The strength of the US dollar is putting new pressure on airlines’ fragile balance sheets, driving up the cost of everything from the fuel used to power their planes to the aircraft themselves. A wave of dollar strength has sent currencies from the pound to the yen tumbling this year, and the US dollar index, which tracks the currency against its major peers, has recently traded close to 20-year highs. This represents a particular challenge for international airlines recovering from the pandemic, as they raise revenue in local currencies but pay much of their costs in dollars. “A strong dollar is a real challenge for the airline industry generally, as if we didn’t have enough challenges already, with Covid, Ukraine and the price of oil,” said Ryanair CE Michael O’Leary. It means airline passengers may be hit further as the carriers try to pass on increasing costs to travellers through ticket prices, which have already soared after two years of border restrictions. Flights for the autumn half-term break in the UK next month are 42% more expensive than those in 2019, according to figures from consumer group Which? Although most airlines have currency hedges in place helping to offset the worst of the impact, the soaring costs leave many airline bosses with difficult calculations on how many planes to fly this winter as the global industry reels from vast losses. It is forecast to lose $10b this year, bringing net losses over the past three years to $190b, says the IATA, the airline industry body. Only US airlines are forecast to turn a profit this year as a region. “The strong dollar will definitely have an effect on the profitability of airlines . . . I think it is going to be a tough winter, for sure,” said David Yu, an aviation financing adviser and professor of finance at New York University Shanghai.<br/>
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Airlines cancelled about 1,400 flights for Friday while some major Florida airports that temporarily halted operations because of Hurricane Ian said they would resume operations after reporting no serious damage. Tampa and St. Pete-Clearwater airports will both reopen Friday morning, while Sarasota-Bradenton airfield will be open for general aviation and air carriers late Thursday. Airlines canceled 2,046 U.S. flights Thursday and nearly 2,200 Wednesday. Orlando Airport said it expects to reopen at some point Friday but "a damage assessment is taking place" and all roads leading to the airport remain closed due to flooding. Walt Disney (DIS.N) said Thursday it would resume Disney World theme park and Disney Springs operations in Orlando in a phased approach starting on Friday after being closed. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told MSNBC there are mobile resources that can substitute for Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control towers if needed.<br/>
Airline executives say demand for flights to Europe from the U.S. has remained resilient into the fall, well past the traditional peak for trips to the region, as eager travelers make up for lost time and airlines look to boost revenue after more than two years of the coronavirus pandemic. “I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life in terms of demand in the fall,” United Airlines’ senior vice president of global Network Planning and Alliances, Patrick Quayle, told CNBC. It’s a welcome shift for airlines as they seek to drum up revenue after travel restrictions and concerns about Covid-19 sapped demand for many European trips in 2020 and 2021. Lucrative business travel segments have been slower to return than leisure, making these trips all the more crucial. “I think there’s no question that people’s appetite for going to Europe has gotten longer,” said Kyle Potter, executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, a travel and flight deal website. “A lot of the really ugly flight prices led people to put off those kinds of trips that they were putting off for many years.” “They saw some really gross $900, $1,200 airfare in July and August and maybe they saw a deal to get there for half the pricing,” this fall, Potter said. Plus, a strong US dollar is making fall trips to Europe more attractive, driving down costs of everything from shopping in Milan to high-end dining in Paris or London for many US travelers.<br/>
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is further limiting passenger numbers until the end of March as it continues to struggle with staff shortages. The Dutch arm of Air France-KLM said the newly announced caps will mean a reduction of as much as 22% for the winter season and the period up until March. The airport operator had already reduced the maximum number of local departing passengers by an average of 9,250 passengers, or 18% per day, in a cap that applies until at least Oct. 31. KLM said it is currently facing damages of more than E100m linked to the capacity caps. “This harms KLM and stands in stark contrast to the increase in the cost of using Schiphol, rising to 37% in the coming years,” the airline said. “KLM has said before that limiting the number of passengers cannot be a long-term measure, but that is what it seems like now,” said the airline’s Chief Executive Officer Marjan Rintel. “With the new winter restrictions, Schiphol offers us no prospects whatsoever.” The airport may be able to consider at the end of 2022 whether it can allow more passengers from the end of January, Schiphol said in a Thursday statement. The extended capacity caps are a “necessary” measure, said Schiphol’s Chief Operator Officer Hanne Buis, adding that the airport needs to be “realistic” about the challenge of making structural improvements in a tight labor market.<br/>
