star

United is dropping 14 routes to its Washington Dulles hub as the regional pilot shortage in the US gets worse. The carrier will suspend service in March between Dulles and Akron-Canton, Ohio; Asheville, Greensboro, and Wilmington, N.C.; Bangor, Maine; Erie, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, State College, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.; Ithaca, N.Y.; and Milwaukee, Wis. None of the destinations will lose United service entirely, with five cities even gaining new service to Newark to replace the Dulles flights, and most say the airline intends to restore the routes in 2023. United spokesperson Kimberly Gibbs said the changes were part of its continual effort to “closely match supply with demand.” The cuts are the latest fallout from the worsening regional pilot shortage. Speaking a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on December 15, United CEO Scott Kirby said the airline’s regional affiliates had grounded more than 100 aircraft — most 50-seat regional jets — because there were not enough pilots to fly them. His comments followed similar ones he made at the Skift Aviation Forum in November, which came after the airline had already cut at least eight smaller destinations from its map due to a lack of crews. And United isn’t alone. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker confirmed of regional pilot hiring issues. And Delta is exiting at least three cities and suspending another 10 routes.<br/>

The FAA Wednesday called for inspections and strengthening a key part for Boeing 777-200 airplanes equipped with Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines after an engine failure in February. The FAA issued three proposed airworthiness directives, a move that will allow Boeing 777-200 airplanes equipped with PW4000 engines to return to service as soon as early 2022. A fan blade failure prompted an engine to fail on a United 777-200 bound for Honolulu after takeoff from Denver on Feb. 20. The incident showered debris over nearby cities, but no one was injured and the plane safely returned to the airport. The FAA said it was calling for strengthening engine cowlings, enhanced engine fan-blade inspection and inspection of other systems and components. The directives will require corrective action based on inspection results. The FAA in February ordered immediate inspection of 777 planes with PW4000 engines before further flights after investigators found that a cracked fan blade on the United engine was consistent with metal fatigue. United said the proposed directives "are a good outcome for our industry and United customers." It added "many of the affected engines have already undergone these proposed inspections. We expect these aircraft to safely rejoin our fleet early next year." Boeing said it supports the FAA’s guidance on inspection requirements for Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines "and will work with our customers and Pratt & Whitney through the process."<br/>

Portugal's government said the country's ailing flag carrier TAP will be able to compete on a global level but will need partners after the extensive restructuring imposed by a Brussels-approved rescue plan worth E3.2b. Over the past six months, EU antitrust regulators have been examining whether the plan, which involves thousands of job and pay cuts, is proportionate and complies with state aid rules, and whether it affects competition. The EC approved it on Tuesday but imposed safeguards to limit distortions to competition. "TAP will capitalise, and will be able to continue to operate and compete in a highly competitive global market," Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos told a news conference late on Tuesday. But he warned that the airline, which is 72.5% controlled by the Portuguese state, "could not survive alone" and must look for partners. The government is now authorised to inject E2.5b into the airline, and it hopes the cash can help "make the company viable" in the future, he said. TAP has already received E1.2b from that amount, and the state will guarantee 90% of a E360m loan and inject another E990m. EU regulators also approved a E569m state aid package to compensate the airline for the impact of the pandemic in 2020, and are expected to approve further compensation soon to cover the first half of 2021, Nuno Santos said. As part of the restructuring plan, TAP has already reduced its fleet size, cut more than 2,900 jobs and reduced the salaries of most workers up to 25%, with pilots facing a 50% pay cut, the minister said.<br/>

SAS said Wednesday that higher than normal sick leave among staff, due to Covid and associated recommendations, had contributed to a wave of flight cancellations. "We have employees who are either ill, have symptoms or have someone in their household who is ill, and are therefore staying home given current recommendations," said SAS spokeswoman Freja Annamatz. "Just like other businesses, we are experiencing increased sick leave, which is part of the reason that we have had to cancel flights." Technical issues in some cases and a strike in Frankfurt had also compounded the issue, she said. The Nordic carrier had to cancel nine flights out of Stockholm's Arlanda airport on Wednesday, and some 30 flights worldwide the day before. But she added that, during one of busiest times of the year with around 600 flights a day, the vast majority of planes were still departing as planned.<br/>

Uncertainties have arisen within the local airline industry due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic as well as the delayed review of Korean Air's takeover deal of Asiana Airlines. Due to these circumstances, the two leading carriers are struggling to conduct planned executive year-end reshuffles. Industry watchers believe that the reshuffles will be minimal if they happen at all. According to the airline industry Wednesday, Korean Air has not yet decided whether and when to implement its year-end executive reshuffle. It did not carry out a reshuffle last year, other than some job transfers. This situation means that the appointment of new executives has been halted for more than two years since the last executive appointment in November 2019. "Usually Hanjin Group conducts executive recruitment at the end of the year, but nothing has been decided for this year," a Korean Air official said. "Due to COVID-19, half of the employees are on rotational leave until March." It is unclear whether Asiana Airlines will also conduct an executive reshuffle for the year-end. Asiana conducted a major executive reshuffle last year, retiring 15 executives, including CEO Han Chang-soo, but only eight new executives were appointed, reducing the number of executive spots. In the case of Korean Air, it posted only 330b won ($276.8m) in operating profit in the passenger sector for the third quarter of this year, compared to its 2.11t won operating profit in the same quarter of 2019, before the pandemic. Asiana also saw its passenger operating profit drop to one-eighth over the same period. Despite the drop, the operating profits of both airlines more than doubled backed by strong sales in the cargo sector. Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana is expected to be delayed after failing to gain approval from aviation authorities.<br/>

Air New Zealand is preparing for some of the busiest days it has had in years, with 100,000 passengers set to fly around the country over the holiday period. Thursday, December 23 is expected to be the busiest day for the airline this holiday season, with more than 31,000 customers booked to travel domestically. More than 30,000 passengers are booked to fly on Christmas Eve, with around 15,000 travelling on Christmas Day itself. "It's such a special time of year to spend with your loved ones, so we're thrilled to be helping people connect all around the country, from Invercargill to Hokitika to Kerikeri," Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said. The busiest route this Christmas is Auckland to Christchurch, with Nelson taking out the top spot for the most popular regional destination. From now until the end of January, about 600,000 passengers are expected to fly throughout the country with Air NZ. Around half of those customers are flying in or out of Auckland. More than 90,000 customers are expected to travel over the New Year period between December 31 and January 4.<br/>

Air New Zealand says it has experienced some issues with paint peeling on the wings of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said the airline had been working with Boeing to resolve the issue. “Boeing is working to provide both an immediate as well as longer term solution,” she said. The paint issues did not present a safety concern, nor did they impact the structure or integrity of the aircraft, she said. It was a matter impacting the global fleet of 787s, she said. She would not say how of the airline’s 14 Dreamliners were affected or how long was it expected to take to resolve the issue. The aircraft continued to fly and were playing a key role in connecting New Zealand exports to the world during Covid-19, she said. <br/>