The air transport industry has criticised the US government’s plan to require airlines to compensate passengers for some flight delays and cancellations. The IATA, which represents some 300 airlines worldwide, said on 9 May that a compensation proposal introduced by the Biden Administration would not benefit customers nor lead to improved airline operations – but would push airfares higher. “Airlines work hard to get their passengers to their destinations on time and do their best to minimise the impacts of any delays,” IATA director general Willie Walsh says. “Airlines already have financial incentives to get their passengers to their destination as planned. Managing delays and cancellations is very costly for airlines.” “The added layer of expense that this regulation will impose will not create a new incentive, but it will have to be recouped – which is likely to have an impact on ticket prices,” adds Walsh. In addition, the rule “could raise unrealistic expectations among travellers that are unlikely to be met”, IATA says. The US Department of Transportation (DOT) on 8 May proposed requiring airlines to provide certain accommodations to passengers affected by flight delays and cancellations caused by factors within airlines’ control. The agency said such rules would better protect airline passengers and prompt carriers to improve operational reliability. The plan is the latest in a series of moves by the DOT aimed addressing what regulators view as anti-consumer airline practices. But delays due to inclement weather, for example, are not covered by the proposed regulation. And according to the FAA, about 63% of disruptions this year have been due to weather. “While the DOT carefully notes that airlines will only be responsible for compensating passengers for delays and cancellations for which the airline is deemed responsible, severe weather and other issues can have knock-on effects for days or even weeks later, at which point it can be difficult [or] impossible to isolate a single causal factor,” IATA says. A4A, which represents most major US airlines, echoes that sentiment, saying, “One of the biggest impacts on flight operations is weather, and in 2022, more than half of flight cancellations were caused by extreme weather.” “Carriers have taken responsibility for challenges within their control and continue working diligently to improve operational reliability,” A4A says, without specifically addressing the proposed rule. “This includes launching aggressive, successful hiring campaigns for positions across the industry and reducing schedules, notably in the busy Northeast region, in response to the FAA’s staffing shortages.” <br/>
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Remember the images of travel from last summer and the more recent winter holidays? The lost bags, long waits on tarmacs and piles of luggage in arrivals? Some of Canada's airports are promising travellers those scenes won't be the norm this summer. "We have heard our customers," said Greater Toronto Airports Authority president and CEO Deborah Flint at Pearson International Monday. "The anxiety, the uncertainty, the frustration, and the lack of control that was felt by passengers last year is one that we will never forget." With almost all COVID-19-related travel restrictions lifted, it's expected that the pent-up desire to get away will result in even higher numbers of Canadians travelling by air over the coming months. "Demand is really, really strong," said travel agent Ken Stewart, owner of Crowfoot Travel Solutions in Calgary. "Everybody started to travel again last year. And those who didn't get away last year are adding to the numbers that are getting away this year." Stewart says that demand is being seen right across the board heading into summer — with people wanting to fly domestically, to the US, to Europe and even still to sun destinations. Pearson, Canada's largest airport, last summer saw overflowing baggage halls, stranded passengers, flight delays and cancellations. But Flint says things will be different this year. Last summer, on-time performance was at just 35%, she said. "Currently, our airlines are departing with 70% on-time performance statistics," she said. Over the past year, Pearson has hired 10,000 new employees — an increase of almost 22% — for a total of 50,000 workers — about on par with 2019 levels. That includes 130 new staff announced last week to help in critical areas at Pearson such as busing, baggage handling and terminal operations.<br/>
High-spending holidaymakers are spearheading a boom in first-class and business-class flight bookings, leading big airlines to bet on a new era of luxury travel with investments in their cabins and lounges. Lufthansa this month said the “very strongest demand” for travel this year had been in its premium cabins, and that leisure travellers had “almost completely compensated” for the slower return of corporate bookings. The airline’s CE Carsten Spohr said he expected a “permanent shift” towards holidaymakers filling business and first class seats, as he drew comparisons with the recent boom enjoyed by luxury sectors including cars, watches and prime real estate. “This year is the first year all my team tells me we need to grow first class . . . I never thought I would ever hear that,” Spohr said on an earnings call. Ben Smith, CE of Air France-KLM, said his airline group was investing to keep up with demand from high-end leisure travellers, particularly for flights to Paris, and was “more than making up” for the reduction in corporate travel. Airlines are hoping to tap into relentless demand for luxury goods and experiences, which has rebounded rapidly following Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020. “[It is] not just us: ask the same question of luxury hotels and business . . . the whole sector is doing extremely well,” Smith told analysts on the airline’s results call. A strong dollar was helping to drive demand from US transatlantic travellers, which was making up for the slow return of typically high-spending Chinese tourists, airlines added. Travel in first and business-class cabins has recovered faster than total passenger traffic, according to global airlines body Iata. Premium passenger numbers reached 86% of 2019 levels in February, the most recent month for which data is available, compared with an industry-wide total of 81%.<br/>
