International air fares are likely to keep climbing from their current highs over the next 10-15 years, with the cost of sustainable fuels expected to drive up ticket prices, according to the global airlines body Iata. Extraordinary demand for travel since the Covid pandemic has led to steep fare rises on many routes, and Iata said consumers could expect to pay more as airlines increase the usage of scarce “greener” jet fuels in response to government mandates to cut aviation’s carbon emissions. Willie Walsh, the director general of Iata and former CE of British Airways, said: “We’re going to require more and more SAF [sustainable aviation fuel], and that means more and more expense.” While Walsh said that some economists believed sustainable fuels could eventually become cheaper than kerosene, he added: “I see certainty in the next 10-15 years that we’re looking at a significant increase in fuel costs. Unless there’s some compensating reduction in other costs – and I don’t see that – then people have to expect that there will be an increase in in average fares as we go forward.” He added: “It will mean higher fares, because sustainable aviation fuel is more expensive than your traditional jet kerosene. And as we transition to net zero, it is going to cost some money.” Airline costs have been driven up significantly as oil prices soared after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as higher labour costs. Walsh also pointed to constrained capacity due to a lack of spare parts, which have left some airlines unable to operate their full fleets.<br/>
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Global airlines called on Tuesday for broad co-operation to reach "very tough" emission targets and pledged to release interim climate targets next year as the industry aims for a goal of net-zero by 2050. Aviation, which produces around 2% of the world's emissions, is considered one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise and the IATA, grouping 300 airlines and representing about 80% of global traffic, said governments, planemakers and regulators must all help. "We are totally committed to achieving our net zero targets in 2050," IATA DG Willie Walsh said at the end of a three-day summit in Istanbul. "Everybody's going to have to play their part," Walsh told a news conference, listing players from governments to planemakers and airports who would have to "raise the bar to work with us to ensure that we can achieve what is an absolute critical goal." IATA's annual meeting also brought stark evidence of a consumer recovery as many airlines voiced interest in ordering new jets to lock in scarce production slots and meet higher-than-expected demand with modern fleets. Environmental groups say such rapid growth is at odds with the industry's commitments on emissions, but suppliers say the most recent available jetliners provide the most efficient starting point to take advantage of alternative new fuels. Pressure is growing on aviation to limit carbon emissions amid low supplies of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, currently accounting for only 0.1% of airline consumption. Airlines are relying for 62% of their emissions reduction target on the fuel, which is currently between two to four times more expensive than kerosene. But they oppose EU-style mandates and are calling for output incentives like those introduced by the United States. "It's hard to take IATA's environmental targets seriously when they have a track record of criticizing ... policies that will enable clean technologies like the EU's SAF mandate," Jo Dardenne of environmental group Transport and Environment said.<br/>
Despite progress in improving gender diversity in the aviation sector, equality is still a distant goal, figures presented on Tuesday at the IATA annual meeting in Istanbul showed. Aviation is known for its poor record on achieving gender balance, particularly among pilots, but also in technical and engineering roles and in senior leadership. The airline association launched an initiative known as 25by2025 in 2019 to improve diversity following allegations of sexism in the industry, but so far only half of its members have signed up. IATA has been promoting the initiative this year, which aims to increase the number of women in senior positions and under-represented areas by 25%, or to a minimum of 25% by 2025. "Women are still under-represented in aviation, but...we are making progress," IATA head Willie Walsh said. According to this year's figures, there are 28 female CEOs in the 300-strong airline group, while 42% of the staff at the airlines that have signed onto the initiative are women.<br/>