Changes to departure and arrival routes to reduce CO2 emissions will be made early 2023, officials said. Ports of Jersey Air Navigation plans to reduce its emissions as part of its Ports Planet and People plan, committing it to play a "leading role in developing a sustainable future" for the island. It said new procedures would create more direct routing through "modern, satellite-based navigational aids". The Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs) and Standard Instrument Arrivals (STARs) are the specific paths aircrafts follow when departing and arriving in Jersey. Air traffic controller and airspace development manager Richard Price said a total of 17 SIDs and 15 STARs had been "reviewed and modernised", and two of both removed. "The more efficient climb and continuous descent operations will reduce fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and noise, all of which are important to today’s airlines," he said. Price added the changes would "reduce the time aircraft need to fly over the island" and operators could save about 1.5% in fuel costs. Air traffic controller and Jersey ATC sustainability manager Mike Stephens said the changes would help it reduce carbon emissions.<br/>
An airport delivered 15 years' worth of growth in five years, a planning inquiry heard. Plans to increase London Luton Airport's passenger capacity from 18m to 19m per year and amend noise contours were approved by Luton Borough Council in December. The airport is owned by the council's company, Luton Rising. A public inquiry is taking place after the government said the main aspects of development should be reviewed. The airport is run by a separate private company, London Luton Airport Operations Limited, which submitted the expansion plans. Local protest group Luton and District Association, for the Control of Aircraft Noise has opposed the plans, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Richard Wald KC, representing the group, said: "This is an application borne of over rapid and non-mitigated increase in throughput, which delivered 15 years' growth in just five years, causing an out of balance increase in impacts. The passenger cap was also reached in 2019, nine full years ahead of its expiry and the achievement of a long-term reduction of noise contour areas by 2028."<br/>
China certified on Thursday a homegrown aircraft intended to eventually rival Boeing and Airbus single-aisle jets, photos on social media showed. In a ceremony on Thursday, the C919, made by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd., or Comac, was issued with a type certification by China’s aviation agency body, the photos show. A representative for the Civil Aviation Administration of China didn’t immediately respond to a request for confirmation. The certification, which shows the jet model meets requirements, paves the wave to start deliveries of the aircraft to customers. The event was attended by Liu He, China’s vice-premier and top economy adviser to President Xi Jinping, according to the photos. China is trying to disrupt the dominance of Boeing and Airbus in commercial jetliner manufacturing. However, it’s not clear when, if ever, the C919 will be a competitive threat to the duopoly. Comac hasn’t attracted much interest for its products overseas, and the nation’s airlines still favor Airbus and Boeing as the workhorses of their fleets. It’s been 14 years since Comac started developing the C919, using foreign suppliers including General Electric Co., Honeywell International Inc. and, for the engines, CFM International Inc. -- a venture between GE and France’s Safran SA. The project has been marred by delays and missed deadlines. China Eastern Airlines Corp. is the launch customer with an order for five of the narrowbody aircraft, which completed a first pre-delivery test flight in May.<br/>
Singapore has signed a sustainability-focused cooperation agreement with the US transport department, while it has expanded an existing open skies agreement with the UK to include environmental protection. Both agreements were inked on the sidelines of the 41st ICAO assembly in Montreal, where Singapore also reiterated its commitment towards developing sustainable and inclusive aviation. The memorandum of cooperation signed with the US Department of Transport will see both countries “collaborate and exchange information” in sustainable aviation. Areas where the two parties intend to collaborate include policy and regulation, workforce transformation, as well as industry development. The USA and Singapore will also work on the research and development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), as well as SAF trials. Both parties intend to “study the scale, costs and technical and commercial viabilities of developing ‘green lanes’ between Singapore and the United States, and to encourage the gradual uptake of SAF-operated flights by consumers, such as corporate and individual travellers,” adds the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. Singapore transport minister S Iswaran, who represented the city-state at the ICAO assembly, says: “Singapore and the United States share mutual interests in advancing aviation sustainability, particularly as climate change is a global challenge that directly affects international civil aviation. Coordinated state action and collaboration between the public and private sectors is key to drive and support collective climate action globally.”<br/>
Lessor Avation is upbeat on the airline and aircraft leasing market, stating that the coronavirus pandemic is essentially over. Avation’s fleet utilisation is improving, while the painful restructurings that some of its airline customers faced have largely been absorbed, according to the lessor’s financial results for its 2022 financial year.<br/>“The 2022 financial results reflect the end of the pandemic and the return to a high level of utilisation for Avation’s aircraft fleet,” says Avation chief executive Jeff Chatfield. “There has been a significant recent recovery in passenger numbers and the airline industry. The Company is optimistic about a future for the leasing industry characterised by high demand for aircraft as the global fleet builds and transitions to low CO2 technology in the coming years.” Chatfield adds that the lessor is seeing greater interest for airlines to buy or lease aircraft at “sustainable” rates, and that lenders are willing to lend against aircraft. For the 12 months ended 30 June, Avation swung to an operating profit of $90.2m, compared with an operating loss of $62.7m a year earlier. Revenue fell 5% to $112m. As of 30 June, Avation’s fleet comprised 39 aircraft serving with 17 customers in 14 countries. <br/>