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The head of Air France-KLM's biggest French pilots' union, who led a recent series of pay strikes, suffered electoral defeat Tuesday in a boost for new boss Ben Smith as he seeks cost-cutting deals with flight and cabin crew. SNPL leader Philippe Evain became the public face of industrial action which earlier this year wiped E335m (US$380m) off the airline group's earnings and led to the abrupt departure of Smith's predecessor Jean-Marc Janaillac. Smith, a former Air Canada second-in-command, had voiced hope that the election would lead to new union leadership. The clear winner of the SNPL ballot was Vincent Bossy, another pilot leader seen by management as more open to substantive negotiations on issues such as the expansion of Air France's low-cost Transavia brand. <br/>

Delta Air Lines added to investor concerns Tuesday, about the industry’s ability to manage the recent fall in oil prices as it warned a key revenue metric would fall short of prior expectations. US carriers managed a 40% surge in fuel prices over the past year by raising fares and fees and cutting unprofitable flying, but have historically had more trouble adapting to sharp declines. They have often lost any savings from cheaper fuel by starting extra flights that have triggered price wars in some markets. Delta’s new guidance for unit revenues to rise at the bottom of its prior range in Q4 triggered a sector sell-off, even as carriers said the economy was continuing to drive strong demand, especially for business-class flights and on routes to Europe. <br/>

Delta Air Lines introduced its first ‘biometric terminal’ over the weekend at Atlanta’s Terminal F, the international terminal. Introduced with US Customs and Border Protection, the terminal is the first biometric terminal in the US, with the facility available for Aeromexico, Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic international passengers in addition to Delta’s own customers. Facial recognition technology is used to identify passengers at check and for checked baggage drop off. It is also used at TSA screening points and all boarding gates in Terminal F. Delta has been trialling the system since October, with only a small percentage of passengers opting not to use the technology. The airline says the facial recognition system saves an average of 2 seconds for each customer at boarding, or 9 minutes overall for a wide-body aircraft. <br/>

China Airlines is allowing passengers to calculate and offset their carbon footprint when booking a flight online. The carrier partnered with UK environmental organisation ClimateCare to introduce the program, known as ECO TRAVEL Carbon Offsetting. After calculating their personal CO2 emissions for a journey, passengers can offset their carbon footprint by supporting ClimateCare projects. A CAL passenger flying from Taipei to Los Angeles, for example, would generate 1.66 tonnes of CO2, according to the calculator, which could be offset with US$17.18 for a ClimateCare project. Calculations are based on fuel consumption as well as passenger and cargo loads . The airline has also started using sustainable aviation fuel and plans to widen SAF usage as part of its carbon emissions reduction efforts. <br/>