US airlines are profitable again, and their pilots want a bigger cut of the industry’s recovery. The biggest airlines in the country are negotiating new pilot contracts, and talks with unions so far haven’t gone well. This week alone, unions representing about 30,000 pilots combined at American Airlines and United Airlines rejected potential contracts. The tensions come as the industry rebounds from the Covid-19 pandemic, which devastated travel demand and drove airlines to record losses of around $35b in 2020. The pandemic also derailed contract talks with pilots, flight attendants and other groups, setting the stage for widespread negotiations throughout the industry this year. Airlines are facing the dual challenge of combatting a shortage of pilots while keeping a lid on costs. Meanwhile pilot unions are demanding higher pay and better schedules, on the heels of a roller coaster two years. Both sides are staring down the risks of persistently high inflation. “We’ve been crushed by inflation. The money is coming, there’s no question about it,” said Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines Boeing 737 captain and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents some 15,000 pilots at the carrier. “What this is really about is the work-life balance and restoring reliability of airlines — and doing that not on the backs of pilots.” New labor deals are sure to drive up costs at airlines, analysts say. Employee compensation rivals fuel as carriers’ biggest expense. But pilots are in short supply and aviators at smaller carriers have received huge pay increases in response, so securing deals is in the major airlines’ interest as they fight over aviators. Pilot pay varies widely based on experience and type of aircraft but senior wide-body captains at major airlines can make more than $300,000. “I have a feeling right now that this is as good as it gets from a bargaining position” for pilots, said Raymond James airline analyst Savanthi Syth.<br/>
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US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday said airlines should ease congestion at Florida airports by equipping their planes so they can fly over water along routes that have been under-utilized. Buttigieg told airline chief executives in a letter that “over-water Atlantic Routes between North Carolina and Florida were underutilized this past winter season, even during times of high congestion, because some aircraft were not equipped to use them.” Florida flights have increasingly been a choke point for US aviation especially as bad weather and space launches often prevent some airspace from being used. Buttigieg added “to help avoid delays, we strongly encourage you to ensure your fleets traveling to and from Florida are equipped to use these.” Over-water routes require airlines to carry enough life rafts to accommodate all occupants of the airplane in the event of a loss of one raft of the largest rated capacity. Airlines for America (A4A), an industry trade group, said it was “pleased Secretary Buttigieg and the FAA recognize that air traffic to and through Florida has increased significantly” but did not address the over-water route issue. Florida is a major part of US air traffic and for some airlines, like JetBlue Airways and Southwest, 40% or more of daily flights typically touch a Florida airport. Airlines and Buttigieg clashed for months over summer woes that led to tens of thousands of flight disruptions and prompted the department to pressure airlines to do more to boost service to passengers. Buttigieg struck a positive note on Thursday. “While there is still a long way to go, we are seeing an encouraging reduction in rates of cancellation, in part thanks to efforts earlier this summer to stress-test and adjust flight schedules to better match staffing,” Buttigieg wrote.<br/>
Lightning has struck one of the world’s largest aircraft as it was flying over north Wales. The Airbus Beluga, which weighs 85.6 tonnes, was hit while taking off from Hawarden Airport in Flintshire, local media reported. Airbus said the flight continued as normal and landed safely at its destination in Hamburg, Germany. “At 1pm today, Beluga XL5 departing Hawarden Airport was struck by lightning,” Airbus said. "This is a routine event in aviation and the aircraft continued with its journey to Hamburg as planned. In accordance with standard operating procedure, the aircraft will be inspected before its next flight." It was reported that dozens of people reported hearing a “huge explosion” and a bright flash. Some also reported a loss of power and TV reception.<br/>
China's plan to increase international flights through next March reflects the strain on Chinese airlines from the country's zero-COVID policy, which shows no sign of ending. The 840 flights weekly -- incoming and outbound combined -- between late October and late March will be around twice the figure from a year earlier. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced the plan on Oct. 26. China Southern Airlines, the country's largest carrier, has resumed service on several routes including Dalian-Tokyo and Guangzhou-Jakarta. Air China restarted flights between Hangzhou and Rome. The aviation agency's move marks China's first announced increase in international flights for the October-March period since the pandemic began. But even after a doubling of flights, they remain far below pre-pandemic levels. Chinese authorities have kept a tight lid on inbound and outbound travel as part of the country's containment strategy against the coronavirus. When inbound travelers have tested positive for COVID-19, the number of infections has been used to set limits on future flights. Chinese regulators talk with airlines and airports to set six-month quotas for international flights. CAAC's decision to expand flights reflects the agency's predicament: how to sustain the industry without crossing Beijing's red line on COVID-19. Story has more details.<br/>
Aircraft lessor Air Lease Corp reported a rise in Q3 revenue on Thursday, helped by strong demand from airlines looking to expand their fleet to tap a boom in travel. Airlines are increasingly opting to lease new and young-used aircraft from lessors to offset jet delivery delays from Boeing and Airbus. The Los Angeles-based leasing giant, which has a $28b order backlog with the planemakers, said in August that the company would examine progress payments that it makes to Boeing and Airbus as aircraft deliveries get delayed. Still, the shortage of airplanes has driven up lease rates in a boost to aircraft lessors such as Air Lease. The company reported net profit of $99.96m, or 90 cents per share, compared with a profit of $100.01m, or 87 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue came in at $561.3m for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with $524.5m a year earlier.<br/>
Our planet's rising temperatures are making it harder for planes to take off at certain airports, presenting yet another challenge to civil aviation. And as heatwaves become more frequent, the problem could extend to more flights, forcing airlines to leave passengers on the ground. "The basic challenge facing any aircraft as it takes off is that planes are just very heavy, and gravity wants to keep them on the ground," says Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading in the UK. "In order to overcome gravity, they need to generate lift, which is the atmosphere pushing the plane up. Lift depends on several factors, but one of the most important is the temperature of the air -- and as the air warms up it expands, so the number of molecules available to push the plane up is reduced. Planes get 1% less lift with every 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) of temperature rise, Williams said. That's why extreme heat makes it harder for planes to take off -- and in some really extreme conditions that can become impossible altogether," he said. The problem particularly affects airports at high altitude, where the air is already naturally thinner, and with short runways, which leave the plane with less room to accelerate. According to Williams, if a plane requires 6,500 feet of runway at 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius), it's going to require 8,200 feet at 104 degrees (40 Celsius). Williams and his team researched historical data from 10 Greece airports, all of which were characterized by high summer temperatures and short runways. They found a warming of 1.35 degrees Fahrenheit (0.75 Celsius) per decade since the 1970s.<br/>
With airlines seeking to use the floor space footprint of their first-class suites as efficiently as possible, the latest developments in making these ultraswanky experiences even more luxurious aren't about adding more width or length to the suites. They're about going up. A new generation of high-wall supersuites are stretching up to the ceilings of the latest wide-body jets, eclipsing the suites that came before. The first generation of first-class suites with doors were introduced about 15 years ago on the Airbus A380. With the biggest commercial airplane ever built came the biggest first-class seats, and these quickly spread onto other airliners such as the Boeing 777. In the decade and a half since, most first-class seats now have doors. The main function of the doors is privacy, allowing first class passengers some of the top luxuries in our always-on world: the opportunity to create their own space to work, relax with a movie on a big screen or enjoy Champagne-and-caviar private dining. Yet until recently, the first-class doors themselves didn't extend all the way to the ceiling, ending instead at about chest height for most passengers, which means that the crew and other passengers who are passing by can see in. This is by design, since safety specifications mean that crew members need to be able to see into the suite. Story has more.<br/>