Dubai's main airport registered a 55.8% increase in passenger traffic in Q1 of this year compared to last year, reaching 95.6% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels, operator Dubai Airports said on Tuesday. Dubai International Airport (DXB), the world's busiest international hub, welcomed around 21.3m passengers in the first three months of 2023, Dubai Airports said. Dubai International registered 66m passengers in 2022. Dubai Airports has revised its 2023 forecast upwards to 83.6m passengers, bringing it within "striking distance" of 2019 annual traffic, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said. "With important developments in the international travel sector such as the further easing of travel protocols in China, and the upcoming local annual seasonal peaks and festive holidays, our outlook for the second quarter and the remainder of the year remains bullish," Griffiths said. Dubai emirate is the tourism and trade hub of the United Arab Emirates and will at the end of the year host the COP28 climate conference. DXB is connected to 234 destinations, with India, Saudi Arabia and Britain the top three countries by passenger numbers this quarter, Dubai Airports said.<br/>
Air traffic control systems at both of Dubai's airports are to be powered by artificial intelligence in an effort to boost efficiency. The contract for the high-tech upgrade, called the Integrated Air Traffic Control Suite, was awarded to Swedish aerospace company Saab last year, with the technology now being delivered and installed at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport — also known as Dubai World Central — as well as at Emirates Flight Academy and the Contingency Operations Centre. The technology aims to make the challenging job of an air traffic controller easier by collating crucial radar and flight data in one place. It is being rolled out to reduce air traffic controllers' workload and increase safety, with the aid of automated devices which support the sequencing of departures. David Shomar, vice president of civil security for Saab's Middle East and North Africa operation, told The National on Tuesday that it would take about a year for the technology to come into use. “Our system, which we're installing now, takes all the information that controllers have from all different places, for example radars and flight data that's coming in, and combines it into one controller working position,” he said, on the opening day of Airport Show 2023, being held at Dubai World Trade Centre until Thursday. “Instead of having to look at different screens, the controller only has to look at one screen.” Advanced AI is also being used to help prepare for potential incidents and manage traffic flow in terminals, an increasingly important tool for an emirate which welcomes millions of passengers each year. Saab is also showcasing other air traffic solutions at the event, including its Total Airport Management technology.<br/>
The Finance Ministry is urging the Transport Ministry to have detailed evaluations about the proposal of lifting the ceiling price for air tickets. The Finance Ministry recently wrote to the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Vietnam Register, departments of finance and transport under the Transport Ministry with regard to the proposal of lifting the ceiling price, the Finance Ministry said that civil aviation services and airfares were under the management of the Transport Ministry. According to the Finance Ministry’s Price Management Department, during the compilation of the amended Law on Price, the department received the proposal of removing domestic airfare ceiling from Vietnam Aviation Business Association, Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways. The department said that the established Law on Civil Aviation stipulates that airlines decide on prices of domestic air transportation services within the framework set by the Transport Ministry and was in charge of declaring prices with the Transport Ministry. Accordingly, the Finance Ministry urged the Transport Ministry to have detailed proposals coupled with assessments of the impacts of lifting the ceiling prices of domestic air tickets. At the meeting about the draft amended Law on Price in late April, the proposal of lifting the domestic ceiling price was also raised. Under the current bracket, airfares were capped at 1.6m dong (US$63) for routes below 500km and playing an important role in socio-economic development, 1.7m dong for other routes below 500km.<br/>
Boeing deliveries fell to 26 airplanes in April, less than half of the previous month's total, after a manufacturing defect forced the company to halt some shipments of its bestselling 737 MAX passenger jet. Deliveries of the MAX, which had climbed to 52 narrowbody jets in March, dropped to 17 planes last month. That left passenger jet deliveries for the US planemaker at their lowest level since July 2022, as well as below the 35 planes delivered last April. Boeing booked 13 net orders after factoring in 21 cancelled orders, including a sale-leaseback deal for three MAXs for lessor BOC Aviation for planes originally ordered by Dominican Republic operator Arajet. In addition to the MAXs, Boeing also delivered six 787 Dreamliners, one 767 freighter, one 777 freighter and one 737-800 jet to its defense business to be converted into a P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for South Korea. Aircraft deliveries are closely watched by Wall Street because planemakers are able to collect the majority of its money when they hand over jets to customers. The latest impediment to Boeing's deliveries involves two brackets that connect the MAX's aft fuselage with its vertical tail that were incorrectly installed by fuselage maker Spirit AeroSystems Holdings. Boeing estimates that about 75% of the 225 MAXs in its inventory have brackets that will need to be reinstalled before customers can take possession of the jets.<br/>
Airbus delivered 54 airplanes in April, bringing its total for the year to 181, down 5% from the same period a year ago but enough to re-establish an industrial lead over US rival Boeing, company data showed on Tuesday. The world's largest planemaker also sold five planes in April, all of them to undisclosed companies or private customers. That brought new orders so far this year to 161 planes, or a net total of 144 after cancellations. Boeing, which had pulled ahead of Airbus on deliveries amid supply snags in the first quarter, said earlier it had delivered 156 planes and won 154 gross orders in the first four months. Boeing's net orders after cancellations and conversions, which are comparable to Airbus net orders, stood at 69 aircraft so far this year. Airbus monthly data revealed three new cancellations for A320neo jets ordered by Colombia's embattled Viva Air, which is being absorbed by Avianca, the Andean country's flag carrier. Viva has struggled financially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and seen its situation worsen due to higher fuel prices in 2022 and the depreciation of Colombia's peso. Airbus declined detailed comment on its order book. Avianca was not immediately available. Airbus is aiming for 720 deliveries this year, having originally targeted that level in 2022 before lowering the goal to 700 then dropping it altogether due to supply chain problems.<br/>