Buckle up, because flights are about to get bumpier. Climate change may be exacerbating air turbulence, like the tumultuous winds that recently buffeted a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu. The oscillation was so extreme that 36 of the 248 people aboard were injured; 11 were hospitalized. There have been several recent incidents of severe air turbulence causing injuries, including eight people hospitalized in July after an American Airlines flight from Tampa to Nashville experienced turbulence so bad that it was forced to land in Alabama. Climate change may make such events more common in the future, according to some scientists. Turbulence occurs when the air around a plane is disturbed by air currents running counter or perpendicular to the main currents. The underlying cause of such currents is essentially stronger-than-normal winds, which may stem from factors including atmospheric pressure, air around mountains, cold or warm fronts, or thunderstorms, according to the FAA. "Severe weather increases chances of turbulence, and due to climate change, these kinds of incidents will only continue to grow," Taylor Garland, a spokesperson for the Association of Flight Attendants, told CBS News after Sunday’s Hawaiian Airlines flight. Story has more.<br/>
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Canada Jetlines has secured the go-ahead from the US FAA to operate its flights in the country. With this approval, Canada Jetlines will now be able to operate and fly to and from the US. Canada Jetlines president and CEO Eddy Doyle said: “The US is a major market for Canadian travellers and we are looking forward to expanding our international network. Jetlines is ready to start flying to the Melbourne/Orlando International airport in Florida and to the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, with both inaugural flights scheduled for January 19, 2023.” The FAA clearance comes shortly after the economic authority granted by the US DoT. Recently, Canada Jetlines started a nonstop service to Vancouver, with the maiden flight hitting the skies on 9 December 2022.<br/>
A Russian airline is eyeing Laos as a new potential regional hub, thanks to ongoing international developments, according to a company official. “Given the current international environment, Laos is now a new potential hub for the airline,” CEO of RUSASIA Roman A. Virich said in Vientiane. The top manager of the Russian company, which operates Ural Airlines, discussed his airline’s business strategy and performance of the first Vladivostok-Vientiane flight. Virich said that the Lao government’s policy to transform this landlocked nation into a land-linked nation and the limitation of flights from Russia to Asean has provided a great opportunity for the company to launch the Russia-Lao connection. Ural Airlines launched the Vladivostok-Vientiane flight in October, becoming the first civilian flight between the two countries. Lao and Russian policymakers believe that the establishment of an air connection between the two countries would promote tourist exchanges and economic cooperation between the two nations. It takes six hours for the 168-seat airbus to connect the Laos and Russian cities. “Apart from promoting the Laos-Russia tourist exchange, we expect to fly international passengers who want to travel from the Asean countries to Russia and vice versa,” he said, adding that passengers from Vietnam, Thailand, and other countries who are suffering due to the limitation of fights to Russia can now catch a flight from Vientiane.<br/>
Spanish carriers Air Nostrum and Volotea have each acquired a minority stake in zero-emission conversion firm Dante Aeronautical. In addition, the agreement enables the pair take the same size stake in Dovetail Electric Aviation – an Australia-headquartered venture involving Dante and Sydney Aviation Holdings. No details of the amount invested, or the size of the shareholding acquired have been disclosed, however. MRO unit Air Nostrum Engineering and Maintenance Operations led the investment on behalf of its parent. Air Nostrum and Volotea were already working with Dante on the back of a 2021 agreement centred on a battery and fuel cell conversion of a Cessna Grand Caravan. Dante and Dovetail have recently commenced raising seed-stage capital; at least two additional strategic investors will be announced soon, says Dante. Under previously disclosed plans, Dante and Dovetail are working together to develop a full-electric powertrain retrofit for the Grand Caravan to enter service in 2025. Conversion of a Beechcraft King Air to run on hydrogen fuel cells is also planned.<br/>
Regulatory changes arising from Britain’s exit from the European Union may force EU carrier Aer Lingus to cease its only UK domestic route between Belfast City and London Heathrow from March 26, 2023. Since Brexit, the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement requires all UK-based airlines to operate under a UK operating licence, meaning EU carriers such as Aer Lingus are not permitted to operate UK domestic routes. In a notice to customers, the Irish flag carrier said Brexit was impacting its travel rights within the UK market, particularly on the Belfast-London Heathrow route. “Despite constructive discussions, we have to date been unable to identify a viable solution, and there is now a likelihood that we will cease our Belfast-London Heathrow operation from effect from March 26, 2023. At present, we are in consultation processes with our people and unions as we engage on proposed options,” the airlines said in a statement shared on social media. Flights up to and including March 25, 2023, would continue as scheduled. Should the route be closed from March 26, the airline would contact affected passengers directly by January 31 2023, to offer an alternative flight or refund.<br/>
