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Airlines with oil hedges are set to save billions of dollars on their fuel bills this year, the first such gains since the industry was ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Both Southwest and Air France-KLM said they stand to gain about $1b each from their hedging policies, a benefit that will at least partially cushion the companies against higher oil prices. British Airways parent IAG said its fuel hedging program was worth about E1.2b. Meanwhile, its fuel bill was up 45% from a year ago compared with a 150% increase in jet fuel prices. The hedging gains represent a turnaround in fortunes for a sector that lost a huge amount of cash on oil derivatives during the pandemic when demand collapsed as planes were grounded. The hit to the tune of billions of dollars saw many carriers pull back from dealing in the oil contracts, but in recent months the practice has resumed meaningfully. That comes as Brent crude trades around $100 a barrel and is on course for its highest annual average price since 2013. “Revenue certainty is part of the rationale for airlines hedging,” said Jay Stevens, vice president of market analytics at Aegis Hedging, which helps producers and consumer companies with their strategies. “But they really want to protect against the really bad scenario, which is where jet prices have been recently.” Jet fuel prices globally have been volatile this year, at times touching the equivalent of more than $220 a barrel in April and May in a key US pricing hub. They were still near $140 on Wednesday. Even so, the savings enjoyed by the airlines won’t be passed onto consumers given the overall elevated costs of fuel. The gains from the hedges are also realized slowly over time, so could decrease if oil prices fall. Story has more.<br/>

British flight attendant Kris Major has worked in aviation for over two decades. He's seen the industry suffer and recover in the wake of 9/11, SARS and foot and mouth disease. Now, Major's on the front line of what he reckons is the worst aviation crisis yet: the 2022 summer of travel chaos. Major, who serves as chair of the European Transport Workers Federation's Joint Aircrew Committee, representing European flight attendants and pilots, says flight crew are struggling. "It's completely unsustainable as a job," Major says. As global travelers return to the skies in droves after a pandemic-enforced pause, airlines and airports across the world are grappling to match supply with demand. The result is flights canceled left right and center, luggage mislaid, and travelers losing confidence in the aviation industry as a whole. In Major's view, it's "absolutely shambolic." His words are echoed by flight attendants across the globe. "The lack of staff, delays, cancellations, no baggage -- I think it's a very difficult situation for everybody," Germany-based Lufthansa flight attendant Daniel Kassa Mbuambi says. "There's some kind of breakdown happening that I believe should be preventable," is how US flight attendant Allie Malis puts it. When aviation ground to a halt in the early days of the pandemic, most airlines and airports either furloughed or laid off many ground and air workers. Many carriers operated a skeleton staff for the best part of the last two years. Now, travel demand is back, and the industry is struggling to catch up and rehire. For the flight attendants still on the books, it's a "very hard situation," says Lufthansa's Kassa Mbuambi, who is also chairman of German flight attendant union UFO. Crew say this strain means occasionally operating a flight with minimum staff on board, as Kassa Mbuambi describes, or air crew sleeping at airports, as Allie Malis recounts.<br/>

China warned airlines operating in Asia to avoid flying in areas around Taiwan where it is conducting military exercises in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island. An official notice sent late on Tuesday Hong Kong time designated six areas of airspace as “danger zones,” according to carriers who received the message and Jang Chang Seog, a Korean transport ministry official. Flights will be restricted from 12 p.m. Aug. 4, to 12 p.m. Aug. 7. China’s Xiamen Airlines announced adjustments to several flights, citing “flow control” in Fujian, just across the Taiwan Strait from the island. Cathay Pacific Airways pilots were advised to carry 30 minutes worth of extra fuel for possible rerouting in Taiwan. “Our flights currently avoid going through the designated airspace zones around the Taiwan region,” a Cathay spokesperson said. “This may potentially lead to more flying time for some flights and we appreciate our customers’ understanding.” Calls and messages to China’s civil aviation authority weren’t immediately returned. Further north, Korean Air is planning to reroute some of its services to South Asia in order to avoid Taiwan’s airspace during the period of China’s military exercises, a spokeswoman said by text message. ANA Holdings received the notice and is changing its flightpaths to Taiwan, a representative for the Japanese carrier said. ANA and Japan Airlines both said flights to and from Taiwan will continue to operate. Taiwan is talking to Japan and the Philippines about alternate air-traffic routes, ETtoday reported, citing Wang Kwo-tsai, Minister of Transportation and Communications. <br/>

