general

Passengers flying with Virgin Australia and Dutch carrier KLM are suffering some of the biggest disruptions to travel as the understaffed aviation industry struggles to cope with a resurgence in demand, schedules show. Zeroing in on a group of 19 airlines around the world -- the same one Qantas Airways Ltd. uses to assess its performance against peers -- Virgin Australia canceled the biggest proportion of flights in the three months through July 26, according to data from analytics company Cirium. It axed close to 2,200 flights, or 5.9% of its schedule, compared with 1.4% in the same period in 2019. Air New Zealand, Qantas and Deutsche Lufthansa , Europe’s biggest airline, rounded out the five that canceled flights most often in the period. Singapore Airlines had the best record, scrapping just 0.1% of planned services. A supercharged rebound in bookings as Covid-19 travel restrictions ease has overwhelmed even the largest and most established names in aviation. After laying off tens of thousands of pilots, flight crew, baggage handlers and security staff during the pandemic, the industry can’t hire fast enough to keep up. Analysts say it may be months before normal levels of service return.<br/>

Since the start of this year, 88,161 flights have been canceled by major American airlines, far more than any recent year except 2020, when the coronavirus ended most recreational and business travel. Fliers eager to see family, friends and colleagues for the first time in two years have found themselves stranded at airports, as pilot shortages, new pandemic waves and extreme weather led to record cancellations. And although airlines have tried to accommodate the legions of exasperated people with rebookings and meal vouchers, they have frequently avoided offering full refunds, despite a federal Department of Transportation rule requiring them to do so. The result, a 2021 investigation by the Wall Street Journal found, was that the nation’s four largest airlines “had $10 billion in unused travel credits on their books at the end of 2020” — all money that could have been returned to consumers. But a new measure being introduced Monday by Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, along with other Democrats in both chambers of Congress, would mandate that airlines forthrightly offer travelers cash refunds as opposed to other forms of compensation like vouchers. “The airlines often push vouchers even in cases where passengers are entitled to cash refunds. Consumers must be made aware by the airlines that they have a cash option,” says William McGee, an aviation expert at the American Economic Liberties Project.<br/>

The White House on Wednesday will hold a summit on advanced air mobility, including drones and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, a spokesperson confirmed. The summit, hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), will include NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Federal Aviation Administration acting chief Billy Nolen and Joby Aviation (JOBY.N) CEO JoeBen Bevirt. It will look at the "the future of aviation in America and the regulatory strategy towards responsible and equitable adoption of these technologies." The summit will address how advanced air mobility (AAM) can help achieve goals for U.S. domestic policy, national security, climate and job creation, the White House said. It will also look at the "future of aviation in America and the regulatory strategy towards responsible and equitable adoption of these technologies," and at challenges of integrating drones and eVTOLs into the national airspace. Also speaking will be Gary Batton, chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Alondra Nelson, the acting director of OSTP, and Deputy White House Homeland Security Adviser Josh Geltzer. The summit comes as the White House is pressing Congress to extend and expand government powers to detect and disable threatening drones. That expanded authority is set to expire in October.<br/>

Boeing will most likely lift build rates for its 787 widebody beyond the currently targeted five a month some time in the future, according to the UK company that makes air ducts and structural parts for the jet. Senior CEO David Squires said the higher pace of output for the Dreamliner seems probable once handovers restart following a near-freeze for more than 18 months tied to production issues with the model. “Boeing have guided publicly about five a month. My expectation is that they’ll move to a higher rate in due course,” Squire said in an interview Monday. He declined to comment on the time frame for any further ramp up. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said last week that the planemaker’s 787 team was in the final stages of preparing to restart deliveries, after which it plans to gradually increase output to five jets a month. Dreamliner handovers were largely halted in late 2020 as the US firm grappled with structural glitches. Output of the 787 was already on its way down before the coronavirus crisis hit long-haul demand, with Boeing planning a cut from 14 to 10 a month. At the start of Covid lockdowns and prior to the production issues it had said the rate would drop to seven a month by 2022. Senior said it’s ready to boost output for both Boeing and Airbus after putting in additional capacity prior to the pandemic. Squires said the UK firm doesn’t need further manufacturing facilities to cope with Airbus’s plan to make 75 A320neo-series narrow-body jets a month by 2025, and could do so by adding more machines at existing locations. Airbus said Thursday it was retaining that target while slowing the immediate A320 ramp up and cutting its 2022 delivery goal amid strain on suppliers.<br/>

