American Airlines Group notified pilots that it has canceled 1,175 flights in July and August as part of efforts to build more “buffer” into its schedule and reduce disruptions that have plagued the industry this summer. The cuts come after the carrier this week detailed plans to trim flight capacity as much as 10% this quarter and 9.5% for the year from pre-pandemic levels, joining other major airlines that are revising operations amid staffing shortfalls and high costs. The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier didn’t comment Friday beyond acknowledging the near-term cancellations. American brought capacity back at a faster pace than rivals after slashing flights when the pandemic decimated travel demand, and is operating an average 5,400 daily flights. At the same time, the carrier has parked 100 aircraft at its wholly owned regional carriers because of a pilot shortage, and cut the equivalent of another 45 jets by decreasing how much it flies some planes at the main airline operations.<br/>
oneworld
American Airlines announced today it has finalized an agreement with biofuel company Gevo, Inc. for SAF. Over five years, American has committed to purchasing 500m gallons of SAF, the most significant SAF offtake commitment to date for the carrier. “Today’s announcement is a historic step forward for American and our industry as we work to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Jill Blickstein, American’s VP of Sustainability. “The use of SAF is a cornerstone of our strategy to decarbonize air travel. While this landmark investment represents meaningful action by American Airlines, driving progress at the scale and pace we need requires critical policy action in Washington and at the State level. Alongside our oneworld partners, we’re proud to lead the way in the shift to SAF and make progress toward our shared climate goals.” American’s Gevo agreement was developed alongside others in the oneworld alliance. In September 2020, oneworld became the first global airline alliance to announce a target of carbon neutrality by 2050, establishing its commitment to long-term sustainability for the industry. The alliance followed up that commitment with an intermediate goal to achieve 10% SAF use across the member airlines by 2030. The agreement brings American’s total low-carbon fuel commitments to more than 620 million gallons — fulfilling roughly 20% of the airline’s goal to replace 10% of jet fuel usage with SAF by 2030. The SAF deliveries are expected to begin in 2026 from future commercial operations of Gevo.<br/>
Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, says strong post-pandemic demand for air travel supported record revenues during Q2 2022. The Seattle-based carrier said on 21 July that it posted a profit of $139 million, down from $397m in the same quarter last year. That figure, however, included US federal payroll support. Without the aid, the company reported a loss of $38m in Q2 2021. Revenue during the quarter was $2.66b, up 74% from the $1.53b it reported during the same three-month period in 2021. It’s the highest revenue-generating quarter in company history, Alaska says. Revenue in June alone topped $1b, the highest single month ever for Alaska, the airline adds. “It’s clear that travel is one of the things people have missed the most these past two years,” the company’s CE Ben Minicucci says. “We have a strong platform for growth in 2023 and a lot to be optimistic about.”’ For the full year, Alaska expects its revenues to come in between 16% and 19% over pre-pandemic 2019 levels, underscoring the overall industry’s bullish expectations. As passengers come back, operating expenses also rose, to $2.47b, from $978m during the quarter last year, an increase of 153%. Load factor at the airline rose to a record 88% during the second quarter, the company says.<br/>
Mexican ultra-low-cost carrier Volaris boosted sales in the second quarter of the year as capacity climbed and load factors remained “healthy”. The Mexico-City-based airline said on 21 July that revenue rose to $691m, a 20% increase over the same period in 2021. “Demand has remained relatively strong throughout the quarter notwithstanding certain headwinds (high inflation, economic uncertainty, and an increase of Covid-19 cases) registered in the markets where Volaris operates,” the company says. Volaris posted a $49m loss for the quarter, after a $77m profit in the same three months last year. “During the quarter, the company passed on a portion of higher jet fuel prices through fare increases or, in certain cases, reallocated flights to more profitable routes, while efficiently controlling ex-fuel costs,” adds Enrique Beltranena, Volaris’ CE. “We will continue with our strategy of disciplined growth and will remain nimble and respond decisively to any changes in market conditions in the coming months. We have grown quickly in the last two years allowing us to fill the void left by some of our competitors and, considering we have met our objectives, will return to our historic growth rate during 2023,” he says. Volaris transported 7.5m passengers in the period, 20% more than during the second quarter last year. The number of domestic passengers rose 22%, with 14% more international customers. Total capacity measured in available seat miles (ASMs) rose 19%. Load factor was 85.6%, one percentage point lower than during the same three months in 2021.<br/>
British Airways staff accepted a new pay offer and called off a planned strike at London's Heathrow airport, two unions said on Friday, averting a further escalation in the disruption seen at airports this summer. Earlier this month hundreds of British Airways' mainly check-in staff at Heathrow suspended strike action after the airline agreed to improve its pay offer. Staff represented by the GMB and Unite unions voted to approve their respective pay offers from British Airways, they said on Friday. "No one wanted a summer strike at Heathrow, but our members had to fight for what was right," Nadine Houghton, national officer for the GMB union said. GMB said workers would now receive a consolidated pay rise of 8%, a one-off bonus and the reinstatement of shift pay. In addition, more than 500 members of Unite, who initially voted in favour of industrial action over a pay dispute with British Airways, also accepted a new pay offer. Unite said the offer was worth a 13% pay rise for staff, which will be paid in several stages. British Airways welcomed the announcements from the unions, saying in a statement it was happy with the "positive news".<br/>
Qatar Airways has been spurred by the operational disruption at London Heathrow to revisit a previous plan to establish its own ground-handling service at the UK hub. Heathrow’s operator has imposed a two-month capacity cap to limit daily departing passenger numbers to 100,000 over the summer peak. Qatar Airways group chief Akbar Al Baker said the carrier was having to reduce capacity by as much as 30-40% in order to comply with the cap. “As an operator it’s very difficult for me to tell how long it will take [to resolve],” he says. “What’s disappointing to me is that we were given such short notice. Airlines need at least three months’ notification to block the reservation system so we comply with the reduction in capacity.” He says the carrier is assessing both a reduction offered seats and a complete withdrawal of some services to establish which is the more effective mitigation strategy. “But keep in mind it’s having a huge financial impact on airlines – and especially now, when the industry is just recovering from [the pandemic],” he adds. Rival Middle Eastern carrier Emirates’ sister company, Dnata, handles its flights at Heathrow, and Al Baker says he is “re-invigorating” the idea of setting up a similar service to handle Qatar aircraft. “We’ll bring our own brand,” he says. “But, of course, we’ll have to recruit and create jobs in the UK.”<br/>