The UK and the EU must take urgent action to plan for the continuation of air services in the event of a "no deal" Brexit, according to IATA. "A backstop contingency plan to keep planes flying after March must be published, and quickly," says IATA DG Alexandre de Juniac on 25 October, referring to the UK’s likely end-March departure from the bloc. Even in the "best-case scenario", where a Brexit transition phase is agreed for the period after March 2019, "a high degree of uncertainty" and "risk" to air services remains, IATA says. "The EU and UK have a responsibility to millions of their citizens who depend on reliable air transportation," states de Juniac. "The goal should be a comprehensive air services agreement that does not step backwards from the connectivity existing today." Regarding a no-deal scenario, IATA cites the uninterrupted continuation of air connectivity, the safety and security regulatory framework, and the policies and processes needed for efficient border management as three key areas where it says insufficient steps have been taken. "These are the most critical areas because there are no fallback agreements such as the WTO framework available in a 'no-deal' Brexit scenario," suggests de Juniac. He continues: "Without any contingency planning being made transparent to the industry, the risks of not addressing these issues could mean chaos for travellers and interrupted supply chains. With less than six months to go, we have little more certainty than we did in June 2016." Story has more detail.<br/>
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Airlines have figured out how to extract more money from passengers, and they will need it to cover rising costs for their own fuel, labour and other expenses. Not long ago, investors demanded that the airlines boost prices, even if it meant reducing flights to create a shortage of seats. Now they are obsessed with controlling expenses. They punished Southwest on Thursday after the carrier warned about a surprisingly large increase in costs next year. Southwest reported a 16% increase in Q3 profit on higher revenue, beating expectations, but the shares dropped more than 8% in afternoon trading. On the other hand, American Airlines Group reported that its profit plunged 48% from a year ago because it failed to fully pass on $750m in higher fuel prices to consumers. Yet American's shares climbed 8% after company executives laid out a plan to reduce spending, boost revenue, and grow earnings next year. All four of the largest US airlines saw higher revenue in Q3 than a year ago, and revenue per seat, a stand-in for average prices, is rising. Empty seats are hard to find. United ] President Scott Kirby called it "one of the best revenue environments we've ever seen." Airlines are facing a strong headwind, however, from surging fuel prices. Spot prices are up about 35 percent from this time last year, according to government figures. United said this month that it was recovering its entire fuel-cost increase from passengers, and Delta said it was covering about 85%. American, however, said Thursday that it recovered just 40% in Q3.<br/>
Dallas Love Field in November will open a third parking garage and add 5,000 spaces at the city-owned airport. Airport officials on Thursday announced Parking Garage C opens in a week — at noon next Thursday. The new garage means a total of 12,000 parking spaces at Love Field. Dallas leaders had discussed needing another garage since restrictions against long-haul flights from Love Field expired in October 2014 — attracting more passengers. Love Field is home base for Southwest. <br/>