline Lufthansa has unveiled plans to increase profitability by slashing its payroll and leaning heavily on artificial intelligence, digitalisation and consolidating work among member airlines. It’s understood that the airline group plans to eliminate a total of 4,000 full-time equivalent roles worldwide by 2030. While Lufthansa missed profitability targets in 2024, amid a difficult year of staff strikes, increased global price competition and aircraft delays, the airline now expects adjusted operating margin to reach 8%-10% from 2028. Adjusted free cash flow is expected to exceed 2.5 billion euros (US$2.9 billion, A$4.46 billion) annually. Annual earnings dropped 39% to 1.65 billion euros last year, and its annual operating margin was 4.4%, below Lufthansa’s strategic target of 8%. While most of the job losses will be from Germany, the focus - as part of a broader restructuring strategy - is expected to be on administrative rather than operational roles. Lufthansa told the market it was moving to deepen the integration among member airlines Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways, and is "reviewing
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Qantas to pay A$90 million for illegally outsourcing jobs
Qantas CEO, Venessa Hudson, has apologised for illegally outsourcing ground handling jobs during COVID and confirmed that the airline will be paying the A$90 million. The penalty was handed down by Federal Court Justice Michael Lee, who said the penalty must “bear some resemblance” to the maximum A$121 million and should be no less than A$90 million. Lee also said A$50 million should be paid to the Transport Workers Union (TWU). How the remaining A$40 million will be paid will be declared at a later hearing. The TWU called for the airline to be fined the maximum A$121 million; however, Qantas argued that the court instead imposed a penalty between A$40 million and A$80 million. Hudson, who became CEO in September 2023 after former CEO Alan Joyce stepped down, apologised to the 1,820 employees who lost their jobs following the decision to illegally outsource them. She said the impact was felt not only by those who lost their jobs also by the company’s entire workforce. “The decision to outsource five years ago, particularly during such an uncertain time, caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families,” she said. “Over the past 18 months, we’ve worked hard to change the way we operate as