US airlines relied on loyalty programs for revenue during the pandemic, and industry executives and experts said income from them should hold up if the economy slips into a recession. Launched more than four decades ago to build airline brand loyalty, the programs have become a cash-generator for carriers through sale of miles to third-party partners, mostly credit card-issuing banks that award the miles to their own customers. The more customers spend, the more miles they earn and the more partners pay to airlines. Non-flying activities now account for more than half of all miles earned in major loyalty programs, noted Evert de Boer, managing partner at consulting firm On Point Loyalty, making airlines more resilient to economic swings. The share of revenue generated by loyalty programs shot up to 16% in 2021 from about 12% in 2019 at the big five US carriers - Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest and Alaska Airlines, according to data from consultancy IdeaWorksCompany. People curtailed flying during the pandemic, but still spent on airline loyalty credit cards, said JetBlue vice president Chris Buckner. He and other executives expect that trend to continue if a slowing economy cuts travel demand. "Credit card spending isn't going away," Southwest Airlines vice president Jonathan Clarkson said. Delta generated $5.7b in cash sales last year from American Express and other partners - equal to 14% of 2022 passenger revenue, according to Reuters calculations.<br/>
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Almost 560,000 people will travel through two State airports over the Easter weekend as the holiday season builds towards its summer peak. Dublin Airport – Ireland’s biggest – expects 485,000 passengers over the five days from Thursday, with Good Friday the busiest for departures and most arrivals showing up on Bank Holiday Monday. Shannon Airport calculates that 73,000 people will travel through it over Easter, beating 2019 numbers over the same period by 20%. Easter marks the point at which air travel begins building towards the peak holiday months as airlines tend to begin their summer schedules in April.<br/>
High flyers hoping to hop to the Netherlands in a private jet might be forced to rethink their travel plans, as Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is proposing a private jet ban. The notoriously busy airport has suggested a series of measures to reduce its air traffic and create a “quieter, cleaner and better” system, according to a Schiphol airport statement. Under new proposals the airport hopes will come into effect “no later than 2025-26,” private jets will “no longer be welcome” at Schiphol. There will also be no aircraft landing between midnight and 5 a.m. local time or taking off between midnight and 6 a.m. local time. Plans for a new runway have also been scrapped. Schiphol says it’s targeting private jets because they cause “a disproportionate amount of noise nuisance and CO2 emissions per passenger.” Private jets produce up to 14 times more planet-warming pollution than commercial planes, and 50 times more than trains, according to European clean transport organization, Transport & Environment. When these small, swanky aircraft depart from Schiphol, 30% to 50% of them are heading to vacation hot spots like Ibiza in Spain, Cannes in France or Innsbruck in Austria, according to Schiphol. The airport argues there are plenty of airplanes flying from Amsterdam to those destinations, and suggests private passengers should go commercial instead.<br/>
Frankfurt Hahn Airport has found a new buyer in the shape of German real estate firm Triwo. The purchase price, which has not been disclosed, has already been transferred to an escrow account. The conclusion and execution of the agreement are subject to conditions but both parties assume that these will be “fulfilled promptly”. All of the airport’s 400 employees will be transferred to the airport’s new owners. The airport is mainly used for cargo operations and low-cost carriers such as Ryanair. Peter Adrian, CE of Triwo, said: “We consider the future prospects of Frankfurt-Hahn Airport to be good. That is why we want to make targeted investments in the airport infrastructure, achieve further growth in passenger and freight traffic and implement sustainable real estate development. The business location Rhineland-Palatinate as a whole will also benefit from this.” Insolvency administrator Jan Markus Plathner said: “The bidding process is concluded successfully with the fulfilment of all conditions for completion and the sale to Triowo. The four creditors’ meetings and the creditors’ committee of the main company each voted unanimously for the bid with the highest purchase price. Flight operations will continue under the insolvency proceedings until the contractual conditions are met, and will then be taken over by the acquiring company. This is expected to take place within a few weeks.”<br/>
The Philippines and Turkey have agreed to double their air service entitlements in a bid to serve rising tourism and trade between the two countries. Transportation Undersecretary Roberto Lim and Turkish Civil Aviation Acting Director General Dr. Kemal Yüksek signed a memorandum of understanding following consultations last March 28-29, 2023 in Istanbul. Aviation services in both countries will benefit as a result, Lim said. The air talks resulted in a doubling of passenger air service entitlements on the Manila-Istanbul route from the previous seven flights per week on each side to 14 flights per week. Philippine representatives were able to persuade their counterparts to operate half or seven of the total Turkish entitlements to Manila on a co-terminal basis with Cebu.<br/>
