Riding an overseas tourism boom, China's airlines are sprucing up services on gleaming new jets to fresh destinations with the bold aim of cracking a lucrative passenger market dominated by established rivals - Western business travellers. At Airshow China this week, the country's largest air expo, flag carrier Air China showed off virtual reality goggles for long-haul business class customers. Fast-growing Hainan Airlines has unveiled menus by Michelin-star chefs, joining bigger players like China Eastern and China Southern in touting new offerings. China already accounts for a quarter of all business travel spending, according to a Global Business Travel Association report this week, up from 5% in 2000. But much of that is domestic: as they expand economy service abroad - and rates of growth ease at home - mainland carriers are preparing to do battle for the highest-margin travellers. Standing in their way are established Asia business travel heavyweights like Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Qantas. To succeed, Chinese airlines will need to shrug off historical doubts about safety records, and in some cases lure customers away from prized air miles schemes. "The work required to create growth is exhausting, that has not left much bandwidth to focus on strategic growth, like improving corporate and premium," said Will Horton, a Hong Kong-based senior analyst for aviation consultancy CAPA. But the push is definitely there. Why leave money behind?" The logic for pursuing business travel growth is clear. On flights between the South Pacific and Asia, according to data from the IATA, premium passengers account for 8% of travellers but generate close to a third of revenue. As the volume of Chinese air travellers grow, weekly non-stop flights between Australia and mainland China alone have grown by 18% to 114 over the last 12 months, according to data from CAPA. Each business class seat filled on those routes would give a handsome boost to revenue.<br/>
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Those who fly to or from New York are fully accustomed to long security lines, labyrinthine paths to the terminal, flight delays, cancellations and other unpleasant happenings, not to mention the arduous or expensive journey to the airport itself. According to a study by The Points Guy, a travel publication, those customers have the right to complain. The three New York-area airports are the three worst among the nation’s 30 busiest airports, based on a study that considered timeliness, accessibility and amenities. La Guardia Airport, famously described by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2014 as akin to what one would find “in a third world country,” ranked as the worst. Right behind it were John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International. “People don’t realise what we have is a lot worse than what other people deal with,” said Brian Kelly, a New Yorker and the founder and CE of The Points Guy. The list of faults at the New York-area airports was long. La Guardia had the highest rate of flight delays and cancellations, the second-longest drive time to the center of the city and steep parking rates. JFK. had the longest drive time — over an hour — and the longest waits to get through security. Newark was dinged for a long drive time and “lackluster ratings across the board.” The best airport in the rankings was the one in Phoenix, which received high marks for reliability, convenient light rail, food options and free Wi-Fi. It’s not a sleek airport, Kelly said, but it was consistently good across the board. The rankings were weighted most heavily toward timeliness, with 50% of the rating measuring performance in flight delays, cancellations and wait times at security. The study also considered public transportation options, how long it takes to get to the city center, WiFi fees, parking rates and the availability of restaurants and lounges. It used data from a variety of sources, including government statistics, market research firms, airport websites and Google Maps.<br/>
Dubai is testing out ways to detect and track drones after a series of high-profile incursions upset flights at one of the world's busiest airports, the airport operator's top official said on Thursday. The increasing use of drones for commercial and leisure purposes globally has led to a rise in the number of near-misses with aircraft and infringements into no-fly zones, spurring calls for their use to be better regulated. Operations at Dubai’s main airport, the world’s busiest for international passengers, were halted for an hour on Oct. 29, delaying 40 flights. It was the third time they had been temporarily stopped in four months because of drones. “We have got to find a way of controlling it immediately,” Dubai Airports CE Paul Griffiths said. “We just cannot have any more closures caused by infringements of drones in controlled airspace.” Dubai Airports, which also oversees Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport, is conducting trials to create a tracking system to detect the real-time location of any nearby drone and the radio frequency on which it is being operated. Countries around the world are grappling with how to control the booming drone industry. In the United States, rules for commercial drone usage were published on Aug. 29. Hobbyists must register crafts with the FAA since December 2015. In September, aviation associations representing airlines, pilots and airports across Europe called for mandatory registration and training of drone users following a number of near-misses. Dubai airport authorities have not said why operators fly drones at the airport but suggest they are mostly leisure users unaware of the law or of how close they are to flying aircraft.<br/>