Boeing’s shares jumped the most in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on a double dose of good news, giving the planemaker a much-needed lift after months where few breaks went its way. The aerospace manufacturer has averted -- for a few days at least -- an Aug. 1 strike by 2,500 machinists that would have crippled its St. Louis-area fighter-jet plants. While they only extended talks through Wednesday, the pause buys the aircraft maker extra time to win support. US regulators separately approved a plan to inspect and repair tiny structural flaws in Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners, a milestone toward resuming deliveries that have been largely halted since late 2020. Along with the strike reprieve, the move is poised to ease pressure on Boeing’s stock, which lost about 30% of its value in the 12 months through July 29. The shares climbed 4.5% at 9:54 a.m. Monday. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 rejected an earlier offer from Boeing last week, with the union saying its priorities were wages, strengthening 401(k) retirement plans and eliminating a two-tier wage system. The newly revised contract offer would provide an $8,000 lump sum that can be taken in cash or deferred to 401(k) plans while maintaining its existing Boeing 401(k) plan. It also would increase the hourly second shift pay differential and provide wage increases for everyone in every year of the contract. “This new offer builds on our previous strong, highly competitive one and directly addresses the issues raised by our employees,” a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday. “We are hopeful they will vote yes.” <br/>

Boeing said Monday it plans to establish a research and development (R&D) facility in Japan to further development in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and to advance electric and hydrogen aircraft technology. The facility will also focus on robotics, digitalisation, automation and carbon fibre composite materials for the aviation industry, the US aircraft manufacturer said in a news release. The global airline industry's target of net zero emissions by 2050 is heavily reliant on its ability to produce more SAF, though electric and hydrogen-powered planes could play a smaller part in emissions reductions. The industry requires huge investment in SAF, which uses feedstock such as animal fat and cooking oil and which is currently in short supply and far more expensive than conventional jet fuel. The industry aims for SAF production to account for 65% of fuel needs by 2050, up from less than 0.5% in 2021. Japan lacks SAF production at present, though local airline operators ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines have both committed to using SAF to meet 10% of their fuel needs by 2030 in line with a government target. In April, French oil and gas company TotalEnergies and Japanese peer ENEOS Holdings announced a feasibility study to assess production of SAF at ENEOS's Negishi refinery in the eastern Japanese city of Yokohama. It could potentially begin production in 2025, targeting capacity of 300,000 tons a year.<br/>

Portugal's civil aviation workers on Monday threatened to go on a three-day strike in late August, accusing the conglomerate that operates the country's biggest airports of failing to increase wages and provide better working conditions. The strike threat by Portugal's Civil Aviation Workers' Union (SINTAC) and the Commercial Aviation Staff Union (SQAC) is the latest in a series of walkouts at a time Europe's transport sector continues to struggle handling a return to travel after COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. The strike is set to take place from Aug. 19 to Aug. 21, an usually busy summer weekend for travel, the unions said in a joint statement. They have accused airport operator ANA, which manages 10 airports in Portugal including in Lisbon, Porto and Faro, and French group Vinci, which controls ANA, of making multi-million euro net profits but not paying decent wages to their workers. The unions have also demanded that ANA and Vinci adopt "urgent" measures to guarantee workers feel safe while doing their jobs. "Only by doing this (strike) we will be able to achieve what the company has been lacking for a long time: social stability, respect for workers' rights and, fundamentally, for people," the unions said. ANA said it regretted the unions' decision to strike as salaries were reviewed in April and bonuses were given to workers. Vinci did not immediately reply to a request for comment. "ANA will continue to promote dialogue with social partners and will continue the ongoing negotiation," ANA said.<br/>

