AerCap posted a Q2 net profit of US$254.2m, down 10% year-over-year. The decline stemmed in part from lower net gains on aircraft sales. AerCap sold 30 aircraft last quarter, with an average age of 13 years, while taking delivery of 20 new aircraft. Demand overall remains strong, CE Aengus Kelly said, pointing to IATA’s full-year outlook of 7% traffic growth as a sign of the market’s condition. “At a macro level, we continue to see a broadly healthy environment for our airline customers, notwithstanding the rise in oil prices,” Kelly said. “While the rising fuel prices over the past year has clearly had some impact on airlines profitability, it has not risen to a level where we believe it will cause major problems for the airlines, as it reflects a global economy that continues to do well.” <br/>
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A new report from the US Govt Accountability Office (GAO) is calling on the TSA to set specific goals and measures for its training of security officers. In a July 26 report, the US govt watchdog agency said TSA’s Basic Training Program for Transportation Security Officers (TSO) has not yet outlined specific goals the program is expected to achieve, nor has it identified performance measures to evaluate progress toward goals. The report was issued in response to 2 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General reports that found vulnerabilities in TSA checkpoint screening, after agents carried simulated handguns and explosives concealed on their bodies through passenger security checkpoints. <br/>
US Federal Air Marshals since 2010 have been secretly shrivelling passengers and reporting on suspicious inflight behaviour, even though those being monitored do not appear on any terrorism watch-list and are not suspected of committing a crime. “Quiet Skies,” the previously undisclosed surveillance program, was first reported on by The Boston Globe July 30. As part of the program, small teams of Federal Air Marshals follow targeted passengers in airports and inflight, observing them for behaviours as ordinary as fidgeting, using the bathroom repeatedly or having a strong body odour, according to internal documents reviewed by the Globe. A US TSA spokesman said the program’s purpose is to ensure “passengers and flight crew are protected during air travel,” and the agency does not take race or religion into account. <br/>