general

The FAA Thursday announced a series of new university research grants in hopes of making greener aviation fuel cheaper and less scarce. Airlines including United, Southwest, Delta, American and others around the world have turned to sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, to get to zero carbon emissions by 2050. Battery-powered aircraft and other technologies are still years away, making greener fuel a pillar of those efforts. “Aviation is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize,” said Michael Wolcott, a materials engineer and one of the university coordinators of the FAA-funded research. Challenges include high capital investment and the long life cycle of aircraft, he said. Aviation contributes between 2% and 3% of global carbon emissions and the industry expects to grow in the coming years, forcing it to balance its expansion with its own ambitious carbon-cutting targets. Carriers have already made purchase commitments for the fuels, such as those made with cooking oil or municipal waste, which according to the IATA can produce 80% lower emissions than conventional jet fuel. “There isn’t an airline CEO that I’ve spoken to in the last six or 12 months that does not want to fly SAF,” John Slattery, CEO of airline engine giant General Electric Aviation, told reporters last week. Supplies are extremely limited. Sustainable aviation fuels account for much less than 1% of the industry’s jet-fuel demand and can cost more than triple the price of conventional fuel. In September, the Biden administration launched a initiative to boost sustainable aviation fuel to 3b gallons a year by 2030.<br/>

There was a crystallising moment last year, said outgoing American Airlines CE Doug Parker, when he realised he would not be retiring from the US carrier anytime soon. He told the Financial Times that by February 2020, American Airlines had completed negotiations with one of its labour unions — the last task he had wanted to check off before announcing his retirement. Parker had held the top job at several airlines for two decades, since taking over 10 days before the September 11 2001 attacks at America West. Plans suddenly changed when reports of a dire pandemic swept the globe. As he watched then-president Donald Trump declare on television that the US would close its borders to Europe, it “was quite clear that this was much different from anything we experienced in the past”. “We hadn’t really formalised an exact transition date,” he said. “We never really got to that point, because March 2020 became a full-on crisis.” Parker finally announced his retirement on Tuesday after a delay of more than a year. American Airlines announced Robert Isom, its longtime president, would replace him on March 31. The pandemic is not over but the crisis is, Parker noted, and with passenger demand returning and American “on strong financial footing . . . it does feel like the perfect time”. American’s changing of the guard epitomises a transition playing out at other companies in the travel, leisure and hospitality sector. Executives who stayed on to guide their organisations through the depths of the pandemic are now departing. The pandemic gutted the airline, hotel and ocean cruise industries, costing the travel industry $6t worldwide as people stayed at home to comply with government restrictions meant to curb the spread of coronavirus. US airline passenger traffic fell 90% in April last year, and speculation about bankruptcy at one major carrier was rife. Companies slashed payrolls and turned to governments and the bond market for capital.<br/>

Global airline association IATA has joined African airlines in urging governments to drop the travel bans implemented in response to the Omicron variant of Covid-19, citing World Health Organization advice on the issue. According to IATA DGWillie Walsh, speaking on 8 December, the Omicron variant induced “instant amnesia” among governments regarding “the inability of travel restrictions to control its spread”. His comments follow a similar observation by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) on 3 December, which lamented “the unscientific, poorly targeted, knee-jerk reactions” of countries around the world in their responses to the Omicron variant. AFRAA and IATA both highlight the fact that travel bans in response to Omicron have tended to target southern African countries where it was first identified, despite the variant already being present in the countries blocking connectivity. As that plays out, AFRAA secretary general Abderahmane Berthe suggests governments are confusing “politics with science”. “The Omicron variant is now detected in several regions of the world, yet the travel bans seem to be targeted at Africa,” Berthe states. “This is an affront to the global efforts to find an enduring solution. Why target Africa when the virus is reported in other regions as well?” he continues, adding: “Any attempts to stigmatise Africa through travel bans will not work.” “The Omicron variant is now detected in several regions of the world, yet the travel bans seem to be targeted at Africa,” Berthe states. “This is an affront to the global efforts to find an enduring solution. Why target Africa when the virus is reported in other regions as well?” he continues, adding: “Any attempts to stigmatise Africa through travel bans will not work.” Crucially, IATA says that public health bodies, including the WHO, have “advised against travel curbs to contain the spread of Omicron”. IATA quotes the WHO’s advice on the issue: “Blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread, and they place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods. In addition,” the global health body says. “They can adversely impact global health efforts during a pandemic by disincentivising countries to report and share epidemiological and sequencing data.”<br/>

China's domestic air traffic, once the world's envy after a fast rebound during the pandemic, is faltering due to a zero-COVID policy that has led to tighter travel rules in Beijing and weaker consumer confidence after repeated small outbreaks. The outlook for Q4, normally a popular time for southerners to head north for winter breaks and northerners to head south for warmer weather, is dimming due to COVID-19 related disruptions at a time when international traffic is negligible. "It's very exhausting that the virus somehow always manages to make a comeback," said Elaine Shen, a Shanghai resident who had to put off her domestic travel plans for the first time since the start of the pandemic due to cases in Shanghai. Domestic capacity at the country's three biggest airlines reached around 115% of pre-COVID levels in April but by October had fallen to around 77% due to outbreaks with lower peaks after each rebound, HSBC data shows. That contrasts with a steadier US domestic recovery. In mid-November, the situation worsened when the city of Beijing announced that travellers from any Chinese city that had reported even a single COVID case within the past 14 days would be restricted from entering the capital, which is being protected ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, on Tuesday slashed its number of flights to Beijing to just one per day due to two local cases. Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines posted a combined loss of nearly 8b yuan ($1.25b) in Q3.<br/>