The Transportation Department on Wednesday proposed stricter rules on when airlines would have to compensate passengers for canceled or delayed flights, a move that follows a surge in traveler complaints after Covid-19 roiled air travel. Air travelers are currently entitled to a refund if their flights are canceled or “significantly” changed or delayed and they choose not to travel. But the agency had not defined what constitutes a significant change. The Transportation Department is now proposing to define that as a departure or arrival time that’s off by at least three hours for domestic flights, or at least six hours for international flights. Travelers would also be entitled to a refund if the routing changes or if a connection is added, as well as if a change in aircraft causes a “significant downgrade” in amenities or other features. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has publicly admonished airlines in recent weeks over an uptick in flight cancellations and delays, while industry executives and the FAA have pointed fingers over who’s to blame. Some Democratic lawmakers have called for better consumer protections for air travelers. Complaints about airline refunds accounted for 87% of the 102,560 complaints the DOT logged in 2020 and about 60% of the 49,958 complaints in 2021. The DOT also proposed requiring airlines to give flight credits or vouchers without expiration dates if passengers can’t fly because of Covid-19, including lockdowns, travel restrictions or personal health reasons.<br/>

The FAA's acting chief will meet with FAA safety inspectors in South Carolina on Thursday before determining whether Boeing can resume deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner after production issues prompted the planemaker to stop deliveries in May 2021, an FAA spokesman said. The purpose of acting Administrator Billy Nolen's visit "is to ensure that the FAA is satisfied that Boeing has taken the appropriate steps to improve manufacturing quality and to guarantee the autonomy of workers who ensure regulatory compliance on the company’s assembly lines," the FAA said. On Friday, Reuters reported that the FAA had approved Boeing's inspection and modification plan to resume deliveries of 787 Dreamliners, citing two people briefed on the matter. Deliveries could resume as soon as this month, sources told Reuters. The sources, who asked to remain anonymous because it was not yet public, said the FAA had approved Boeing's proposal that requires specific inspections to verify the airplane meets requirements and that all work has been completed. Boeing suspended deliveries of the 787 after the FAA raised concerns about its proposed inspection method. On July 17, Boeing told reporters it was "very close" to restarting 787 deliveries. But before it can resume deliveries, the FAA must still sign off on an airworthiness certification eligibility document. The FAA noted that even when deliveries resume, it "will inspect each aircraft before issuing an airworthiness certificate. This additional measure of oversight will remain in place until the agency has sufficient data that demonstrates this function can be delegated back to Boeing."<br/>

The operator of a terminal at the Austin airport is suing the Texas city over its plans to raze the building and terminate a 40-year contract, saying condemnation proceedings are illegal and the city’s compensation offer is an insult. Lonestar Airport Holdings, based in New York, says it spent spent more than $32.5m after signing a contract six years ago to revive a largely abandoned auxiliary terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, which it turned into a base for ultra-low cost carriers Frontier Airlines and Allegiant. The company says it’s helped ease congestion at the main terminal, which is struggling to cope with a surge in passengers this year. But the city now wants to end the lease 34 years early and bulldoze the smaller building to facilitate an expansion of the main terminal. Lonestar found itself shut out of that plan, offered a take-it-or-leave-it $1.9m check attached to notice of condemnation plans. “The city cannot rewrite a contract that it voluntarily entered into merely because a new administration has a different view as to the desirability of public-private partnerships, especially after reaping the benefits of that partnership,” Lonestar’s lawyers said in their complaint. “And it certainly cannot take Lonestar’s business without honoring Lonestar’s Fifth Amendment right to just compensation.” Like much of the city, Austin’s airport has struggled to keep pace with a surging population after a series of corporate relocations to Central Texas, including the headquarters of Tesla Inc. and Oracle Corp. Amid warnings about long wait times to get through security and traffic congestion at drop-off and pick-up sites, the airport expects to serve more than 20m passengers this year. It set a record with more than 2m passengers in May, up some 40% from the same month four years ago. The South Terminal where Lonestar operates accounted for just 3% of airport traffic in June, or roughly 60,000 passengers. <br/>

