By 2036, 7.2b passengers will travel by air annually, according to IATA’s newest 20-year Air Passenger Forecast, released Oct 18. The forecast nearly doubles the 3.8b passengers expected to utilise air transport in 2016. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to provide over half of the new passengers over the next 20 years, IATA said, with China taking the top spot as the world’s largest aviation market in/around 2029. The US will drop to second and India will be the third largest market, surpassing the UK. Air passenger travel will continue to increase in developing markets. Rounding out the predicted top 10 air passenger markets as they will stand in 2036 are: Indonesia in fifth place, followed by Spain, Japan, Germany, France and Brazil. <br/>
general
A middle-aged priest. A 26-year-old woman. A registered sex offender. Three seemingly very different people with one thing in common: All three were accused of sexually assaulting fellow passengers on airplanes. “Sexual harassment and assault is happening on aircraft, and we believe it’s happening more often because of the conditions on board,” said Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union. She cited cramped, confined spaces; alcohol and drugs; fewer flight attendants; and dark cabins on night flights as factors that likely embolden offenders. Just how frequent sexual assault is during air travel is difficult to determine, but FBI investigations into in-flight sexual assaults have increased 45% so far this year. <br/>
In recent years, big US airlines have touted their operational improvements to curb delays and make flight schedules more reliable. Yet this crowing comes with a big caveat: Most of the monthly stats the large carriers report don’t include their regional operations, mostly smaller, 50-to-90-seat jets that funnel travellers to and from hubs. Regional flying now constitutes almost half of US domestic air routes—and when bad weather strikes, those flights are often the first to be canceled. Starting next year, the US DoT is closing that gaping hole by requiring performance information on flights operated by a half dozen regional airlines. Regulators are aiming to make monthly performance at the major carriers reflect how well their regional operations did. <br/>