Ryanair Tuesday announced a four-year pay deal with its Irish pilots union, including immediate restoration of pay that was cut to help the airline through the COVID-19 pandemic, but the union said the deal was subject to a vote by members. The budget carrier in July said it had reached similar agreements with 85% of its pilots unions, leaving just the Irish and Belgian pilot unions to sign up. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the talks in Belgium. "This agreement, which includes annual pay increases for the next four years, now brings our Irish pilots into line with similar pay restoration deals concluded with our other pilot unions across Europe," Ryanair People Director Darrell Hughes said in a statement. A statement by the Fórsa trade union said the proposals, which included "post-Covid pay restoration measures brought forward from 2023 in addition to pay restructuring measures", would be put to a ballot of members. The union said it would recommend pilots to vote in favour. The deal was agreed last Friday after talks at the country's Workplace Relations Commission, the union said. Ryanair and Fórsa both declined to comment on the specific pay increases included. A source close to the negotiations said the deal included "pay restructuring" next year followed by a low single digit percentage increase in each of the following three years. <br/>
Ryanair have announced four new routes from Belfast International Airport for the summer 2023 season. The airline will operate flights to Budapest, Cardiff, Mallorca and Valencia next year. But it claimed that if Air Passenger Duty (APD) were to be scrapped, the airline would look to add extra routes to and from Belfast. It comes after Ryanair announced in July it would return to the airport with 12 new routes. Across the 16 routes the airline will operate more than 140 weekly flights to and from Belfast International Airport, with two airport-based aircraft and more than 800 jobs. It represents an investment of GBP164m. The managing director of Belfast International Airport, Graham Keddie, said the announce was a "fantastic" way to end the year. "These exciting new destinations, particularly Budapest and Cardiff, which are both previously unserved, are most welcome and will provide further connectivity from Northern Ireland," he said.<br/>
Kuwait Airways’ parent company has disclosed a full-year loss of KD104.8m ($342m) for 2021, although this figure is less than half the previous deficit. It generated revenues of KD196m including nearly KD178m in passenger and cargo revenues for the year. Kuwait Airways’ employee costs fell by 20%, to KD93.7m, but fuel expenditure increased by a third to KD36.8m. The company says it is closely monitoring personnel requirements “in line with demand projections”. Disruption from the pandemic, it states, continued into the third quarter of 2021 and “negatively impacted” the company’s financial position and liquidity. Current liabilities for the year exceeded current assets by KD83m. But the company, which remains government-owned, says it expects to continue operating for the foreseeable future. Kuwait Airways says it is adapting to post-pandemic demand through its fleet restructuring, whereby it opted to take fewer high-capacity aircraft – reducing its Airbus A350 commitments – and instead leaned towards smaller types.<br/>
The Thai and Indonesian units of AirAsia are upbeat about their prospects in 2023, noting an improving market for international travel following the end of government travel restrictions. AirAsia Thailand expects to end 2022 with 10m passengers carried during the year, with both domestic and international demand strong in the fourth quarter. This year’s 10m passenger figure compares with just 2.9m passengers in 2021. In November, Thai AirAsia enjoyed its best aircraft utilization during the year at 12 hours per day, while load factors in November hit 81%. AirAsia Thailand CE Santisuk Klongchaiya cites Tourism of Thailand’s estimate that 18-30m will visit Thailand in 2023. He also expects China – Thailand’s main tourist market – to start scaling back coronavirus travel restrictions in the first quarter of 2023 and establish a quota for inbound flights. With the possible return of China, he expects the carrier, which operates 53 A320 family jets, to carry 20m passengers in 2023. Separately, an Indonesia AirAsia presentation states that demand is returning strongly. It has 16 serviceable A320 family aircraft out of 23 available jets, and aims to grow its fleet to 32 aircraft by the end of 2023. As of November 2022, it operated 17 domestic and 16 international routes, and it aims to expand this in 2023. It will focus on routes between Indonesia and Malaysia, followed by Singapore, Thailand, and Australia. For 2023, it aims to achieve load factors of 85%, up from 78.5% in November.<br/>