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Air Canada and WestJet saw travel demand surge this summer from pandemic lows, but just half of the more than 153,000 flights flown during this period landed on time or within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time. Between June 1 and Sept. 5 this year, Air Canada had scheduled 109,097 flights while WestJet had 52,646 scheduled flights, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company. While both airlines reduced capacity and flew fewer flights in the summer of 2022 than during the same period in 2019 – Air Canada flew 159,367 flights and WestJet 68,965 – both also saw delays surge. Cirium says that 43% of Air Canada's flights landed on time this summer, while 61% of WestJet's flights were on time. Prior to the pandemic, Cirium says the on-time rate was 70% for Air Canada and 84% for WestJet. This summer saw chaos at some of the country's biggest airports, as the surge in pent-up travel demand combined with labour shortages and processing issues led to a wave of cancellations and delays. Air Canada cut thousands of flights from its schedule between July and August – an average of 154 flights per day – in the wake of airline disruptions that the company's chief executive Michael Rousseau called "complex and unavoidable" at the time. WestJet chief executive Alexis von Honesbroech also said the company made a series of proactive cuts – the bulk of which were at Toronto's Pearson airport – ahead of the summer in anticipation of airport delays. Canadian airlines flew nearly 60,000 fewer flights this summer compared to before the pandemic struck, but cancellations doubled as the industry grappled with surging demand and labour shortages. Air Canada flew the most flights and had the worst cancellation rate among Canadian airlines, with 6.7% of scheduled flights (7,353 flights) being cancelled over the summer. Flair Airlines had a cancellation rate of 4.5% (324 flights), followed by Swoop with a cancellation rate of 3.4% (158 flights) and WestJet with 2.4% of scheduled flights cancelled this summer (1,254 flights).<br/>

Lufthansa have agreed not to strike until mid-2023 under an initial wage dispute agreement that includes a E980 pay rise, both sides said on Monday. During the truce period, which runs until June 30 next year, the union and the company aim to expand the deal into a broader agreement, Lufthansa said. Under the initial agreement, cockpit crews are to receive an increase in their basic monthly pay of 490 euros each in two stages, with retroactive effect from 1 August 2022, and as of 1 April 2023, VC said. "The collective agreements are still open, but the points to be negotiated can now be discussed in a confidential setting," Matthias Baier, VC spokesman, said in a statement. A pilots' strike at Lufthansa on Sept. 2 forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, further plaguing a summer of travel chaos. read more Strikes and staff shortages have already forced several airlines, including Lufthansa, to cancel thousands of flights this summer, leading to long queues at major airports and frustrating people keen to start travelling again after COVID-19 lockdowns.<br/>

Ethiopian Airlines continues to pursue aggressive growth of its freighter fleet with long-term leases of three converted Boeing 767-300ERs from lessor Titan Aircraft Investments. The state-owned, Addis Ababa-based airline is expected to receive the first aircraft this month, Titan’s parent company Atlas Air Worldwide said in a 12 September statement. “We are delighted to welcome Ethiopian Airlines as a strategic customer and support its growing freighter fleet,” says Michael Steen, president and CEO of Titan Aviation and chief commercial officer of Atlas Air. The second 767-300ER is expected later this year, while the third is set for delivery in 2023, Atlas adds. “This dry lease agreement will be fundamental to our fast-growing cargo operation as Ethiopian is a key global player in the air cargo business,” Mesfin Tasew, the recently appointed CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, says. Under “dry lease” agreements, aircraft lessees – in this case Ethiopian – operate the aircraft.<br/>

Tata Group-owned Air India said on Monday that it will lease 30 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, expanding its fleet by more than 25%. Air India's new owner, the autos-to-steel conglomerate Tata Group, faces an uphill task to upgrade the carrier's ageing fleet and turn around its financials and service levels. "After a long time without significant growth, Air India is delighted to resume expanding its fleet and global footprint," said Air India Chief Executive Campbell Wilson. "These new aircraft, together with existing aircraft being returned to service, address an immediate need for more capacity and connectivity and mark a strong step forward." The latest deals comprise the leasing of 21 Airbus A320neos, four Airbus A321neos and five Boeing B777-200LRs. The Airbus jets will begin joining the fleet in the first quarter of next year and are expected to be deployed on domestic and short-haul international routes. The B777-200LRs will join the fleet between December and March, with deployment likely to be on routes from Indian cities to the United States. The airline currently has 54 narrow-body aircraft and 33 wide-body aircraft operational, it said in a statement, adding that more are expected to be in service soon.<br/>

Tata Group carriers Air India, Air India Express, and AirAsia India will be co-located in a bid to promote collaboration. The move will see Air India vacate offices in government-owned locations across the country including from major locations in Delhi, said Air India on 9 September. Major Air India Delhi locations will move to an interim office space in Gurugram, before moving to a new office campus in the Vatika One-on-One development. The move heralds a major rejigging of the carrier’s structure following its privatisation. “Together with the relocation and consolidation of offices, the airline’s regionalised organisation structure will be progressively disbanded and replaced with a centralised one,” says Air India. “This will allow consolidation of presently-dispersed teams, co-location of managers with their teams and physical adjacency of related functions. The physical move will be accompanied by greater focus on team and culture building, together with efforts to enhance accountability and result orientation.” The new Delhi campus will also accommodate low-cost units Air India Express and Air Asia India. Moreover, group level functions will be created to improve “capability, effectiveness, and economies of scale” across the three carriers. The statement makes no mention of Vistara, the joint venture in which Tata owns 51% and Singapore Airlines 49%.<br/>

The scrapping of the traffic light system means travel will largely return to its pre-pandemic normal from 11.59pm Monday night. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday afternoon that the Cabinet had decided to retire the system rather than tweak the settings or move the country to green. Here is how travel will be affected. Masks will no longer be required anywhere other than in healthcare settings and aged care facilities. Air New Zealand announced on Monday evening it was scrapping the requirement for passengers to wear masks, but they may still be required on some outbound international flights. That was dependent on which country the plane was flying to. It also said passengers were allowed to wear a mask if they wished to, and the same message was being sent to Air New Zealand crew. You will no longer have to wear a mask on domestic flights, public transport, Cook Strait ferries, KiwiRail services and in taxis and ride-share services. You can also go maskless at airports and transport terminals. However, masks are still “encouraged” in confined settings such as public transport and when visiting people particularly vulnerable to Covid-19. Ardern called upon Kiwis to “respect those who choose to keep wearing masks as a form of protection”.<br/>

Air New Zealand has announced it is to relaunch daily flights to Canada. The national carrier says it is ramping up its service to Vancouver from its current schedule of three times a week due to an increase in demand. The daily flights will start from December 9, with the airline using its fleet of Boeing 787-9s. Pre-Covid, Air New Zealand ran the daily service. It comes as Air New Zealand gets ready to launch its flagship service to New York this week. It has announced a joint campaign with Tourism New Zealand to target the North American market, with special offers on flights to Auckland in the low and shoulder seasons, as well as add-ons to domestic destinations. Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty said the US and Canadian markets are “incredibly important”. “We’ve been flying to the US for more than 50 years ... It’s fantastic to see that over the next few months and leading into Christmas, flight loads are performing really well and by summer (in New Zealand), seat capacity will be back to around 85% of pre-Covid levels,” said Geraghty.<br/>