Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance, wants roughly half its 26 members to use biometrics technology by 2025, as passenger demand grows for contactless travel and less airport congestion after COVID-19. By increasing the number of airport touchpoints where passengers can use biometrics technology, such as facial comparison which allows someone to use their face as a boarding pass, Star Alliance hopes to reduce processing time through airport security, baggage drop, departure gates and lounges. The group wants 12 to 15 airlines, or roughly double the current number, to either use its biometrics strategy or ensure compatibility, said Christian Draeger, vice president customer experience. In addition to airlines, Star Alliance also hopes the four European airports that are participating in its biometrics program will add additional touchpoints, as well as increase the number of participating airports. "We will definitely need to be heading towards half of our carriers participating," he said. "But at the same we also need to increase the network of participating airports." It is the first time the alliance, which coordinates services and projects like digital infrastructure for members, has outlined a specific target, Draeger told Reuters. While not binding, the goal echoes private sector efforts to validate identities at dedicated lanes ahead of security checkpoints. Companies like Clear Secure (YOU.N)allow passengers with paid airport memberships to use their biometrics technology instead of travel IDs.<br/>
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US aviation regulators struck back at major carriers’ reliability Thursday after the head of United Airlines Holdings called the government’s air-traffic system “by far the No. 1” cause of flight delays. United CEO Scott Kirby made the comments in Washington during a conference. Within hours, the FAA issued a statement, including a chart showing US airlines were responsible for more than twice as many minutes of delay as the agency through May of this year. “The FAA’s mission is keeping airline passengers safe,” the FAA said. “Airlines should focus on restoring customers’ faith by being transparent about the cause of interruptions and by delivering what they promise.” Delays and cancellations have surged this year as travel rebounded from the pandemic. Airlines, which have struggled with staff shortages and other issues, have been the biggest cause of the increase, according to data they report to the DoT. The tense summer of delays led to fingerpointing, not only from airline officials including Kirby, but also by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and even President Joe Biden. <br/>
United Airlines’ new codeshare deal with Emirates Airline includes a related agreement with Flydubai that United views as particularly valuable in expanding its international reach. The US carrier and Dubai-based Emirates disclosed their partnership on 14 September, with top executives of both airlines speaking at an event near Washington, DC. The airlines plan to link their networks through a vast web of codeshares. Emirates will gain access to United’s flights from that carrier’s major US hubs, while United will sell seats on Emirates’ flights out of Dubai. The arrangement will also see United launch daily flights from Newark to Dubai, scheduled to start in March 2023. But United chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella stresses the importance of a related deal as part of the agreement: codeshares with Dubai low-cost operator Flydubai. “Flydubai has an amazing network alone that really [is] probably not talked about all that much,” Nocella tells FlightGlobal. “But when the United code is available on those flights, that is really going to open up big chunks of the world.” Emirates and Flydubai, which are separate companies but are both owned by Dubai and share the same chairman, have stepped up their co-operation over recent years – including through a wide-ranging codeshare. While Emirates primarily serves long-haul routes using widebody jets, Flydubai flies short- and medium-haul routes using an all-Boeing-737 fleet of about 70 aircraft.<br/>
Air Canada on Thursday said it would buy electric planes for the first time with the acquisition of 30 battery-powered regional aircraft from Heart Aerospace, as more airlines turn to new technologies to lower emissions and fuel costs. Global airlines are stepping up plans to tackle climate change as they face mounting pressure from regulators and environmental groups over the impact of billions of extra passengers expected to take to the skies in coming decades. Sweden-based Heart's electric-hybrid aircraft under development will have capacity for up to 30 passengers and generate zero emissions when they enter service, which is expected in 2028, Canada's largest carrier said in a release. The release did not disclose a value for the deal. Air Canada's agreement, which also includes a $5m equity stake in Heart Aerospace, follows a 2021 deal by US carrier United Airlines to acquire 100 19-seat planes from the startup. <br/>
