United said Friday it would add nearly 150 flights to cities in the United States, Central America and the Caribbean, as it prepares for a surge in passengers who want to travel during the winter holidays. Airlines are adding flights and hiring additional staff in preparation for a jump in demand as economies open up and vaccination coverage improves. United said it had flown five times as many passengers during the fourth of July travel period than it did last year. The carrier expects the trend to remain for the rest of the year.<br/>
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Leisure travel on US airlines now exceeds pre-pandemic levels and severely depressed business flying is expected to begin returning in the fall, United Airlines' CEO said. Air travel to many international destinations remains lower because of restrictions, but trans-Atlantic travel should break records by next summer, United chief Scott Kirby said Sunday. “We see a huge desire for people to get back out, reunite with friends and family and connect with the world,” Kirby said. “We aren’t back to 100%, but we’re certainly headed in the right direction.” After falling by more than 95% in the spring of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic erupted, passenger loads have improved dramatically. An average of almost 2m people a day traveled during the past week, about 76% of the equivalent period in 2019, according to TSA data. While United has been able to bring workers back to handle the demand, some airport businesses and the TSA’s corps of security screeners haven’t always been able to keep up, Kirby said. “There is some rust and some strains in the system,” he said. He predicted travel to Europe would rebound as soon as the US lifts restrictions on flying by non-US citizens, but said it would take longer for Asian routes to recover.<br/>
Turkish Airlines decided to increase staff wages in July as the easing of coronavirus restrictions in many countries raised hopes for a quicker recovery in aviation. The salaries of both domestic and foreign personnel working on the reopened international routes have been raised by a minimum of 10% above inflation, the airline said. The company cited global loosening of restrictions and the cautious optimism over vaccination programs, while also taking into account sacrifices made by employees during the pandemic. Turkish Airlines is one of the first major carriers to post a profit this year after a boost in freight revenue. The company announced Q1 net income of $50.5m, or 438m liras, even as sales declined, reversing a year-earlier loss and beating analyst estimates. Last year, the company put foreign national pilots on unpaid leave to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its finances.<br/>
Air New Zealand has confirmed all nine flights organised to help Kiwis stranded in New South Wales come home sold out within minutes. The flights went on sale at 10am Monday morning and by 10:15am, all of them were gone. However, the airline says it will be releasing more seats on the flights if and when more spots in managed isolation facilities (MIQ) become available. Those still wanting to return home are advised to keep checking.<br/>The flights were announced early on Monday morning, just 30 minutes before they went on sale. <br/>