Faced once again with a pilot shortage as air travel ramps up in line with COVID-19 vaccinations, US regional airline executives have renewed their call for a relaxation of the FAA controversial 1,500-hour flight-training pilot qualification standard, saying it imposes unnecessary barriers to entry into the profession, reports Travel Weekly. The Regional Airlines Association (RAA) wants the FAA to allow pilots to qualify with fewer hours in the air, replacing some of it with time in a flight simulator. "We all know you can get a very qualified pilot in far less time than it takes today," PSA Airlines president Dion Flannery told the RAA Leadership Conference in Washington DC on September 27-28, 2021. However, an influential congressman told the conference the likelihood of the rule being changed was remote. “Having been there when we wrote the rule, I feel very obligated to it,” House Subcommittee on Aviation chairman Rick Larsen told a question-and-answer session at the conference. But some regional carriers said they were already experiencing a re-emerging pilot shortage, which before the pandemic had forced many to reduce their schedules, while it had also contributed to industry bankruptcies and closures.<br/>
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The EU and Ukraine are set to sign an aviation agreement at a summit in Kyiv on Tuesday that is expected to open the country to more low-cost air routes and boost tourism, according to EU officials. The Common Civil Aviation Area Agreement will improve air connections and create new commercial opportunities for airlines in the EU and Ukraine, EU officials said on Monday without elaborating. In Kyiv, the EU and Ukraine will seek to further strengthen economic and political ties, after striking an agreement in 2017 that gave Ukraine preferential access to the EU and has seen trade increase significantly. They will sign additional deals boosting scientific cooperation and enabling exchanges for researchers. The EU will also launch a E6.5b investment package designed to stimulate public-private investments in Ukraine, according to officials of the bloc. <br/>
Britain should put policies in place to ensure airlines start switching to sustainable aviation fuels, said the boss of the country’s busiest airport said on Monday, ahead of the COP26 global climate conference which starts later this month. Airlines, airports and manufacturers are all pressing for government support to increase production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to help them lower their carbon footprints and enable the industry to hit its climate goals. The CE of London’s Heathrow airport said Britain, as COP26 host, should lead the world in helping to scale up SAF production by bringing in rules for its use, a price support mechanism via contracts for difference, and loan guarantees. “We should aim for 2019 to have been the peak year for fossil fuel use in global aviation,” Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye said Monday. SAF generally produces up to 70% less carbon than fossil fuels but is more costly, particularly as production volumes are currently very low at less than 1% of total jet fuel demand. The aviation industry has thrown its weight behind SAF as a way to make flying more environmentally friendly before less carbon-intensive hybrid, electric or hydrogen aeroplane options become available from the late 2030s. Facing mounting pressure from regulators and environmental groups, global airlines earlier in October committed to “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050. Heathrow earlier on Monday reported that its passenger numbers remained depressed in September, coming in at just under 40% of pre-pandemic levels from 2019.<br/>
Domestic flights should be banned and long-distance train fares subsidised, transport campaigners have urged, highlighting the relative environmental and financial costs of air and rail travel. The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) called on ministers to outlaw internal UK flights if an equivalent train journey took less than five hours and to resist calls for any cut in air passenger duty. Mandatory emissions labels on tickets and a frequent flyer levy should also be introduced, the charity said. The demands came before the 27 October budget, in which the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, may decide to cut taxes on domestic flights in response to pressure from the aviation industry, a possibility mooted by the prime minister earlier this year. Such a move could, however, prove an embarrassment a week before the UK hosts the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow. The proposed ban would not affect isolated communities or the longest UK air corridors, but would hit flights such as Manchester to London, London to Edinburgh and Birmingham to Glasgow. Passengers should be offered cheaper train tickets, while anyone taking more than three international flights a year would be required to pay a frequent flyer levy, the campaign proposes.<br/>
London Heathrow Airport has posted data for September which shows a weaker recovery than its continental rivals, with passenger numbers below 40% of their pre-pandemic levels. The results stand in contrast to that of many European airports that have enjoyed a “stronger resurgence over summer”, notes Heathrow. North American traffic at the UK hub was just a quarter of 2019’s levels, it says. Meanwhile, cargo volume was down 8% on September 2019, “reflecting the way in which travel restrictions have been damaging UK exports and supply chains”. The airport adds that the easing of testing requirements and the reduction in the red list will make travel “simpler, cheaper and less stressful for all passengers”. It is optimistic that these changes, and the forthcoming reopening of the USA to fully vaccinated passengers, will provide a boost to travel figures over school half-term holidays and Christmas. Further data shows that 2.57m passengers passed through the airport in September, more than double the level of last year. However, between October 2020 and September 2021 just 13.3m passengers used Heathrow, 66% fewer than a year earlier. For cargo, in the October 2020 to September 2021 period the airport processed 1.34m metric tonnes of freight, an 11% increase on the same period in 2019-20.<br/>
