Consumer prices for hotels, motels and other lodging dropped nearly 5% in November from October, according to the latest government inflation report, a sign that soaring travel demand has lost some momentum from the summer. Airfares also fell month to month, by 0.6%. Still, the price index for hotels, motels and lodging was 3% higher than it was a year ago, while airfares were 36% higher. The cooldown comes in a year where the travel industry enjoyed major tailwinds after a turbulent couple of years due to Covid. Pent-up travel demand even began to encroach on retail’s momentum as pandemic shoppers turned into post-pandemic travelers. But with a possible recession on the horizon, the price declines for travel in November could be a harbinger of a further drop in demand. The travel industry has seen demand taper since a summer surge. JetBlue said Tuesday in a regulatory filing that the strong last-minute demand it anticipated for December in its previous financial outlook “has materialized below expectations.” The airline’s updated outlook, which also includes the impact from Hurricane Nicole in November, sets its fourth-quarter unit revenue growth “at the low-end of its prior guidance” with a 15% to 19% over 2019. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, however, said that travel demand and revenue remains strong while business travel has “plateaued.”<br/>
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A group advocating for direct flights between Canada and the northwestern Indian city of Amritsar says a recent air transport agreement between the two countries should have included a direct flight to the state of Punjab — which has been desperately needed for years. Amritsar is the centre of Sikhism and the site of the Sikhs' principal place of worship — the Harmandir Sahib or Golden Temple. An Open Skies agreement between India and Canada was signed last month, allowing unlimited flights to India. Under the new agreement, Canadian airlines can fly to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata — without restriction. Previously, only 35 flights were allowed per week. Indian airlines are free to fly to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and two other cities of their choice. Mohit Dhanju, a spokesperson for the FlyAmristar Initiative, says most of the six cities in the new agreement are located in central and southern India, which means travellers will need to wait about seven hours in Delhi to take a connecting flight to Amritsar or drive approximately eight to 10 hours to northern India. "It's the 21st century. People shouldn't be spending so much time travelling. You take a 14-hour flight to Delhi, and then you have to make a 10-hour road trip. It doesn't make any sense."<br/>
Canada's busiest airport says it will offer passengers a way to bypass long security lineups as it looks ahead to a winter travel surge and tries to avoid a repeat of the travel chaos seen earlier this year. Toronto Pearson International Airport on Thursday announced the launch of YYZ Express, which will allow customers on select flights to reserve their security screening spot in advance. Having a timeslot booked in advance should remove some of the stress that comes with airport travel, said Deborah Flint, chief executive officer of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which operates Pearson. “Passengers feel anxiety when they are travelling, and one of the first steps that causes that anxiety is how long the security line is going to be," said Flint. She said that passengers can reserve a spot for individuals or groups of up to 10 passengers on most domestic and international flights at both of the airport's terminals, where they will be transferred to the express security line. However, passengers must arrive within 15 minutes of the reservation time. The program comes after a summer of delays and flight cancellations, where Pearson had the world's worst record on delayed flights, according to tracking service FlightAware.<br/>
Peru's armed forces will take control of the "protection" of key infrastructure, its defense minister said Tuesday, as protests that have led to at least six deaths continue across the country following the ousting of its former president. Peru's new president, Dina Boluarte, had earlier in the day pledged to work with Congress to see if the next election could be held sooner than previously proposed and pleaded for calm. She also said she would speak with other regional leaders who came to the defense of jailed former President Pedro Castillo. The former vice president was sworn in last Wednesday after Castillo illegally sought to dissolve Congress hours before being swiftly removed from office by lawmakers, and arrested shortly afterward. The move has led to angry and sometimes violent protests by Castillo's supporters demanding a fresh presidential election, which have been met by police dispersing tear gas and gunfire in an effort to quell the unrest. Three airports, in Apurimac, Arequipa and the tourist hub of Cusco remained shuttered on Tuesday due to the unrest. Police reported that there were highway blockades Tuesday morning in 13 of the country's 24 regions. In response to the disruptions, Defense Minister Alberto Otarola said Peru's government would declare a state of emergency on the highway system to guarantee free transit. The country's armed forces were also charged with the "protection" of infrastructure including airports and hydroelectric plants, Otarola told journalists late Tuesday.<br/>
Sudan on Tuesday signed a preliminary agreement with a group led by the UAE's AD Ports Group and Invictus Investment to build and operate the Abu Amama port and economic zone on the Red Sea with a $6b investment. The project, located about 200 km north of Port Sudan, would include an economic zone, an airport and an agricultural zone of 400,000 feddans (415,000 acres). A 450-km-long road will connect Abu Amama port with the agricultural area of Abu Hamad in Sudan's River Nile State, the two sides said at the signing ceremony held in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.<br/>
