The US and Britain Tuesday imposed restrictions on carry-on electronic devices on planes coming from certain airports in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa in response to unspecified security threats. The US Department of Homeland Security said passengers traveling from a specific list of airports could not bring into the main cabin devices larger than a mobile phone such as tablets, portable DVD players, laptops and cameras. Instead, such items must be in checked baggage. Although civil liberties groups raised concerns that US President Donald Trump was seeking another limit on movement after a travel ban from Muslim-majority countries was challenged in the courts, Britain took similar steps. A spokesman for British PM Theresa May said there would be curbs on electronic items in the cabin on flights from six countries in the Middle East. The foreign office said the measures would be implemented by March 25. The moves were prompted by reports that militant groups want to smuggle explosive devices inside electronic gadgets. The ban would continue for the "foreseeable future," a US government official said Tuesday, adding that it was possible it could be extended to other airports and other countries. US officials say militant groups are known for innovative bomb designs, including embedding them inside computers. Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) also has boasted of one of the world's most feared bomb makers, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri. French and Canadian officials said they were examining their arrangements but neither government was taking additional security measures at this stage. The airports covered by the U.S. restrictions are in Cairo; Istanbul; Kuwait City; Doha, Qatar; Casablanca, Morocco; Amman, Jordan; Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates. The affected airports are served by nine airlines that fly directly from those cities to the United States about 50 times a day, senior government officials said. The carriers -- Royal Jordanian Airlines, Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways -- have until Friday to adopt the new policy, which took effect Tuesday. Britain said its restrictions would apply to direct flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. The British regulations affect British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Monarch, Thomas Cook, Thomson, Atlas-Global, Pegasus, EgyptAir, Royal Jordanian, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, Turkish Airlines and Tunisair.<br/>
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New rules banning many electronic items from passenger cabins on US-bound flights will force a rethink now on fire safety concerns in consigning them to the hold, and some experts question whether the limited ban can improve passenger security. The regulations shed light on a juggling act between airline safety, where authorities worry about technical risks such as lithium-powered goods catching fire in the hold, and security measures against damage or loss of life by deliberate attacks. The rules, announced Tuesday, cover carry-on electronic devices on planes flying from 10 airports in eight Muslim-majority nations in the Middle East and North Africa. The Trump administration said passengers traveling from those airports could not bring devices larger than a cellphone, such as tablets, portable DVD players, laptops and cameras, into the main cabin. Instead, they must be in checked baggage. The clampdown was prompted by reports that militant groups want to smuggle explosive devices in electronic gadgets, US officials said. Matthew Finn, MD at security consultants Augmentiq, said placing such devices in the hold, rather than in the cabin made little sense. That's because improvised explosive devices could be triggered via a variety of mechanisms, including a small mobile phone that would still be in the cabin. "I imagine there must be some reliable intelligence that gives credibility to the threat; I just can’t see how this particular measure will make anything or anyone safer as a result," he said. Bruce Schneier, security technologist and lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, disagreed. "Forcing it in the plane's hold would make it much harder to detonate, since the terrorist has to design an automatic mechanism rather than doing it manually," he said. The regulations will require an abrupt change of thinking at airlines which have been focused until now on the threat of fire from batteries contained inside many of the electronic items. Some questioned the scope of the ban. "A partial ban targeting only few airlines in some countries will not protect passengers from a terrorist threat," said Ruben Morales, head of corporate safety at Hong Kong Airlines. "Nowadays airlines are highly connected through alliances and codeshare agreements... Nothing prevents passengers from bringing their electronic devices onboard non-direct flights to the US from countries outside of the ban."<br/>