planning application for the first renovation project financed under the GBP350m sustainability-linked Wells Fargo credit facility has been announced by abrdn’s Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust (AIPUT) fund. Radius Park is located on the A30 oppositive Hatton Cross public Transport interchange. Principal advisers on the planning application at Radius Park are PRC Planning and Northland. AIPUT Fund Manager, Nick Smith, said: “As a market leader in critical airport logistics supply chain infrastructure, it is both essential and always motivating, to keep pushing the responsible investment envelope to benefit a wide range of stakeholders. Our proposed investment in this renovation project will create a market-leading warehouse facility to match rising occupier demand, whilst setting a new sustainable design bar for others to follow. We are focused on deploying this Facility, combined with abrdn’s market leading investment expertise and operating platform, to execute our responsible investment strategy at both scale and pace, forming a critical pathway for AIPUT to achieve its decarbonisation objectives. The Radius Park project will deliver a key milestone on our strategic pathway to net zero.” The project has been designed in order to achieve carbon neutrality through embedded carbon and operational performance. The concrete floor slab and majority of structural steelwork is being retained. Building materials will be locally sourced using recycled and recyclable content. <br/>
Major airports across Australia are gearing up for a busy Easter and while a lot of travellers may think they should get to the airport extra early amid the holiday rush, Melbourne Airport is warning passengers against it. More than 2.1m people are expected to pass through Melbourne Airport between April 5 and 25 to 30% more than last year and almost the same as before the Covid pandemic in 2019. Melbourne Airport chief of aviation Jim Parashos said Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are shaping up to be the busiest travel days during the holiday period and warned there may be queues during peak times despite their preparations. However, that doesn’t mean passengers are advised to get to the airport extra early. “Travellers should plan to arrive 1-2 hours before a domestic flight and 2-3 hours before an international flight – but not earlier than that, as some airlines don’t open check-in and will be managing large passenger volumes, so we want to avoid passengers waiting unnecessarily,” he said. Another 2.4m people are expected to pass through Sydney Airport between April 3 and 23, and the airport has updated its guidance for domestic travellers to also ensure they do not arrive too early.<br/>
The head of Airbus met with two Chinese government officials on Tuesday and discussed the European plane maker's growth and development in the world's second-largest economy, according to official statements. The talks come just before French President Emmanuel Macron is due to land in the country and meet with President Xi Jinping later in the week. Zheng Shanjie, chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told Airbus' CEO Guillaume Faury that China will help the company continue to strengthen its presence in the country. In addition, Zheng said both sides will jointly promote the digital and low-carbon development of the aviation industry, according to a statement released by the NDRC. Faury also met with Song Zhiyong, the head of China's aviation regulator, with the pair exchanging views on Airbus' business development in China, the regulator said. They also discussed strengthening cooperation in the fields of aviation safety, airworthiness certification, green development and digital transformation, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.<br/>
A key SpaceX Starship Super Heavy rocket launch test could happen next week, according to a planning notice posted Tuesday by the FAA. The FAA notice said the launch's primary expected date is April 10, but listed backup dates as April 11 and 12. Billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket and satellite company must still get a launch license for what is expected to be its first orbital flight test from Boca Chica, Texas."The FAA has not made a license determination for the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy operation, and the FAA's Command Center planning notice should not be interpreted as an indicator that a determination to issue a license has been made or is forthcoming," the FAA said in a statement. SpaceX's launch license for the Starship test could be granted by the FAA on Monday, according to a person familiar with the process who asked not to be named. They cautioned that the licensing process, while nearing completion, could take longer due to an environmental compliance review. The test mission will mark the first launch of SpaceX's fully-stacked, 394-foot (120-metre) tall Starship rocket system, consisting of a Starship rocket sitting atop a "Super Heavy" first stage booster with 33 rocket engines.<br/>