Workers at Spanish airport operator Aena (AENA.MC) plan to walk out around Christmas and New Year, the CCOO union said on Tuesday, as pay disputes spread in Europe. Other Spanish unions such as UGT and USO said their members will not strike and a spokesperson for Aena said the government-controlled company will keep negotiating with CCOO and seek to reach an agreement with the union by Dec. 22. Workers affiliated to CCOO plan to strike on Dec. 22, 23, 30 and 31 and on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, the union said, to demand Aena resumes a bonus it suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. "During the years of the pandemic, and in an important gesture of responsibility, we have not requested the payment of the bonus," CCOO said in a statement, adding that Aena's traffic numbers were now back to near pre-pandemic levels. Soaring consumer prices have pushed unions in Spain to press sometimes reluctant employers for pay raises. About 1,000 Inditex (ITX.MC) shop assistants went on strike on Black Friday and are planning to walk out again on Dec. 23 and Jan. 7.<br/>
Disabled passengers are suffering from "unacceptable" levels of support at many UK airports. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that many disabled and less mobile passengers missed summer flights at London Heathrow due to poor accessibility performance. Bristol, Leeds Bradford and Luton Airports also had an "unacceptable level of service to disabled people". The CAA said Heathrow's Terminal 5 had "particularly poor performance". Its report said that "many passengers" did not make connecting departures in the terminal. Some disabled and less mobile passengers at its Terminal 3 were also forced to wait for more than an hour to be transferred from one piece of equipment to another, it said. This contravened the CAA's own guidance. Aberdeen, Belfast International, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London City Airports were rated as "very good" for their accessibility performance during the whole period analysed, which was between the start of April and the end of October.<br/>
Ahead of the year-end travel season, Asian airlines are ramping up flight options in a battle to board flyers, with air travel continuing to recover as COVID concerns remain largely downgraded. From Singapore to Japan, carriers have raced to restore routes less well served during the height of pandemic-related border restrictions, with new partnerships now being formed to capture travel demand. The unwinding of zero-COVID policies in China may gradually spur air travel as well. But analysts and industry groups note that regional airlines are closely monitoring rising fuel prices and interest rates, as economic uncertainties could dampen earnings while airlines are grappling with a gradual recovery. Shukor Yusof of Endau Analytics said that "both [factors] will determine if an airline can raise capacity without hurting its balance sheet." He added that "financially strong airlines" like Singapore Airlines (SIA) would have the capacity to increase flight frequencies and new destinations if demand stays firm. For example, SIA and India's Tata Sons announced in November the merging of Air India and Vistara, with SIA investing $250m in Air India as part of the deal. This would give Singapore's flagship carrier a 25.1% stake in a bigger Air India group. The merger is slated for completion by March 2024, clearing the skies for the airline to bolster its presence in the fiercely competitive South Asian travel market. SIA noted that Tata's Air India has "valuable slots and air traffic rights" at domestic and international airports that are not available to Vistara, a joint venture between SIA and Tata launched in 2015. "We have an opportunity to deepen our relationship with Tata and participate directly in an exciting new growth phase in India's aviation market," SIA's CEO Goh Choon Phong said in November. "We will work together to support Air India's transformation program and unlock its significant potential," Goh said. Story has much more.<br/>
China’s rapid unwinding of Covid Zero restrictions has spurred a sharp recovery in the world’s biggest domestic air-travel market, throwing a lifeline to the nation’s ‘Big Three’ airlines, which have racked up billions of dollars of losses since the start of the pandemic. Domestic flight activity jumped to around 65% of pre-pandemic levels Monday, from just 22% on Nov. 29, according to Chinese aviation data company VariFlight — the equivalent of several thousand flights per day returning to the sky. Ticket sales for the crucial Lunar New Year period in late January have also surged, China Aviation Daily reported Monday, citing online travel portal Qunar.com data. Ticket prices for popular destinations such as Sanya on the resort island of Hainan, and Kunming from major cities including Beijing, Shanghai are expected to rebound to closer to usual levels for the Lunar New Year — which before Covid was the world’s biggest mass migration event as workers return to their home villages — China Aviation Daily said. Lunar New Year bookings are expected to reach the highest level in three years, rising to 80% of pre-pandemic levels, Guo Lechun, an analyst with Qunar’s data research arm, was quoted as saying. Ctrip.com said air travel searches jumped 900% on Dec. 7, the day the government announced the dismantling of most Covid restrictions, including mass testing and snap lockdowns. Within hours of a local announcement to lift traveler curbs on Dec. 5, searches for Sanya surged 166%, and a day later hotel bookings there jumped 95%. Still, the travel lust could be short-lived as the rapid easing of Covid rules leads to a wider spread of the virus, prompting people to stay home for fear of getting infected. Anecdotal evidence suggests the caseload is many times the government’s tally of 7,298 for Dec. 12. In Beijing, long lines formed outside hospitals Monday, and people are struggling to find medicine.<br/>
