In the last week of the Obama Administration, the US DoT proposed that airlines and ticket agents be required to disclose specific baggage fees when providing airfare information. In a supplemental notice Jan 17, DoT is proposing that airlines and ticket agents must disclose -- while customers are researching airline fares -- fees for the first checked bag, the second checked bag and a carry-on bag. “Displaying the fees for transporting carry on and checked bags alongside the fare will make the cost of travel more transparent,” US Transportation secretary Anthony Foxx said. Additional directives in DoT’s proposal include the disclosure of any discounts the customer would be entitled to if a consumer provides relevant information such as frequent flyer status. <br/>
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Current trends risk creating a bubble in aircraft values, an industry analyst warned Wednesday. Adam Pilarski, senior VP of aviation consultancy Avitas, told the annual Global Airfinance Conference that his company’s view of the aircraft market was that it has yet to reach a peak. Nevertheless, he warned that problems, including the movement against globalisation evidenced by the UK’s Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, have heightened the risk of a “harsh landing” in aircraft values. Pilarski noted that, historically, new aircraft orders from manufacturers have more or less matched the rate of new aircraft supplied to airlines. However, he pointed out that new orders are now running at almost twice the rate of deliveries. <br/>
It’s official. The opening of Berlin’s new Brandenburg airport (BER) is highly unlikely to take place this year. BER’s opening has now been postponed 4 times. And this is for a main airport for a capital city which should have opened back in 2011. Airportzentrale.de reports that “there are problems with several hundred doors and the sprinkler system. Only 20% of the 1,400 doors work flawlessly. Both problems are directly related to the smoke extraction system which has already caused problems.” The problems arose over Christmas and have made it impossible to finish construction work in January as planned. Completion of construction in January was a pre-requisite for the airport to open this year.” <br/>