Europe’s aviation regulator is initiating a research effort intended to address the risk of overruns caused by deficiencies in runway micro-texture, and explore the use of laser-scanning to establish suitable thresholds for runway surfaces. Analysis of a number of overrun events showed that aircraft brakes and anti-skid functions were normal, the macro-texture depths of the runway was within the correct range, and there was no significant rubber accumulation. “In these occurrences the runways were wet and not flooded,” says the EASA. “It was believed that the difference in the braking performance was due to the deficiencies in the surface’s micro-texture.” Friction-measurement devices are used to compare surface friction measurements against required levels. But in some of the overrun events the devices recorded a friction level above minimum while the aircraft experienced substantially lower levels during the landing. Micro-texture is the fine-scale roughness from the presence of small aggregate particles, and complement the macro-texture to ensure good braking action in the wet. Smooth micro-texture, says EASA, can cause low braking friction even when the runway is damp. “There are neither minimum requirements nor an established method for determining and monitoring micro-texture characteristics,” it states.<br/>
Thailand plans to fully re-open to vaccinated tourists from countries deemed low risk from 1 November, the country’s leader said, citing the urgent need to save the kingdom’s ailing economy. Before the pandemic, Thailand attracted nearly 40m visitors a year drawn to its picturesque beaches and robust nightlife, with tourism making up almost 20% of its national income. But Covid-related travel restrictions have left the economy battered, contributing to its worst performance in more than 20 years. Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha announced Monday the country will be reopening its borders to vaccinated tourists travelling by air from “low risk countries”. The 10 nations considered low risk include Britain, the United States, China, Germany and Singapore. “When they arrive, they should present a (negative) Covid test ... and test once again upon arrival,” the prime minister said in a televised address. After getting a negative test, “they can travel freely like Thais,” he said. His announcement significantly loosens up current restrictions in place for vaccinated tourists, who must undergo at least seven days hotel quarantine.<br/>
Airbus delivered 40 aircraft in September, a month in which only a single A319neo was added to the airframer’s firm orders for the year. Overall deliveries for the first nine months of 2021 rose to 424 aircraft. September’s deliveries included a pair of A350s – both to Japan Airlines – plus three A330-900s, two of them for Lion Air via BOC Aviation and the third for Air Belgium. Airbus also delivered an A330-200 to its military division for tanker conversion. Single-aisle deliveries included four A220-300s and 30 A320-family jets. Airbus net orders reached 133 with the addition of the A319neo, bound for a private customer, and no cancellations were recorded.<br/>
Bombardier CEO Eric Martel has a message for investors who are uneasy about the stock’s room to run after a four-fold gain this year: “We see momentum across the board.” US private aviation flights have fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels amid an influx of first-time customers, who are expected to stick around even after the pandemic subsides, Martel said Monday. That’s helping the Canadian business-jet maker build a backlog of orders, while an extremely low amount of used jets available for sale is helping shore up new-plane pricing, he said. Bombardier is beginning to turn a profit on its new, flagship Global 7500, which is the industry’s largest aircraft that’s built specifically for business clients. The company also is building out its service business and is ahead of its plan to pare down and refinance debt. That gives Bombardier breathing room with its next debt maturity coming in December of 2024. “We feel pretty good about where we are today,” Martel said. “People like our story and the second thing is we’ve been performing extremely well in the last couple of quarters.”Earnings momentum is a welcome phenomena for Bombardier and a departure from recent years when the company teetered on the edge of bankruptcy after sinking billions to develop a new commercial airliner. It later pulled the plug and sold the business to Airbus. The company also sold its flagging rail-equipment unit to Alstom SA, making private jets its only business now. <br/>
Planemakers are unveiling new orders and fresh models at the world's largest business jet show this week as they aim to cash in on a boom in private travel, but executives warn of headwinds due to a capacity crunch. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) show returns to an in-person format starting in Las Vegas on Tuesday, testing the strength of demand for jets following the emergence of COVID-19. The show will also shed light on the resilience of the aerospace supply chain, given strained logistics worldwide. Brazil's Embraer said on Monday morning it signed a deal to sell 100 Phenom 300E planes for more than US$1.2b at list prices to NetJets, with deliveries starting in 2023. Textron Aviation announced updates to the models of two of its Cessna Citation jets, the M2 and XLS. Easing travel restrictions and the lure of private flights have led to an unexpected surge in business aviation, with traffic rising from 2019 levels. That is filling seats for private operators and expanding order backlogs for planemakers, straining the supply of jets, parts and pilots.<br/>
Private business jets once provided refuge from airport waiting lines for the few that could afford them, but the fading pandemic has driven demand to such heights that even wealthy travelers now face cancellations and delays. While a headache for some jet set travelers, the crunch is a boon for makers of corporate planes built to carry 19 or less passengers in luxury, with announcements for new orders expected at the world’s largest business jet show that starts Tuesday. Some fractional ownership and charter plane operators are turning away business, face a further crunch as the holiday season looms - and are buying more planes. Traffic has surged above 2019 levels in the United States. Combined with staffing shortages, the situation is squeezing industry services from fueling to catering, while fewer spare planes are available to replace jets that break down, executives said. To protect service, NetJets recently suspended sales of jet cards, which allow customers to pre-pay for blocks of flight hours. The world’s largest private jet company said it is investing approximately $2.5b for 100 new aircraft to be delivered between now and the end of 2022. “The vast number of flights is taxing the air travel infrastructure in ways we haven’t seen in years,” said Ohio-based NetJets.<br/>