Global demand for air travel rose 7.6% in November, the strongest rate for 9 months, with European traffic rebounding, IATA said Wednesday. Global capacity measured in available seat kilometres rose slower than demand at 6.5%, meaning load factors increased 0.8 percentage points to a November record high of 78.9%, IATA said in its monthly traffic update. European carriers saw demand rise 8.3% in November, suggesting that the region is recovering from disruption caused by attacks and political upheavals, IATA said. IATA has forecast airlines' profitability will fall in 2017 after peaking this year. "The threat of terrorism, questions over the durability of the economic upswing, rising oil prices and increasing protectionist rhetoric are among the concerns. " IATA head Alexandre de Juniac said. <br/>
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The DoT has lifted a requirement that airlines notify passengers that the recalled Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is a prohibited flight risk, according to the FAA. The phone remains banned from air transport, and no airlines have yet commented on when or whether they will take action accordingly. The FAA says the DoT removed the pre-boarding requirement “due to the high degree of public awareness of the ban since issuance of the emergency restriction/prohibition order, as well as the extensive efforts by Samsung and US wireless providers to make all Note 7 users aware the phone is recalled and banned from transport on US aircraft.” Samsung says that over 96% of Note 7 devices have been returned so far. <br/>
Airbus Group booked 320 jetliner orders in December alone to rack up 731 sales for the year, extending its backlog and beating Boeing. In the last month of 2016 Airbus sold 98 new planes to Iran Air and 72 to Go Airlines India, while two other transactions saw 132 narrow-bodies purchased by buyers whose identities weren’t disclosed, according to figures released by the company Wednesday. Airbus retained an order lead over Boeing it has held since 2012 after the US business last week said 2016 sales totaled 668 aircraft, net of cancellations. Both manufacturers saw new business dwindle last year as demand ebbed after a decade-long buying spree that’s built up record backlogs. Airbus sales chief John Leahy said he’s not concerned about the slowdown. “We are essentially sold out at this point,” Leahy said. <br/>
List prices for Airbus’ commercial fleet increased an average of 1% for 2017, Airbus announced Jan 11. The price increase went into effect Jan 1. Airbus said the price increase was calculated according to the manufacturer’s standard escalation formula over the Jan 2016 to Jan 2017 period and takes into account materials and commodity prices. A year ago, in Jan 2016, Airbus’ annual price increase averaged 1.1% across the company’s commercial aircraft product line. The A380 remains Airbus’ most expensive commercial aircraft, with a price tag of US$436.9m. In Airbus’ mid-range A350 XWB family, the -800 variant is now priced at $275.1m; the -900 costs $311.2m; and the –1000 sells for $359.3m. Airbus’ least expensive commercial aircraft continues to be the single-aisle A318ceo, priced at $75.9m. <br/>
President-elect Donald Trump’s team has not made a decision regarding separating US air traffic control FAA, US transportation secretary nominee Elaine Chao said in a Jan 11 Senate confirmation hearing. Chao, who is widely expected to be comfortably confirmed by the Senate, called ATC reorganisation “an issue of great importance.” A proposal by US House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Bill Shuster to create an independent, non-profit entity to manage and operate ATC, modelled after NAV Canada, failed in Congress last year. With FAA reauthorisation set to be taken up by Congress again this year, the ATC issue is expected to be revived and there has been speculation that Trump will support what some describe as the privatisation of ATC. <br/>
The US Justice Department is unlikely to bring an antitrust action against US airlines after finding little evidence the carriers coordinated to raise fares by curbing the supply of seats, a person familiar with the matter said. The US has been investigating major US carriers at least since the summer of 2015, when some airlines confirmed getting letters from the Justice Department requesting documents about their actions on seating capacity. The availability of seats is closely tied to air fares, because airlines find it difficult to raise prices when capacity exceeds demand. Investigators didn’t uncover sufficient evidence of collusion among airlines to restrain seats, and it is unlikely the department will pursue any formal action, said the person, who asked not to be named. <br/>