Mexico's COVID-battered aviation sector has benefitted from a robust reactivation of travel, but analysts fear its takeoff could be soon shaken by recession in the United States. Profits of air terminal operators in Mexico's most important tourist destinations grew strongly last quarter, thanks to solid traffic numbers for both domestic and international passengers. "Aviation has had a surprising recovery," said Pablo Casas, director of the National Institute of Aeronautical Legal Research. "The long (pandemic) confinement led to this build up of travellers," he said. Asur, which manages the airport for the Caribbean coastal city of Cancun, doubled its earnings during the second quarter from the year-ago-period. Meanwhile, GAP, which operates the air facility serving the booming resort area of Los Cabos, saw its second-quarter net profit soar 64%. Terminal operator OMA, more focused on business travellers with its main airfield in the industrial city of Monterrey, was not far behind, with net profit jumping 49% in the quarter. In 2020, when most travel was suspended due to COVID, some 48.4m travellers took flights in Mexico. But after just the first five months of this year, tourism officials have recorded 41.6m air passengers already. Still, the recovery could be stifled.<br/>

A volcano has erupted on a mountain near Iceland's capital Reykjavik after days of rising earthquake activity in the area, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said on Wednesday. Images and livestreams by local news outlets MBL and RUV showed lava and smoke spewing from a fissure in the ground on the side of the Fagradalsfjall mountain, which last year saw an eruption that lasted six months. Tourists and residents should avoid the area due to poisonous gases, although there was no immediate risk of damage to critical infrastructure, the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management said. A "code red" was declared to prohibit airplanes from flying over the site although helicopters were sent in to survey the situation, the IMO told Reuters. If the outbreak was confirmed to be similar to the fissures seen last year, the aviation alert would likely be lowered to orange, signalling less danger, an agency spokesperson said. "Currently, there have been no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open," the country's foreign ministry said. The Reykjanes Peninsula is a volcanic and seismic hot spot, and the outbreak took place just 25 km from Reykjavik and 15 km from the nation's international airport.<br/>

Security officers said it had been “hot and hectic” at London’s Heathrow airport this summer. While airline and airport executives try to pin the blame on each other for summer travel chaos, the officers are dealing with the fallout from cancelled flights and big queues at Heathrow’s terminals — in teams that are inexperienced and overworked. “Every day I come in and there’s someone new,” said one long-serving security guard, who works for Heathrow and had seen frustrated passengers resorting to “fisticuffs” over queue-jumping. New recruits train for a month, but it takes another three to six months to learn the job properly, he reckoned — if seasoned colleagues are at hand. At the moment, “it’s the blind leading the blind”, he said, adding: “Once you’re behind, it’s impossible to catch up.” Other staff working at the UK’s largest airport — all trade union members speaking to the Financial Times on condition of anonymity, for fear they could lose their jobs — had a similar story. Too many people left in redundancy rounds at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, Britons’ demand for travel has surged back, but employers at Heathrow have struggled to rehire in a buoyant labour market where many people have found better jobs elsewhere. Some of the workers who remain at Heathrow feel under intense pressure. “I used to walk into a restroom and think, if anything goes wrong tonight, the people in this room will be able to deal with it,” said one engineer employed by Heathrow for more than 20 years. “Now, I walk into a restroom and think . . .” He broke off and whistled to convey dismay. Heathrow is the biggest workplace in Europe. It is an ecosystem that runs smoothly when tens of thousands of staff — from cleaners, caterers and cabin crew to baggage handlers, engineers and refuellers — work seamlessly together. But a crisis in recruitment and labour relations is straining the system to breaking point.<br/>