A global market-based measure to curb aviation emissions would cost the airline industry up to US$6.2b in the year 2025, but carriers could face higher charges if governments fail to reach a deal by October, the IATA said. Government representatives are gathering Wednesday at the UN's civil aviation agency to negotiate a draft deal on carbon-neutral growth from 2020 which is to be voted on at a fall assembly. "That of course is the result the industry is counting on," IATA CE Tony Tyler said Tuesday, in reference to a draft deal in the fall. By 2035, the deal would cost airlines up to an estimated US$24 billion, as air traffic grows, according to figures from the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO. The cost projections are for sample years after the deal would become active in 2021. Airlines are nevertheless urging ICAO's 191-member states to reach a global agreement in the fall because the cost of a patchwork of national and regional agreements could be even higher. "A market-based cost will be much more efficient, and much fairer than the alternative which is a patchwork of inefficient and ineffective charges and taxes which are cooked up primarily just to raise cash rather than to tackle climate change," Tyler said. "We expect that the cost will be not insignificant, but it will be manageable."<br/>
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Two US senators say one way to reduce long airport security lines this summer is for airlines to drop their fees on checking luggage. It’s the latest suggestion for dealing with what could be a hellish summer at the nation’s airports. Airlines are already warning passengers to arrive at least two hours early to get through security and catch their flights. Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey and Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal said Tuesday they asked executives at 12 airlines to drop checked-bag fees this summer. The senators say suspending the fees won’t eliminate lines but it’s a start. A spokeswoman for the nation’s largest airlines called the senators’ proposal a misguided attempt to re-regulate airlines and warned it could make airline travel more expensive — fares would rise to offset the loss of income from fees. Jean Medina of Airlines for America said it would be better if the TSA had more staffing at the busiest airports and encouraged more travelers to sign up for PreCheck, a program that lets known travelers zip through security faster without removing shoes, belts, jackets and laptops. Last week her group encouraged travelers to post pictures of long lines on social media with the hashtag #IHateTheWait. TSA is under growing pressure to fix the long lines. Some airports use private contractors instead of TSA for screening. Officials for the big New York City-area airports and Seattle have indicated they are considering such a move.<br/>
Newly elected Mayor Sadiq Khan has dropped the Greater London Authority’s objection to London City Airport’s plan to purchase land it will need if its expansion plans are approved by the U.K. government later this year. The Labour mayor, who was elected last week, is withdrawing a key obstacle used by his Tory predecessor, Boris Johnson, to oppose an expansion of the airport. The decision comes after the completion of a three-week planning inquiry that is due to report to the government as early as June. “The mayor has decided to withdraw the objection to this proposed compulsory purchase of land owned by City Hall following new evidence recently submitted by London City Airport and ongoing negotiations,” Khan’s office said. Still, Tuesday’s decision by the mayor doesn’t affect separate objections to the expansion that were submitted under Johnson to the planning inquiry. The inquiry’s findings will be presented to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and Communities & Local Government Secretary Greg Clark, with no fixed timeline in place for a decision. “The mayor continues to support the case for improved noise mitigation measures that will be considered by the secretary of state when he decides on the planning appeal in due course,” Khan’s office said.<br/>
Airbus won 117 orders between January and April, for a net total of 92 after adjusting for cancellations and conversions between different models. The European plane maker, which has been hit by engine problems on the A320neo and cabin equipment delays on the A350, delivered a total of 177 planes between January and April, down from 196 a year earlier. Airbus's deliveries so far this year include six A320neos, fewer than expected as it starts a tight, two-year model switch on its main production line. It also delivered six A350s. Airbus aims to deliver more than 50 A350s in 2016, leaving what some industry observers describe as a steep target for the second half of the year. Deliveries of A320neo have been hit by technical problems with engines from Pratt & Whitney, leaving semi-finished aircraft at European factories and draining cash.<br/>
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. is seeking permission from Japanese and US regulators to move the start of MRJ flight testing in the US from the end of this year to this summer. The MRJ90 achieved first flight in Japan in November 2015, but in December Mitsubishi Aircraft announced a delay in the planned first delivery of the aircraft to All Nippon Airways (ANA) to mid-2018. Under the revised flight test schedule, the start of flight testing in the US—where four of five MRJ90s planned for the flight test program will conduct the vast majority of MRJ flying required to gain certification—was set for the fourth quarter of 2016 or the early part of the 2017 first quarter. With the first MRJ flight test aircraft (FTA-1) having accumulated about 44 flight hours in 22 test flights in Japan, Mitsubishi Aircraft now wants to bring FTA-1 to the US about six months earlier. FTA-2, which is in the final stages of preparation for its first flight in Japan this month, could also come to the US this summer, according to Mitsubishi Aircraft officials.<br/>