NEW YORK: A computer router error that grounded hundreds of United Airlines flights on Wednesday is just a preview of what can go wrong for carriers with increasingly automated operations, experts say. As airlines switch to electronic luggage tags and more travellers swap paper tickets for boarding passes stored on smartphones, industry consultants say the impact of technology disruptions will keep growing. That means more money lost for airlines and more travel plans thwarted for passengers when a glitch occurs. — Reuters

Peugeot sales data

PARIS: PSA Peugeot Citroen’s first-half sales rose a modest 0.4 per cent, the French carmaker said on Friday, as slumping Latin American demand and a weak performance by Citroen brand diluted the effect of a European market rebound. Deliveries rose to 1.547 million vehicles in six months ended June 30 from 1.541 million a year earlier, the Paris-based company said. Following a brush with bankruptcy last year, Peugeot is cutting costs and streamlining its model line-up under a recovery plan devised by CEO Carlos Tavares. — Reuters

Lockheed in talks

NEW YORK: Lockheed Martin is deep in talks to buy United Technologies’ Sikorsky, maker of iconic Blackhawk and White House’s Marine One helicopters, The Wall Street Journal reported. Citing sources close to the matter, the Journal said the sale could bring more than $8 billion to United Technologies. — AFP