Canada will nearly double its limit on foreign ownership of airlines as part of an overhaul of transportation rules, raising it to 49% from 25% while retaining other restrictions. Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced the changes in Montreal Thursday, saying the government would immediately increase the ownership threshold to 49% for Canada Jetlines and Enerjet even before enabling legislation to permanently raise the limit. No time-line was given for the legislation. The airline ownership rules are being changed “in order to increase competition and create more options for Canadians,” Garneau said Thursday. The changes come with caveats. A single international investor will not be able to hold more than 25% of voting interests, and no combination of international carriers could own more than 25% of a Canadian competitor. Canada will also retain the current 25% foreign ownership limit for specialty air services. “The biggest impact from the new rules will be from the potential start-up of one or two new ultra-low-cost carriers in Canada,” Cam Doerksen, a National Bank Financial analyst in Montreal, said in a note to clients. Two more such carriers could create overlap and pricing pressure for WestJet and Air Canada. The exemption announced by Garneau will allow “access necessary capital in order to begin operations,” according to a statement from Canada Jetlines on Thursday. Once it starts operating, the airline plans to buy new aircraft, CEO Jim Scott said. <br/>
A unit of HNA Group outbid Hong Kong developers including Cheung Kong Property Holdings with an HK$8.84b (US$1.1b) offer for government land in the former Kai Tak airport area, the highest price tag in three-and-a-half years. It was the most hotly contested land tender this year, as a rebound in home prices is underway, attracting 20 bidders including Hong Kong’s Henderson Land Development Company and Wheelock Properties, and mainland buyers such as China Overseas Land & Investment and China Vanke, according to a Lands Department announcement on Wednesday. The Kai Tak purchase works out to about HK$13,490 per square foot. It’s the most that a piece of land has fetched in a government sale since March 2013, when Kerry Properties Ltd. paid HK$11.7b for a parcel in the Ho Man Tin district of Kowloon. The deal is the latest overseas foray for HNA, which has been on a $34b dealmaking spree over the past year. The company, led by aviation tycoon Chen Feng, operates airlines, hotels and tourism businesses and is pursuing an aggressive expansion to capitalize on the surge in Chinese outbound traffic which will reach 200 million annually by 2020.<br/>
Demand for global air freight was up 6.1% in September, IATA reported in its monthly statement. Total capacity increased by 4.7% in the month over the same period last year. IATA said the improved result was partly due to the rush replacement of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones. “Demand for air cargo strengthened in September. Although with growth in world trade virtually at a standstill, the air cargo sector still faces some major hurdles,” IATA said. Of the major markets, Europe posted the strongest gains with freight volumes up 12.6%. Asia-Pacific came in second at 5.5% and North America third on a 4.5% lift. Africa saw a 12.7% increase in volumes, but represents only 1.5% of the total market.<br/>
A group of airlines serving Mitchell International Airport plans to buy a nearby fuel storage facility in an effort to control costs and ensure steady supplies of jet fuel for their operations. The Milwaukee County Board voted 16-0 on Thursday to allow a newly formed company, MKE Fuel, to obtain a temporary loan from Mitchell International's airport discretionary fund to make the purchase. The airlines serving Mitchell pay into the fund, and the proceeds are used for things ranging from gate relocations to purchases of jetbridges — the elevated tunnels that passengers walk through to board airplanes. The need for the 120-day loan came about after Shell Oil notified the county and the airlines at Mitchell that it intends to close its fuel facility near the airport and put the facility's assets up for sale by Dec. 31. Rather than have a third party buy the facility, the airlines approached the county about forming a fuel consortium to purchase the facility. The airlines requested the loan from the discretionary fund because of the tight deadline associated with the closing and potential sale of the facility. The fuel facility is just outside the airport boundaries south of College Ave.<br/>
A suburban county north of New York City has announced a plan to lease its airport to a Los Angeles based investment firm. The $140m proposal unveiled Thursday by Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino would be structured under a 40-year revenue-sharing lease with Oaktree Capital Management. Oaktree would pay for improvements in the passenger lounge, ticketing and baggage areas. Astorino says the terminal footprint and runways would not be expanded. A new wastewater facility would capture and treat de-icing fluid. JetBlue, American and United airlines have agreed in principal to provide long-term service at the airport. The plan requires approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Westchester County Legislature. Astorino says the current operator, AvPorts, has agreed to work with Oaktree to ensure a smooth transition.<br/>