general

The United Arab Emirates agreed to increase financial transparency in its airlines as part of a deal with the US to resolve allegations that two state-owned carriers have unfairly benefited from billions of dollars in government subsidies. The US and UAE acknowledged that while government support of airlines isn’t unusual, it may “adversely impact competition,” according to a copy of the agreement. The Persian Gulf country, home of Emirates and Etihad Airways, also committed to issue annual public financial reports under internationally recognized accounting standards. While the accord doesn’t freeze so-called fifth-freedom flights, the UAE pledged that its carriers have no plans for more of these routes, a senior State Department official said. Such flights have proved controversial in the past because of the indirect market access they provide. Under commercial aviation protocols, the flights start in an airline’s home country and touch down in a different nation before continuing on to a third. Emirates makes such flights from Dubai to Athens and then on to Newark, New Jersey. The agreement settles the final piece of a long-running dispute over government aid, which pitted the largest US airlines against rivals in the UAE and Qatar. American Airlines, Delta and United Continental claimed in 2015 that the Persian Gulf carriers were able to compete unfairly on flights into the US because of government subsidies. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to announce the agreement May 14. <br/>

A pilots' organization is warning that soft ground conditions at Bangkok's main international airport, a major regional hub, can cause its taxiways and aircraft parking positions to buckle or otherwise fail. The warning issued this week by the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Association says soft spots have been reported by flight crews and ground service providers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport since at least 2008. The group issued a similar warning four years ago. The group, which represents over 100,000 pilots worldwide, said it was told by the airport's operator, Airports of Thailand, that the cause of the pavement failures was "deficiencies in the asphalt materials used in pavement construction and the height of the water table below the airport." The airport was built on a former swamp. It said Airports of Thailand said permanent repairs are not expected to begin until at least late 2019, but that a team is on standby around the clock to make stopgap repairs. The association said the conditions have resulted in "soft spots and failures on heavily transited areas after about two years, which is well below the expected pavement life of around seven years."<br/>

Blowing dust sweeping through UAE on Sunday caused some slight travel delays and flight disruptions at the airports. As of 2:20pm, more than 30 inbound and outbound flights at Dubai International Airport were delayed, and departing passengers were advised to leave for the terminal earlier than usual, as the unstable weather conditions are also causing delays on roads. Delayed incoming flights were from Kuwait, India, Afghanistan and Georgia, among others. Affected departing flights include those bound for Jeddah and Kish. “The weather conditions continue to cause some delays to our flight schedule this afternoon. Please bear this in mind as you plan your journey,” budget carrier flydubai said in an advisory posted on Facebook. A spokesperson for the company said that up to 20 of its flights have been delayed so far. Also according to the flight tracker, at least ten other incoming flights operated by other airlines are also scheduled to arrive late Sunday afternoon. Emirates said that the weather conditions haven’t had any major impact on its flight operations at Dubai International.<br/>

Despite the growth of the #MeToo movement, nearly 1 in 5 flight attendants say they have been the victims of physical sexual harassment in the last year — and have seen no efforts by their managers to address the problem. A survey of more than 3,500 flight attendants from 29 airlines in the US found that 35% of flight attendants say they have experienced verbal harassment, with 18% saying they have been physically abused by passengers over the last year. According to the survey released by the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA, 68% of flight attendants have experienced some form of sexual harassment during their careers. But only 7% of flight attendances who have experienced abuse have reported it, the survey found. Those flight attendants who have been physically harassed say it includes having their breasts, buttocks and crotch area "touched, felt, pulled, grabbed, groped, slapped, rubbed and fondled," according to the survey. More than two-thirds of flight attendants say they noticed no efforts by their employers to address the problem in the last year. "Flight attendants must be confident that airline executives will back them up when they respond to and report harassment of crew and passengers," said Sara Nelson, president of the association, which represents 50,000 flight attendants from 20 airlines.<br/>

Air Lease Corp. earned a 2018 Q1 net income of $110.6m, up 30.3% compared to $84.9m in the 2017 1Q. Revenues were up 5.8% year-over-year to $381.2m. The California-based lessor credited the continuing robust growth of the global airline industry, despite continuing technical problems on several of the industry’s main engine types, for the positive results. “We had another strong quarter of growth in revenues and earnings per share,” ALC CEO and president John Plueger reported. “We were also able to add nine aircraft to our industry-leading fleet and eight planes for future delivery. Global passenger growth remains strong, as do our financial metrics and forward lease placements.” “The airline industry continues to perform well, with IATA forecasting another year of global industry profits in excess of $30 billion,” executive chairman Steven Udvar-Házy added. “Supply chain delays and engine technical issues continue to have a short-term impact on new aircraft deliveries. As such, we continue to source aircraft opportunistically,” he said.<br/>