A recent ruling by Canada's transport regulator in favour of two Air Canada passengers whose flight was delayed is the latest development in the ongoing battle over whether airlines must compensate passengers for flight disruptions caused by crew shortages. In a decision published on Aug. 25, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) ordered Air Canada to compensate passenger Lisa Crawford and her son $1,000 each following a flight cancellation that delayed their August 2021 trip from their home city of Fort St. John, B.C., to Halifax by almost 16 hours. According to the CTA, Air Canada initially told Crawford the flight cancellation was caused by a crew shortage linked to COVID-19, and was safety-related — so she wasn't eligible for compensation. The airline's response prompted Crawford to take her case to the CTA, a quasi-judicial tribunal. "Staffing and other aspects of operations are the employer's responsibility to manage," said Crawford in an email to CBC News. The CTA agreed, stating in its decision that Air Canada failed to provide evidence "establishing that the crew shortage was unavoidable despite proper planning," so Crawford and her son must be compensated. Under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), airlines only have to pay compensation — up to $1,000 per passenger — if a flight cancellation or delay is within the airline's control and not required for safety reasons. "I was thrilled with the CTA's finding," said Crawford, though she and others question if the case will carry much weight.<br/>
Aegean Airlines, Greece's largest carrier, returned to profit in the second quarter after losses in the same period a year earlier with sales rebounding strongly as passenger traffic recovered from pandemic travel restrictions. Aegean, a member of the Star Alliance airlines group, reported a net profit of E10.8m in the April-to-June period compared with a loss of 33.9m in Q2 2021. Sales jumped 201% to E327.3m. CE Dimitris Gerogiannis said the strong desire to travel after two years of COVID-19-related restrictions contributed to a robust rebound in passenger traffic. "Despite the cost of fuel we returned to profitability from the second quarter, before the always-stronger third quarter. This continued in the summer months as we boosted load factors to 84% in July to August," Gerogiannis said. Aegean's performance in the summer months boosts the expected earnings for the year as a whole, he said. The airline flew 3.3m passengers in Q2, with its load factor - a key industry measure of filled seats - improving to 79.2% from 55.8% in the same period last year. Aegean's cash reserves at the end of June stood at E602.1m.<br/>
SAS CEO Anko van der Werff said he’s confident the Scandinavian airline will emerge successfully from a Chapter 11 restructuring after winning clearance for a $700m financing package and seeing a rebound in its own performance. Approval for the Apollo Global Management funding from a US bankruptcy judge is “the biggest and most important news” for SAS and will be “vital” as it seeks to move forward with a new strategic plan, Der Werff said Thursday. Operations have stabilized since the end of a pilot strike in August, the CEO said, and while the dispute cost “considerable money” and “disappointed a lot of people,” the first two weeks of September have produced a “far better” operational performance at the airline, with passengers rushing back. “Operationally we are stable,” he said, adding that the company’s forecasts still stand, with no sign so far that a cost-of-living squeeze will curb demand. “We are not going to put additional capacity in. But right now we are really content with how the winter is developing.” Stockholm-based SAS expects the Chapter 11 process to continue until May or June, during which time the tri-national carrier will have sufficient liquidity, aided by the flow of cash from its own operations, according to the CEO.<br/>
SAS said on Thursday it was considering adding an undisclosed number of 30-seat electric aircraft from Swedish start-up Heart Aerospace for shorter routes in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Heart's new electric aircraft ES-30 has a 200-kilometre range with the option to extend the range to as much as 800 kilometres by combining electricity and fuel and reducing the number of passengers, SAS said. The plane is expected to be certified for commercial flights by 2028, it added.<br/>
Tata Group-owned Air India on Thursday targeted a share of at least 30% of the domestic market over the next five years as it looks to rebuild its reputation after years of losses at the former state-run carrier. The autos-to-steel conglomerate, which completed its purchase of Air India in January, faces an uphill struggle to upgrade an ageing fleet, turn around the company's financials and improve service levels. The airline had a domestic market share of 8.4% in July, well behind leading airline IndiGo's 58.8%, according to data from the aviation regulator. The plan, called Vihaan.AI or the dawn of a new era in Sanskrit language, outlines initiatives including proactive maintenance and altering flight schedules to improve on-time performance. Air India also plans to grow its international routes. The airline said earlier this week that it will expand its fleet by more than a quarter by leasing 30 Boeing and Airbus aircraft.<br/>
Air New Zealand is denying it is in merger talks after a report in The Australian newspaper. The paper reported the airline and Virgin Australia held recent discussions about a possible merger, with Virgin also looking at acquiring Australian regional carrier Rex Airlines. However, in a short statement to the sharemarket this morning, Air New Zealand chair Dame Therese Walsh said it has "not been approached, and is not in discussions with any parties, regarding a potential merger transaction". The airline said it was complying with its NZX continuous disclosure obligations. It declined to provide further comment when approached by RNZ. The Australian, citing sources, said talks were held between Air New Zealand and Virgin "in recent weeks", but they had not struck a deal. The paper said the plan would involve a back door dual listing in Australia and in New Zealand of Virgin into Air New Zealand. Virgin is owned by United States private equity firm Bain Capital. Bain bought the airline for $A3.5b ($NZ3.9b) in 2020 after it entered voluntary administration after Covid-19 decimated the aviation sector.<br/>