US airlines may not be out of the the 5G wireless mire yet. At least that’s the view of JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes who warned Thursday that further disruptions are possible as the new high-speed wireless network continues to roll out across the country. “We can’t assume that we are completely out of the 5G woods yet,” he said during the New York-based carrier’s Q4 results call. Hayes described the current process as “iterative” and expressed optimism that the US FAA, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), airlines, and wireless companies are now communicating about the new technology and working to eliminate any safety risks. But operational issues remain despite the work. Some of JetBlue’s Embraer E190 jets are unable to operate in limited visibility conditions at certain airports — including some unnamed major ones — warned Hayes. This will impact a “very low percentage of flights,” he added. US airlines narrowly averted major disruptions last week when telecom companies agreed to voluntarily delay turning on 5G wireless transmitters near certain airports. Many fear that the technology could interfere with the radio altimeters, which tell pilots a plane’s altitude, on many aircraft. Roughly 90% of the US commercial aircraft fleet had been approved for operations near 5G transmitters as of Thursday, according to the FAA. Missing from that list are many regional aircraft, including the Embraer ERJ-145 that is common at both American Airlines and United Airlines. However, as with JetBlue’s E190s, headline approval for 5G operations is not as broad as it may appear. Not every carrier has gone through all of the steps necessary to certify every “approved” aircraft to operate in bad weather near transmitters. And this is causing cancellations. <br/>
general
Tax incentives for sustainable aviation fuel in US President Biden’s stalled Build Back Better legislation are not enough for oil refiner Valero Energy Corp to consider producing it instead of renewable diesel, executives said Thursday. Biofuel producers successfully lobbied for a tax credit for low carbon jet fuel, made from waste and vegetable oils, to be included in Biden’s $1.7t spending package. SAF generally produces up to 70% less carbon than fossil fuels but is more costly to produce without tax credits, particularly as current production volumes are very low at less than 1% of total jet fuel demand. The White House is targeting 20% lower aviation emissions by 2030. Refiners such as Valero have been exploring the production of low carbon jet fuel at their petroleum and biofuel facilities. The latest version of the Build Back Better legislation put tax credits for SAF between $1.25 to $1.75 a gallon, depending on the feedstock used. Valero, which produces renewable diesel as part of its joint venture with Diamond Green Diesel, said there is still a 70-cent a gallon gap to make its production economic relative to renewable diesel. “The incentive level proposed in that bill was not sufficient to attract additional investment to make SAF versus the base case of producing renewable diesel with an existing unit,” said Martin Parrish, senior VP of alternative fuels at Valero, on the company’s Q4 earnings call. Valero is still exploring SAF production through its own engineering process, Parrish added. “We’re still confident that SAF production is a question of ‘when’ and not ‘if,’” he said.<br/>
New York City’s LaGuardia Airport Terminal B and brand new American Airlines wing is fully completed, marking the end of a revamp nearly six years in the making. “This is a day the sun is shining on New York City,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Thursday at briefing at the airport’s new terminal. It’s part of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey’s $8b effort to transform LaGuardia into a 21st century facility, which also includes a plan to replace Terminals C and D. The new Terminal B replaces the 1960s-era Central Terminal Building and includes 35 gates, a parking garage, a skybridge, nearly 50 new shops, restaurants and services, and the Central Hall, which will connect with Terminal C. Valued at $4b, the Terminal B project is the largest public-private partnership in US aviation history. “We have literally gone from worst to best,” said Hochul, who referred to the renovation as “long overdue.” <br/>
An EU law on gathering airline passenger information conforms with the bloc’s rights and data protection laws, but such data should only be retained if it is linked to a security threat and then only for five years, an adviser to Europe’s top court said on Thursday. Adopted in 2016, the Passenger Name Record Directive (PNR) allows police and justice officials to access passenger data on flights to and from the EU to prevent serious crimes. It has drawn criticism from rights groups including Belgium’s LDH, which in 2017 asked a domestic court to annul it for infringing privacy and data protection norms. The court sought advice from the EU Court of Justice (CJEU), and that court’s advocate general, Giovanni Pitruzzella, said on Thursday that the PNR complied with the bloc’s data protection law. He said there were sufficient safeguards to ensure the data’s security and confidentiality, but added that authorities should only be allowed to retain that information if a link to the fight against terrorism or other serious crimes could be established, and then only for five years. The CJEU, which follows four out of five such non-binding opinions, will give its ruling sometime in the coming months.<br/>
Eight passenger planes were infested by insects which caused abandoned take-offs at Heathrow Airport last summer, an investigation has found. Wasp and bee nests blocked speed-measuring pitot probes on six British Airways aircraft and one Virgin Atlantic jet over a three-week period, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said in a report. A wasp was also spotted inside a probe on another British Airways plane. British Airways crews on board two of the planes were forced to abort take-offs while speeding down runways because the blockages caused inaccurate speed readings on cockpit displays. Unreliable speed indication is a “serious hazard”, investigators warned. The AAIB said the high level of insect activity in 2021 could lead to a “larger number of insects emerging in the spring of 2022”, so the risk of more probe blockages “could be significant”. Safety action has been taken by the Civil Aviation Authority, Heathrow Airport and affected airlines to reduce the risk of the problem reoccurring. This includes issuing alerts to aviation firms, introducing additional inspections of probes, enhanced use of probe covers, and increased surveillance of environmental risks. The blockages were discovered between June 9 and July 1 last year. The issue of insects blocking pitot probes is “not new”, but it is “unusual for such a spate of events to occur in such a short timeframe”, the AAIB said. The report said the “temporary surge” in cases was due to a series of factors related to the reduction in air travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic.<br/>
Government-imposed travel restrictions pushed Asia-Pacific airlines to another dismal year in 2021, but cargo carriage proved to be a silver lining. During calendar 2021, the region’s airlines carried just 16.7m international passengers, down 76.2% from 2020, and representing just 4.4% of the passengers carried in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic, according to preliminary figures from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). International ASKs during the year declined 46.5%, and RPKs fell 71.9%. Load factors in 2021 were a mere 32% for the year, down 28.9 percentage points from 2020. AAPA’s numbers are culled from 40 carriers based in the region, which has been hard hit by travel restrictions related to Covid-19. Despite continued weakness in passenger carriage, International cargo showed great strength. AAPA attributes to the region’s major production hubs. Strong export demand and bottlenecks at container ports also helped air cargo.<br/>
Textron Aviation accelerated deliveries of both business jets and commercial turboprops in 2021, driving the airframer to a $378 million profit. But sister company Bell’s 2021 profit slipped year-on-year, partly reflecting less revenue from military buyers. In reporting the results on 27 January, parent Textron also says subsidiary Cessna’s SkyCourier turboprop is on track for certificate by the end of June. “In aviation, we continue to see favourable market conditions, including improved aircraft utilisation, low pre-owned inventory levels and strong customer demand,” Textron chief executive Scott Donnelly says on 27 January. Textron Aviation delivered 292 commercial aircraft in 2021, including 167 Cessna jets, 54 Caravans and 71 King Airs, Textron says. Cessna and Beechcraft sit under Textron Aviation. That compares to 245 deliveries in 2020, among them 132 Cessna jets, 51 Caravans and 62 King Airs. Donnelly says demand for new business jets has been “very robust” from both individual and corporate buyers.<br/>