Flying has increasingly become a world of the haves and have-nots, starting with purchasing a ticket and continuing as passengers are sorted by status to board. Once on the plane, passengers can see where they fit in the hierarchy, with the seats getting smaller and thinner and legroom tighter with each passing row. Then, there’s the scramble to secure space in the overhead bins. “By the time you walk down the jet bridge, you are a bundle of nerves,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel analysis firm in San Francisco. Now, some researchers are arguing that the stresses of flying — and they say income inequality is among them — contribute to an increase in unruly behavior on planes. Add to that mix the fact that there are fewer flight attendants on duty than there once were. <br/>
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All major US airlines and most smaller air carriers have voluntarily committed to a climate-mitigation plan that's independent of the Paris Agreement, the FA reported last week. "It’s a lot," said Dan Williams, the environmental protection specialist tasked with implementing the program for the FAA. "It’s more than 97% of the total for the international fuel use for operators, and therefore emissions." While voluntary now, the program is designed to become mandatory after 2027. Very small operators and very small planes are exempted from the scope, as are flights for medical emergencies, disaster responses, and other humanitarian purposes. The program, called the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), caps emissions at 2020 levels even as air traffic is expected to triple by 2050. <br/>
The ICAO said Thailand achieved an effective implementation of standards score of 65.07%, which exceeds the minimum pass threshold of 60% set by UN aviation watchdog. The score was awarded after a full team of ICAO officials carried out a Coordinated Validation Mission on Thailand's civil aviation standards between May 13-22, Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand chief Chula Sukmanop said Monday. Thailand was red-flagged by the ICAO in June 2015 for failing to adequately deal with "significant safety concerns [SSCs]" within the specified time frame. After all 33 SSCs were addressed, the UN watchdog lifted the red flag in Oct 2017, although a lot still needed to be done to meet international standards. Chula said that he believes the US FAA will also upgrade Thailand's aviation status. <br/>
The planned opening of arrival duty-free shops at Incheon International is making local airlines selling duty-free items on their flights nervous, amid speculation their sales may decline. Friday, 2 arrival duty-free shops will begin operations in Terminal 1 and 4 in Terminal 2, according to the airport. Local airlines are worried as there are scores of overlapping products that will be sold at the arrival duty-free stores and the convenience factor of not having to carry their purchases during travel will appeal to customers. Experts believe the deciding factors for buying at duty-free arrival shops instead of in-flight will come down to marketing and differentiation of the products they are selling. The shops are a part of measures to alleviate the inconvenience of having to travel with duty free goods purchased at the departure area. <br/>