Akbar Al Baker was in ebullient mood this month. At an event in Berlin, the CE of Qatar Airways presented a mock-up of the airline’s new business-class seats — which he insisted were the world’s best. He also confidently announced plans to set up a new Qatari-owned airline in the fast-growing Indian market. Less than two weeks later, Mr Al Baker and executives at the other big carriers that route international long-haul air passengers through the Middle East are facing perhaps the most serious setback since their rapid growth took off some 15 years ago. A ban on carrying larger electronic devices in aircraft cabins on flights to the US could persuade passengers to use alternative routes, bypassing hubs in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. If passengers start to drift away from Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad and Turkish Airlines, it will mark a significant shift in the balance of power in global aviation. Over the past 15 years, all four carriers, with substantial support from their governments, have taken significant market share through heavy investment both in new long-haul aircraft and their vast hub airports. Andrew Charlton, a Geneva-based aviation consultant, said the US ban made flying via the hubs in the Gulf and Turkey more inconvenient and riskier, since it was possible laptops would be broken in aircraft holds. “People will be questioning whether or not it’s a good idea to do it,” Charlton said. “For all of those carriers, the issue is not just transport from Dubai or Abu Dhabi or Doha or Istanbul, it’s all the transport that’s behind that [to and from other points].” Middle Eastern airlines can expect little sympathy from the industry. Rivals in Europe have complained vociferously about the tactics of Gulf airlines in the European market, while US airlines have run a concerted campaign against allegedly unfair competition, asking their government to tear up its aviation agreements with Qatar and the UAE. The US ban threatens to undermine a business model that has brought extraordinary success to airlines in the Middle East. Led by Emirates, the region’s carriers have sought to lay on regular flights between their hubs and even relatively minor international destinations such as Glasgow in the UK and Auckland in New Zealand. One crumb of comfort for Gulf carriers came from the UK. Britain said it would follow the US restrictions but excluded airports in Qatar and the UAE — while including Turkey. <br/>
European airports on Tuesday called on Britain and the EU to agree a back-up plan for post-Brexit flying should they fail to agree a new relationship before Britain quits the bloc, saying a return to decades-old traffic rights deals should be avoided. EU-based airlines have the right to fly to and from any country in the bloc or even within other member states thanks to the single aviation market created in the 1990s. Britain's vote to leave the EU means it has to renegotiate that access, but the ruling out of sectoral deals by EU officials has rattled the aviation industry, which has to plan flight schedules well in advance and cannot rely on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, unlike other sectors. ACI Europe - the trade association representing Europe's airports - said it was concerned about the lack of back-up or transitional plan should Britain and the EU fail to agree a new relationship within the two-year time frame provided for in EU treaties. British PM Theresa May has said that no deal is better than a bad deal with the EU, but for aviation, in the worst case scenario the uncertainty could ground planes. "As responsible businesses, at this stage we simply cannot rule out a cliff-edge scenario for Brexit and aviation," ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said. "This means that adequate contingencies need to be established promptly in case the UK would exit the EU without any agreement on its future relationship with the bloc." Airlines last week called on Britain to provide clarity on post-Brexit flying arrangements given that flight schedule planning for summer 2019, when Britain is due to be out of the EU, will begin in a year's time. The absence of a deal governing flying rights between the EU and Britain after the 2-year negotiating period ends could mean airlines having to rely on older, more restrictive bilateral provisions between the United Kingdom and the other 27 EU member states, ACI Europe said. "We would prefer not to fall back on those bilaterals, but to get some sort of transition agreement that what we have today can be safeguarded. But what we are hearing is that if there is no agreement, there is also no transitional agreement," Jankovec told journalists in London.<br/>