Outbound international passenger flights from China are likely to grow by more than 200% month-on-month in August, industry data showed on Monday, as China continued to relax travel restrictions. Flights to the US in particular are predicted to soar four times, the data showed. A total of 2,845 outbound international flights are scheduled to operate in August, up from 904 in July, information provider VariFlight said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Monday. South Korea, Japan, the US, Thailand and France will be the top five destinations. Flights from China to the US will total 188 this month, up from 34 in July, the statement said, with Shanghai Pudong, Beijing Daxing and Xiamen international airports to process the the most flights. Outbound flights are recovering in an orderly manner after more than two years' near freeze, as many domestic airlines have now accelerated the resumption of international flight services. A few days ago, Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines released its August flight schedule, with flights bound for Europe showing a jump from July. Major departure cities include Wuhan and Shenzhen. In July, there were only routes flying from Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines said in June that they would fly 22 international routes per week in July, including from Shanghai to New York. The gradual recovery of international routes shows that as the COVID19 outbreak is being curbed, demand in civil aviation market sees a rapid rebound, which also brings more inbound flights from other countries. Willie Walsh, the director general of the International Air Transport Association, said that two years of border restrictions have not weakened the desire for the freedom to travel. Where it is permitted, demand rapidly is returning to pre-COVID levels.<br/>

India has asked airlines to increase their engineering-related capabilities at all base and transit stations, the junior minister for civil aviation told lawmakers on Monday, after a series of safety-related incidents in recent weeks. Airlines have also been asked to take "appropriate mitigation action and greater internal surveillance to ensure safety of air operations", V. K. Singh told the parliament. Indian airlines reported 478 technical snags in the year to June 30, 2022, but dozens of mid-air safety incidents in recent weeks have prompted special spot checks and safety audits by the aviation regulator. The spotlight is on Indian budget carrier SpiceJet, which has experienced "a series of occurrences during operation of their aircraft fleet" due to malfunction of components, bad weather or bird strike, Singh said. On Thursday, a SpiceJet plane was forced to abort its take-off on a Mumbai runway due to a caution alert, in the latest incident involving the loss-making airline which came a day after the regulator cut its capacity by half. Between May 2 and June 6, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted special safety checks on 300 aircraft, including 62 planes belonging to SpiceJet. The spot checks raised findings that were corrected by the airlines, he said.<br/>

India's SpiceJet said on Monday its flight operations remained normal and on schedule, days after the aviation regulator ordered the low-cost airline to slash its approved fleet to 50% this summer for eight weeks citing safety snags. The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Wednesday that any increase in number of departures beyond 50% would require the airline to show it has sufficient technical support and financial resources to safely upgrade its capacity. The airline has been under the spotlight lately after a slew of incidents on its flights and one of its Dubai-based lessors asked the regulator to deregister three of SpiceJet's planes. "We are confident of scaling up our operations and addressing any concern that the regulator may have, on priority," the airline said on Monday. Load factor, a measure of how much of an airline's passenger carrying capacity has been used, was over 80% on Saturday and Sunday, the airline said in a statement.<br/>

An investment group led by Apollo Global Management Inc is in advanced talks to buy air-freight company Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. No deal has been reached and details of the transaction, including the purchase price and the composition of the investment group, could not be learned. Atlas Air is a holding company that provides air-freight and charter passenger travel for individuals, businesses and government agencies. Based in Purchase, New York, it has a market capitalization of more than $2b. Atlas Air boasts of the world’s largest fleet of Boeing 747 freight aircraft, according to its website. Apollo Global is a buyout behemoth with about $500 billion in assets under management. The Wall Street Journal reported the talks between Apollo and Atlas Air earlier on Monday. Atlas Air shares rose 13%.<br/>