The head of an airline passenger rights group called on the public to protest a decision by US regulators not to set standards on cramped aircraft seating -- and took a potshot at President Donald Trump for not flying commercial. The FAA said this week that it has “no evidence that there is an immediate safety issue necessitating rule-making at this time,” despite a court order that it examine whether shrinking legroom and cramped seats should be regulated. “Now that the FAA bureaucracy has again rejected any regulation of seat size and passenger space while ridiculing passenger discomfort and dismissing all safety and health concerns, the only likely recourse for the traveling public is by overwhelming public outcry to comment online in opposition to the FAA decision,” said Paul Hudson, president of the nonprofit citizens group Flyers Rights. The group sued the FAA in 2017, claiming emergency evacuations could be slowed by more tightly-packed seating after airlines began adding rows to their planes, enabled by new, slimmer seat designs. Flyers Rights said in a press release that the FAA admits it doesn’t test airliner compliance with its rules that passengers must be able to evacuate a fully occupied aircraft within 90 seconds. Instead, the agency relies on partial demonstrations by manufacturers that Hudson called “questionable.” He noted that the US House passed legislation in April mandating the FAA to set seat standards.<br/>
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US airlines are aiming to convince investors that surging fuel costs won’t knock a record stretch of profitability off course. Some investors say airlines won’t be able to raise prices fast enough to cover a roughly 55% increase in fuel costs from a year ago. The NYSE Arca Airline Index is down nearly 13% this year while the S&P 500 is up 3.2%. They expect carriers to commit to schedule cuts to address the rising costs when they report quarterly earnings this month. Delta is the first to report, on Thursday. “The first course of action may be to adjust their fall and winter schedule, while trying to raise fares in strong markets,” said Helane Becker, an analyst at Cowen & Co. “Delta has repeatedly hinted at this.” Executives have said higher fuel costs will factor into their capacity decisions after the peak summer travel season. “We’ve made money at fuel prices at $100 and we’ve made money at $40,” Delta CE Ed Bastian said recently. “There’s a resiliency and a stability to our business like never before.” But other costs are rising too. In addition to fuel, many airlines recently agreed to labor contracts that will see them pay more in wages and benefits. And a shakier forecast for geopolitics and international trade could hurt flight demand in the months ahead if companies cut back on business travel, analysts say.<br/>
Protesters blocked streets in Haiti on Sunday while many damaged or looted stores stayed closed for a third day following anger over steep fuel price increases in the Caribbean nation. The mostly young protesters used felled trees and large rocks to block roads, as well as piles of tires set on fire, some of which still smoldered on Sunday, sending up thick clouds of black smoke. The U.S. embassy warned its citizens to avoid the unrest in the capital Port-au-Prince and reschedule travel plans as several airlines cancelled flights. At the Toussaint Louverture international airport, dozens of stranded travellers camped out waiting for flights to resume, lounging on suitcases. A spokesman for American Airlines said it had cancelled three out of seven round trip flights scheduled to stop in Port-au-Prince on Sunday. The carrier’s Sunday route to Haiti’s Cap-Haitien airport had not been cancelled. JetBlue Airways also cancelled its flights to Haiti on Sunday.<br/>
Venezuela’s domestic airline industry is struggling to maintain operations due to hyperinflation and shortages of spare parts, according to an industry association, making it increasingly hard to obtain tickets and causing chronic flight delays. The domestic air fleet has shrunk 80% since 2014 to around 20 functioning aircraft, the Venezuelan air industry association Ceveta says, leaving Venezuelans struggling to travel to visit relatives or receive medical treatment. That comes atop a steady withdrawal since 2016 of international airlines, many of which left Venezuela after years investing in what was once one of Latin America’s richest countries. Eight local airlines continue flying, the most active of which are Laser, Avior and state-run Conviasa, Ceveta President Jorge Alvarez told Reuters on June 26. He added that airlines have cut services because they cannot obtain dollars through the country’s currency control system. “We don’t have replacement parts because the government is not able to provide the hard currency we need,” said Alvarez, a former airline executive. For domestic flights, airlines now typically sell only one-way tickets. When people want to return home from a trip, they usually have to line up at the airport on the day they hope to travel.<br/>
Airbus Friday raised its forecast for aircraft demand over the next 20 years as it begins to recover from two years of late deliveries of its A320neo passenger jet. Aircraft demand has been driven mainly by strong economic growth in emerging markets and the need to replace older planes in mature Western markets. Airbus also confirmed that it was studying further development of the largest member of the A320 family. The European planemaker said it was raising its 20-year forecast for total aircraft deliveries by more than 7% to 37,400 jets, worth $5.8t at list prices. That compares with 34,900 aircraft worth $5.3t a year ago, partly as the result of a higher starting point as the industry absorbs another year of brisk growth in air travel. Dominating the outlook is the market for ‘Small’ jets up to 230 seats, where Airbus has expanded its portfolio by closing a deal to buy Bombardier’s 110-130-seat CSeries jet - mirrored on Thursday by a tentative deal by rival Boeing to acquire the commercial unit of Brazil’s Embraer.<br/>
The new Istanbul airport is expected to boost Turkish aviation sector’s growth by 27.5% in the next three years, according to officials. The number of passengers, including those on direct transit, is expected to increase by 13% to reach around 219m this year, compared with 193.6m passengers last year, General Directorate of State Airports Authority data has shown. The authority forecasts over 230m air passengers next year and a rise of 27.5%, year-on-year, to reach nearly 250m in 2020. The largest increase will be seen in passengers on international flights — around 29% — to reach 107.7m in 2020, compared with 83.5m passengers last year. The third airport in the city will be the world’s biggest project built from scratch upon completion. The first phase of the new airport — 90% of which is already completed — is expected to formally open on Oct. 29, Turkey’s Independence Day.<br/>