Noting the US airline industry saw its seventh consecutive year of profitability in 2016, FAA is projecting the US will see a “competitive and profitable aviation industry characterized by increasing demand for air travel [with] airfares growing more slowly than inflation” over the next 20 years, according to the agency’s annual Aerospace Forecast for fiscal years 2017-3037. “Looking ahead, there is confidence that the industry has been transformed from that of a boom-to-bust cycle to one of sustainable profits,” FAA said. Traffic growth by US mainline and regional carriers will increase at an average rate of 2.4% per year, with domestic traffic forecast to increase 2% per year and international traffic projected to increase 3.4% per year. The entire US system will see traffic increase 65% by 2037, FAA projected. Passenger growth on US carriers will increase at an average 1.9% per year over the next 20 years, down slightly from last year’s forecast. Low oil prices will continue to drive the uptick in passenger growth seen in 2016 through 2017, FAA said, but the price of oil is expected to rise from approximately $39 per barrel in 2017 to $47 in 2017. “Our forecast assumes that [oil] will rise thereafter to exceed $100 by 2026 and approach $132 by the end of the forecast period,” FAA said. However, certain economic headwinds, such as the fallout from Brexit, recessions in Brazil and Russia, and uncertainty about the impact of the Trump Administration’s policies on economic growth, may alter these trends.<br/>
Airports have long been known for offering high-end services to their human passengers — for a price. Now, at Kennedy International Airport, the same can be said for animals. Dogs, cats, horses, birds, fish and even sloths will be able to have their own special accommodations at a new center called the Ark at JFK. Services will include things like “pawdicures” for dogs, fancy stalls for racehorses and quarantined lodgings for sick birds. The offerings at the Ark, which occupies nearly 80,000 square feet and is opening in stages, will range from the essential to the luxurious. Its operation will be far more extensive than that of the previous animal center at the airport, Vetport, which closed in December. Pet owners willing to part with some extra cash have the option of using the Ark’s Pet Oasis, which opened in January and assists in-transit animals left by their owners before they fly, or by pet shippers or airlines. Ark vehicles can transport animals from jets to the 4,000-square-foot Pet Oasis. Staff members groom, feed, water, walk and play with the animals. Rates, which vary by service, are available by request only.<br/>
China’s three major airlines are on course for improving earnings this year amid ongoing passenger traffic growth and diminished concerns over foreign exchange losses. In anticipation of a further depreciation in the Chinese yuan, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines have been cutting their US dollar debt exposure, from above 70% at the peak level to below 50% by year-end 2016. Because Chinese airlines earn most of their revenue in yuan, they are vulnerable to shifts in foreign exchange markets, even though borrowing abroad can be cheaper than the interest rates on offer domestically. “The lower US dollar debt levels have mitigated the risks of foreign exchange loss,” said Vincent Ha, an analyst from Deutsche Bank. “For US dollar debt, Chinese airlines still seem to be aiming for more cuts. As such, we see... lower foreign exchange losses.” In previous years, Chinese airlines have been hesitant to covert US dollar debt into yuan-denominated equivalents due to higher borrowing costs. However, thanks to ample liquidity in the Chinese banking system, options to refinance in yuan are now available at compelling rates, according to Ha. In the past, lower interest rates on US dollar borrowings, combined with a backdrop of a strengthening Chinese yuan, led to practises where Chinese airlines would typically finance more than 70% of aircraft procurement and leasing agreements in US dollars. But this benign scenario came to an end when the Chinese yuan made an abrupt U-turn from what had been a long period of appreciation against the greenback, slipping 4.6 and 6.9% against the US dollar in 2015 and 2016 respectively. That led to combined foreign exchange losses at the three major airlines of 16.1b yuan in 2015, and 11.6b yuan in 2016, according to estimates by Deutsche Bank. Further depreciation in the yuan is expected, with Deutsche Bank forecasting the currency will ease to 7.4 per US dollar by the end of 2017 and 8.1 per US dollar by end 2018.<br/>
Singapore-based aircraft leasing firm BOC Aviation said Tuesday it has ordered 13 new Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes worth a total of $1.4b at list prices. "Airlines are attracted by the 737 MAX 8's lower operating costs and fuel efficiency," BOC Aviation MD and CE Robert Martin said. "We are delighted to announce the inclusion of these additional aircraft as we build our future delivery pipeline." BOC Aviation, owned by Bank of China, is based in Singapore with offices in Dublin, London and Tianjin. It is a key customer for both European aircraft maker Airbus and its US rival Boeing. BOC Aviation said its fleet is leased to 68 airlines in 32 countries as of end December last year. Following the latest purchase agreement, the company said its cumulative outstanding orders, purchases and deliveries from Boeing total 331 aircraft. Most of its Boeing planes are from the single-aisle 737 family, a popular choice among low-cost carriers, which have expanded rapidly in Southeast Asia.<br/>