Hong Kong has further eased coronavirus prevention rules for passengers arriving in the city, although it still has extensive coronavirus testing requirements. In a Tuesday media briefing, Hong Kong CE John Lee announced the easing of a number of restrictions. Namely, passengers arriving from overseas will no longer be restricted from visiting bars and restaurants for three days after their arrival. Passengers will still, however, be subjected to Covid-19 tests for five days after their arrival. They will also need to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19. Cathay Pacific Airways welcomed Lee’s remarks.“The adjustments will help further boost sentiment for travel, especially among inbound visitors, thereby facilitating the resumption of travel activities and strengthening of network connectivity at the Hong Kong aviation hub,” says Cathay. It notes that it and low-cost unit HK Express have added about 3,000 flights in Q4, following Hong Kong’s lifting of onerous quarantine rules, which had all but cut off the city from the world for nearly three years. The China Special Administrative Region’s moves come amid the sudden reversal of China leader Xi Jinping’s ‘zero-Covid’ policy on the Chinese Mainland. Despite the changes in Hong Kong, it still lags other Asia-Pacific countries such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, all of which have largely abandoned testing requirements.Cirium schedules data underlines the impact that Covid-19 restrictions have had on Hong Kong’s outbound traffic. In November 2022, outbound ASKs were 77% below their level in November 2019, prior to the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan, China. <br/>
The holiday rush at India’s busiest airport in capital Delhi has left passenger grumbling on social media as they struggled to navigate serpentine queues and security checkpoints at the terminals. Chaotic scenes unfolded at the Indira Gandhi International Airport with passengers waiting for hours to seek entry into the transit hub, before facing further bottlenecks at various spots, including security and immigration. On Monday, aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia visited the airport and spoke with authorities about the chaos. The added congestion at the normally busy airport has been largely attributed to a sudden increase in the number of travellers at the year end, after two successive years of Covid-19 pandemic hitting the tourism sector. The aviation industry has been broadly caught underprepared and understaffed to tackle the travel rebound after the easing of Covid-linked restrictions. Airport authorities also blamed fewer counters, smaller space, as well as limited security staff for the failure to tackle the surge. According to an Indian Express report, there are about 5,000 security personnel covering the entire airport, including terminals, airport gates as well as security checks. The number remains the same since 2017, when the passenger load was around 57 to 65m a year. The passenger load has risen to 70m, an official told the outlet. The Delhi Airport said that they are deploying additional systems and personnel to tackle the surge in the number of passengers.<br/>
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CE Stan Deal Tuesday said the US planemaker will continue to push Congress to pass legislation for the Boeing 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 to win certification even if a key Dec. 27 deadline passes. "We're still working obviously and hope something happens this year - got another shot early next," Deal said on the sidelines of an event at its 787 final assembly plant. "We're going to hope Congress does their part of this." United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby, whose airline has ordered more than 100 MAX 10s, told reporters on Tuesday that he did not think lawmakers would act on the extension until next year. After Dec. 27, all planes must have modern cockpit alerting systems to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which could jeopardize the futures of the MAX 7 and 10 or mean significant delays for the new aircrafts’ deployment -- unless Congress passes legislation. The alerting requirement does not apply to in-service airplanes previously certified by the FAA. Kirby said it is the right safety answer to have a common alerting system across the 737 family -- including the MAX 8 and MAX 9s in service. He said United MAX 10 orders "are already delayed but we're assuming it get approved sometime next year." Congress adopted the requirements after two fatal 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people and led to the bestselling plane's 20-month grounding. Last month, acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said he believed the FAA cannot continue any certification work on the airplanes after Dec. 27 without congressional action.<br/>
Boeing’s aircraft deliveries picked up last month with airlines getting more 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner planes. The manufacturer handed over 48 planes last month, up from 35 in October, with carriers United, American and Qatar Airways each getting two 787s apiece. Boeing also delivered 32 of its 737 Max planes to carriers including United and Southwest November deliveries also included the second-to-last Boeing 747, which went to Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings. The final 747, #1574, rolled out of Boeing’s Everett, Washington, factory last week. It is scheduled to be delivered to a cargo and charter airline in Q1. Boeing logged orders for 21 planes in November, which did not include United’s massive order for at least 100 Dreamliners, announced earlier Tuesday. So far this year, Boeing has delivered 411 planes and logged net orders for 571 planes.<br/>