India has extended the suspension of scheduled international flights through 31 January 2022 — days before it was due to reopen its borders — over concerns of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. A notice from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India adds that the flight ban will not apply to cargo flights and passenger flights “specifically approved” by the authorities. It also states that it would allow selected scheduled flights “on a case by case basis”. India was due to lift the ban on scheduled international flights — first imposed at the onset of the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 — on 15 December, according to a 26 November DGCA announcement. However, days later, as infections from the Omicron variant grew around the world, the DGCA announced tightened measures for incoming arrivals. On 1 December, the authority said it would delay border reopening indefinitely, citing the “evolving global scenario”. While scheduled flights are largely banned, India has “travel bubble” arrangements with a number of countries. Most recently, it opened its borders to Singapore under the latter’s Vaccinated Travel Lane scheme for fully-vaccinated traveller. <br/>

The total number of flights going through Changi Airport has reached one-third of pre-pandemic levels as Singapore's air hub continues its gradual recovery. According to data from flight tracker FlightAware, the trailing seven-day average number of flights passing through the airport was 359 on Thursday. This was just over a third of the figure registered in the same period in 2019. The first cases of Covid-19 was reported in China on Dec 31 that year. The Changi figure also represents a 67.7% increase on the total number of flights compared with the same period last year. The figure covers all flights passing through Changi Airport, including commercial and cargo flights. This was among data analysed in an online interactive graphic by The Straits Times about the state of the air hub. The data was compiled off information provided by FlightAware, OAG and Our World in Data. The airport's recovery in flight numbers has thus far been boosted by a booming number of freighter flights, which has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The number of commercial flights arriving and departing from the airport remains a fraction of what it was. But it has also grown in recent months, as airlines restart or increase flights in tandem with the opening of quarantine-free vaccinated travel lanes.<br/>

Vietnam has firmed up details of its international border reopening, which will kick off from 15 December, as it calls the move “necessary” in promoting the recovery of its travel sector. A notice from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) outlines two phases of border reopening, as well as plans to remove quarantine for all fully-vaccinated travellers entering the country. In the first phase of border reopening, the authorities will reopen its border to nine selected cities around the world with “important…political and economic…relations for Vietnam”. These cities include Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, as well as Los Angeles. The CAAV notes that these cities have “a large number of foreign investments” in the country. At the same time, these cities also have a large number of Vietnamese diaspora, which increases demand for repatriation. Vietnam’s transport ministry has proposed allowing international flights to operate through the country’s two key gateways: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with airlines allowed to operate up to four weekly flights. It estimates about 14,000 visitors per week under the first phase. In the second phase, expected to launch in January 2022, or one month after the first phase is rolled out, Vietnam will expand the list of cities to include places such as Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, as well as Frankfurt.<br/>

Boeing has promoted supply-chain chief Elizabeth Lund to oversee production of its commercial jetliner programs, including efforts to bolster manufacturing quality and resolve production lapses that have halted 787 Dreamliner deliveries.She succeeds Mark Jenks as senior vice-president and general manager of airplane programs. The move is effective immediately, Stan Deal, chief executive officer of Boeing’s commercial airplane division, said in a memo to employees Thursday that was viewed by Bloomberg News. The leadership change comes at a critical time for Boeing, which is working to restore its reputation for engineering prowess and quality workmanship after two fatal crashes of its 737 Max jetliner that prompted a 20-month global grounding. As the Chicago-based company speeds up the manufacturing pace of the best-selling single-aisle jet, it has uncovered a series of tiny structural gaps with another marquee airliner, the 787 Dreamliner. Deliveries have been halted as Boeing and US regulators grapple with the so-called “noncomformities.” American Airlines on Thursday said the disruptions would force it to curtail some international flying next summer. Lund, an engineer by training, had previously led operations at the company’s Everett factory north of Seattle before taking responsibility for the planemaker’s internal and external supply chains in 2019.<br/>

Rolls-Royce expects cost cuts to keep cash outflows below its guidance of GBP2b ($2.6b) this year, although the aero-engine maker's hopes of a recovery in long-haul flying face a new challenge from the Omicron coronavirus variant. The British company said on Thursday its large engine flying hours - a driver of revenue in its civil aviation business - had ticked up to 50% of 2019 levels, helped by a reopening of transatlantic routes. Year-to-date, large engine hours have increased to 46% of 2019 levels, up from 43% in the first half, but set to miss the forecast it made in March for a recovery to 55% this year. However, long-haul travel suffered another blow in recent weeks, with the emergence of the Omicron variant resulting in new travel restrictions. "The pace of travel recovery remains uneven as countries are managing the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and events of the last 10 days or so bring that to mind," CE Warren East told investors and analysts. Rolls-Royce shares, which are around the same level they were 12 months ago, were trading 3% lower in early deals. The company has been hit hard by the pandemic due to its exposure to the airline industry, forcing it to raise money and take out huge loans. East said Rolls-Royce was delivering on the things it was able to control. It will have cut 8,500 jobs by the end of this year, with the pace of restructuring running ahead of its plan. A $2b sale of its Spanish unit, ITP Aero, also saw Rolls-Royce meet its GBP2b asset sale target in September.<br/>