Air travelers want airlines to deliver more real-time information to their personal devices, including updates on flight status (82%), baggage (49%) and wait-times at security and immigration checkpoints (46%), according to survey data from IATA’s latest Global Passenger Survey, released Oct 2. The survey polled 10,408 respondents from 145 countries. According to the results, 56% of passengers polled described real-time baggage tracking as “a must.” Airlines and airports are facilitating this by implementing tracking at major journey points including loading and unloading, as well as by the proposed introduction of RFID inlays in all baggage tags manufactured after 2020. Regarding data usage, a majority (65%) of travelers are willing to share their personal data to gain expedited security. <br/>
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Higher levels of carbon dioxide in airplane cockpits may diminish commercial pilots’ ability to perform manoeuvres, recent research from Harvard indicates. For the study, 30 commercial airline pilots completed 3, 3-hour flight sessions in a simulator. They were paired up to perform several pre-established manoeuvres of varying difficulty, with carbon dioxide concentrations adjusted to 700, 1,500 and 2,500 parts per million. Findings showed that pilots were 69% more likely to correctly complete the manoeuvres when carbon dioxide levels were at 700 ppm than when CO2 levels were at 2,500 ppm. At 1,500 ppm, pilots were 52% more likely to correctly complete the manoeuvres than at 2,500 ppm. In addition, the negative effects of carbon dioxide on flight performance grew more conspicuous as pilots spent more time in the simulator. <br/>
The FAA next year will begin a phased evaluation of satellite-aided surveillance of aircraft flying over oceanic spaces, including use of the Aireon space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system scheduled to begin operating in 2019. Acting FAA administrator Dan Elwell said the agency “is working toward a funding decision” that would supplement ground-based ADS-B in the US with satellite-based surveillance over oceans. This likely would involve subscribing to Aireon’s space-based ADS-B system, which is nearing completion with the placement of Iridium Next satellites. Sixty of 66 planned operational Iridium Next satellites are now in orbit. Once completed by early next year, Aireon’s network will provide the position of ADS-B-equipped aircraft every 8 sec. in oceanic and remote areas. <br/>
Airlines have been called out for splitting up families on flights to force them to pay more to sit together. UK business secretary Greg Clark slammed airlines for using "evil algorithms" targeting families to maximise profit. Several budget airlines have been accused of allocating families seats that are not next to each other so they will stump up the cash to pay for allocated seats that are together. Clark has said that it is "not fair" that airlines are using these algorithms to detect people with the same surnames to sit them apart. He also added that carriers were doing it so passengers are "essentially nudged to pay more to sit together". His comments come just months after the CAA launched an investigation into seating policies after it was revealed that around 38m passengers have been caught up in a NZ$800m airline seat booking racket. <br/>