Turkish authorities briefly barred cars from entering and leaving Istanbul's main Ataturk Airport on Sunday after police fired shots when a motorcycle refused an order to stop, CNN Turk said. One of two men aboard the motorcycle was wounded and detained and the second was apprehended by police after a pursuit, the private broadcaster reported. No police or civilians were reported hurt. In June, suicide bombers suspected of belonging to Islamic State killed 41 people and wounded some 240 others with gunfire and explosives at the airport. The latest incident did not affect flights at Ataturk, Europe's third-busiest airport, the channel reported. Ataturk is the hub of state-run carrier Turkish Airlines.<br/>
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Regional airlines that feed the nation’s biggest carriers are boosting starting wages to fight a pilot shortage, hoping to encourage aspiring aviators to endure what has become lengthier training. Regional carriers are vital to the US travel network, operating 44% of passenger flights in 2015 and providing the only flights to 65% of US airports with scheduled service. They typically supply their own crews and planes, while big airlines set schedules, sell tickets and buy the fuel. New wage scales introduced in recent months increase pay for some of their first-year aviators from around $20,000 to upward of $50,000 including bonuses, per-diem payments and training stipends. “The marketplace for pilots is pretty tight right now,” said Capt. Tim Canoll, president of the largest pilot union, ALPA. “What we’re seeing is the operation of supply and demand economics.” Pilots have long accepted what they call “food-stamp wages” for a foothold in a passion-driven industry and a shot at six-figure salaries at major carriers later in their careers. Often loaded with debt, new pilots make do while they wait to ascend the pay scale, hoping to quickly upgrade to captain, a rank that confers higher wages, even at regional carriers. Congress put a kink in the supply chain in 2013 with a law mandating that most aspiring pilots fly 1,500 hours before being hired by a regional carrier, up from as few as 250 hours. That added years and tens of thousands of dollars to the investment pilots must make in training and working as flight instructors before moving up to fly commercial airliners.<br/>
As space in economy class becomes ever more constrained, airlines have devised a more spacious cabin product for passengers priced out of business class but determined to escape the indignities of steerage. Called “premium economy,” this section of added frills between coach and business aims to address a widening gap that has emerged between those cabins—and to extract more money from passengers. The premium economy cabin has been a staple of large international airlines for several years but is just now beginning to appear on American carriers. Airlines across the globe have rushed to add premium economy cabins in recent years, as customers show a willingness to pay for extra space and amenities. “There’s a demand for something in between economy and business,” American Airlines spokesman Joshua Freed said on Thursday. The plane is a larger, 285-seat version of the 787-8 American first received early last year. On almost every airline with premium economy, the biggest lure is increased seat pitch and width, typically along with nicer food and tableware, a larger entertainment screen, noise-canceling or reducing headphones, a fancier amenities kit, and occasionally, a more generous baggage allowance. A pre-flight beverage is usually included. Some airlines also let premium economy passengers use their airport lounges for an additional fee. American is the first US airline to introduce the new cabin, on its Boeing 787-9, with 21 seats in a 2-3-2 across layout, far roomier than the 3-3-3 arrangement in the back of the plane. <br/>
Forieng airlines like AirAsia and Scoot have been accused of exploiting a loophole in new laws meant to prevent travellers being slugged with inflated credit card processing fees. While Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Tigerair have been forced to comply with the ACCC rules, foreign carriers are still slugging passengers $10 per flight per person. Under the changes introduced on September 1, Australian airlines were restricted to surcharges of 1.3% on domestic and international flights, with a cap of $70 on overseas payments. Qantas and Virgin Australia previously charged $7 and $7.70 respectively for payments using credit cards, but now slug passengers around $3 for a $245 flight. Screen shots of bookings made with several overseas carriers, show fees of $20 for return flights to Kuala Lumpur with AirAsia, to Singapore with Scoot, and Manila with Cebu Pacific. In the case of the AirAsia flight, the fee should be $7.90, and Scoot $6.50, and Cebu Pacific’s “web admin fee” should be $10 instead of $20. An AirAsia spokesman said the airline was aware of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s standard for credit card fees. “However, all of AirAsia’s credit card transactions are processed by banks based outside of Australia and these transactions are not subject to the RBA’s surcharging standard,” he said. “As a company operating in Australia, AirAsia takes compliance with Australian Consumer Law seriously and when customers visit our website and select a flight, they will see our explanation of applicable processing fees, and the amount is clearly displayed before a purchase is made.”<br/>
Global passenger traffic demand in September rose 7%, the highest increase for seven months, IATA reported in its monthly update. Capacity was up 6.6%, with load factor up 0.3 percentage points to 81.1%. Demand growth (in revenue passenger km terms - RPK) in the major markets was strongest in the Middle East with an 11% increase, Asia Pacific saw a 10.2% lift, and Europe was third at 5%. IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac said the growth “from August weakness suggests that travel demand is showing its resilience in the aftermath of terror attacks. “This will still be a good year for the airline industry’s performance, but our profitability will continue to be hard-won," he added.<br/>
Air cargo operator Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings posted a $7.9m net loss for the 2016 Q3, narrowed from a $12.8m loss in Q3 2015. Atlas Air Worldwide, headquartered in Purchase, New York, is parent company to Atlas Air, Southern Air Holdings and Titan Aviation Holdings, and majority owner of Polar Air Cargo. Atlas Air said the results for the period were impacted by nondeductible expenses “triggered by [the Sept. 20] shareholder approval of warrants granted to Amazon in connection with our long-term agreements to dry lease and operate [20 Boeing] 767-300 aircraft.” Atlas Air’s agreement with Seattle-based retail giant Amazon was reached in May. Under the agreement, Atlas Air Worldwide subsidiary Atlas Air will operate 20 767-300Fs on a crew, maintenance and insurance [ACMI] contract with Amazon for an initial term of seven years. “We placed our first aircraft into service for Amazon in August, and we moved forward with preparations to ramp up to 20 by the end of 2018,” Atlas Air Worldwide president and CEO William Flynn said.<br/>