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United Airlines Creates Fund for Sustainable Aviation Fuel

The $100 million fund, backed by other big businesses, was accelerated by U.S. climate law

United Airlines has been one of the most aggressive airlines in acting on climate change.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. red down pointing triangle is launching a fund backed by several big-name aerospace and financial companies to invest in startups aiming to produce sustainable aviation fuel, in one of the largest efforts yet to lower emissions from air travel.

Created through United’s venture investing arm, the new fund will start with more than $100 million from the company and partners including Air Canada ; red down pointing triangle, Boeing Co.,  green up pointing triangle JPMorgan Chase & Co., Honeywell International Inc.  red down pointing triangle and General Electric Co., decrease; red down pointing triangle United said Tuesday.

Last year’s climate law spurred United to accelerate the fund, which will be capped at $500 million, the company said.

United, Air Canada and other airlines that participate are expected to sign clean-fuel supply agreements with the startups they back. Companies that invest alongside United could share in the carbon credits tied to the production of that sustainable aviation fuel, the company said.

The new fund will be one of the largest sources of cash in the nascent industry of making low-carbon jet fuel. Its launch highlights the pressure faced by the airline industry to reduce emissions. It is part of a recent move by large companies toward startup investing to develop green-energy technologies.

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Boeing Expected to Sell About 80 Dreamliners in Saudi Airline Deal

Aircraft order would add Boeing 787s to new airline Riyadh Air and Saudi Arabia’s existing carrier Saudia

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners, under construction at a company facility in South Carolina, are popular for their fuel efficiency.

Two Saudi Arabian airlines are nearing a deal to buy a total of about 80 Boeing Co. BA 0.15%increase; green up pointing triangle 787 Dreamliners with options for some 40 more, people familiar with the matter said, another significant order for the American aircraft manufacturer.

Riyadh Air, a new airline launched by the Saudi sovereign-wealth fund over the weekend, is expected to commit to purchasing 39 of the wide-body jets, while existing carrier Saudia is expected to buy the same number of jets, these people said.

The agreement, which is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday, is expected to come with options to buy about 40 additional Dreamliners among the airlines, these people said.

The Wall Street Journal over the weekend reported that the Boeing aircraft order was valued at about $35 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. It couldn’t be immediately determined whether that included the typically steep discounts aircraft makers give their customers, or whether that figure included the jets for Saudia too.

The wide-body jets are popular among the world’s airlines for their fuel efficiency and ability to profitably carry passengers on long-haul international routes. Each carries a list price of about $300 million before typical discounts, according to Boeing’s latest publicly available list prices.

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Boeing’s Delays Could Give Airbus’s A380 an Active Retirement

It is looking like Emirates Airline will need most if not all its A380s after all, opening an opportunity for investors in an obscure corner of the London stock market.

Emirates Airline has gradually brought mothballed Airbus A380s back into service.

The Airbus decrease; red down pointing triangle A380, the white elephant of the skies, could be getting a new lease on life. Among its merits: Unlike the Boeing BA 0.75%increase; green up pointing triangle 777X, it already exists.

One of the best-performing stocks in London in 2022, having more than doubled, is a tiny company that owned a single asset: one of the Airbus A380s in the Emirates Airline fleet. Most of the gains came in July, when the Dubai-based carrier agreed to buy the plane for about £25 million, equivalent to about $30 million, once its lease expired. The deal, which closed the week before Christmas, massively improved the expected liquidation value of the investment company, called Doric Nimrod Air One DNA 3.23%increase; green up pointing triangle (ticker: DNA).

By extension, the deal also lifted expectations of two sister vehicles, Doric Nimrod Air Two DNA2 0.47%increase; green up pointing triangle and Doric Nimrod Air Three DNA3 0.87%increase; green up pointing triangle, which between them own 11 Airbus A380s leased to Emirates on contracts that start to expire next October. Among the investors who spotted an opportunity is Elliott Management, which has disclosed stakes of roughly 11% and 14% in DNA2 and DNA3, respectively, as well as a 6% stake in a more complex vehicle, Amedeo Air Four Plus, which owns A380s as well as other planes leased to Thai Airways.

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Boeing 737 MAX Flies Again With Chinese Airline After Nearly Four-Year Halt

Long-awaited return to skies for the jetliner is a significant step for Boeing, which counts China as a major market

SINGAPORE—China returned Boeing Inc.’s BA 0.57%increase; green up pointing triangle 737 MAX to its skies Friday after almost four years, a significant milestone for the U.S. company, which relies on China as a major market.

Two of the jets, operated by China Southern Airlines ZNH 3.27%increase; green up pointing triangle, took off from the southern city of Guangzhou in what industry experts say are the first commercial flights since March 2019 by a Chinese airline using the aircraft.

The first left at 12:46 p.m. local time, landed two hours later at Zhengzhou and was scheduled to return later Friday, according to China Southern’s website. The other left later for Wuhan, also the first leg of a round-trip, the website showed.

The resumption of 737 MAX flights is a major step for Boeing. Before the pandemic, China was one of the biggest and most important buyers of airplanes in the world. Amid U.S.-China trade tensions, Boeing has sought to resume deliveries of new aircraft to China, including 737 MAX jets.

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