European transport commissioner Adina Valean has rejected calls from several ministerial representatives to draw up regulatory measures for private jet use in relation to aviation decarbonisation efforts. Valean spoke after a European Union transport council meeting in Luxembourg on 1 June, during which the subject of business jets’ environmental impact was addressed by a number of delegates. “The short answer is no – I do not intend to propose anything on this,” she said. “Because I do believe that we have to allow the sector to develop its own decarbonised future which is [taking] shape.” Austrian federal minister for climate action Leonore Gewessler had been among those seeking action. “We shouldn’t just think about incentives but provide clear rules to limit these emissions,” she said. “Often because of the small size of companies using private jets, they fall under the radar of EU regulations.” This view was supported by Irish minister of state Jack Chambers, who said that a contribution from “all sectors” of aviation “including private jets” was “crucial” in the “interests of fairness” when pursuing climate targets. Belgian deputy prime minister Georges Gilkinet highlighted implementation of a new air navigation charging system in the country on 1 April that takes environmental factors into account and removes a total exemption for private jets. “Citizens would not be able to understand if a minority using private jets was able to use these aircraft without any limitations, with a disproportionate impact on climate,” he added. “We have to show climate efforts are shared out fairly.” <br/>
IATA director general Willie Walsh has strongly criticised France for the airspace disruption caused by air traffic controller strikes in the country, accusing the government of “actually harming the environment” by failing to facilitate overflights. “France needs to be honest,” Walsh said as the IATA AGM came to a close in Istanbul. “If France is serious about addressing the environmental concern… they should be tackling the huge disruption caused to aviation by the closure of French airspace with the ongoing strikes.” He puts the ATC disruption in the context of the environmental benefits achieved by the French government’s recent decision to ban a small number of domestic flights where a viable train alternative is available. The impact of failing to allow overflights during the strike action ”goes way beyond any reduction in CO2 that will be achieved from the three destinations from Paris Orly [being cut]”, in Walsh’s view. ”Eurocontrol has estimated that 40 daily flights have seen their routing increased by [at least] 370km each to avoid the strikes that are being caused by France,” Walsh says in reference to data for flights on 12 March that was included in a recent report by Europe’s network manager. ”As an industry we are calling on France to facilitate overflights of the country so that the rest of Europe is not disrupted by the strikes,” the IATA chief says. “That would make a huge difference to the environmental focus.” Air traffic controllers in France have held several days of strike action this year, prompting complaints from many airlines – notably including Ryanair, which is not an IATA member – regarding the country’s failure to protect overflights on those days.<br/>
Sixteen flights to Dublin Airport and 15 flights departing the airport, which were scheduled for today and tomorrow, have been cancelled because of an air traffic controller strike in France, according to the live air traffic website, Flight Radar 24. A spokesperson for the DAA, the operator of Dublin and Cork airports, said: “We advise all passengers to stay in contact with their airline if their flight is due to fly through French air traffic control space in the coming days.” Ryanair called on the president of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen to take “urgent action” to protect flights affected by air traffic control strikes in France. Speaking in a video posted on Twitter, CE of Ryanair Michael O’Leary said the airline had to cancel 400 flights on Tuesday. “All of these have been cancelled because of the French ATC strikes. The majority of these flights are overflights and are not going to France,” he said. “It is absolutely indefensible that flights going from Ireland to Italy, Poland to Portugal, or from Spain to Germany, are being cancelled simply because the French want to prioritise their domestic flights and cancel all the overflights.”<br/>
Amsterdam Schiphol defended a recent landing-fee increase after Willie Walsh, the longtime airline boss who is now the industry’s chief lobbyist, called it the “worst airport in the world.” “The disruption is terrible, performance is dreadful and at the same time they want to increase charges,” Walsh said this week at the International Air Transport Association’s annual meeting in Istanbul. “It’s absolutely pathetic, completely unacceptable.” Airlines have been at odds with the Netherlands’ biggest hub over increased charges and they have filed complaints to the Dutch authorities after Schiphol raised fees by 12% from April 1. “We understand that this is unfortunate for airlines,” Willemeike Koster, a Schiphol spokesperson, said in an email. “However, after years of insufficient investment and too much emphasis on cost control, we need to make a necessary catch-up.” While airlines have enjoyed a surge of revenue driven by skyrocketing fares, airports have struggled to do the same, lacking the same flexibility to raise prices on fees and tariffs that are fixed, regulated or commercially negotiated. At the IATA AGM in Istanbul this week, Walsh announced a doubling of the group’s global profit forecast for 2023. Koster said the Dutch hub missed out on E1.6b in revenue due to the Covid-19 pandemic and claimed Schiphol has the lowest rates among the major hub airports in Europe, even after this year’s increase. <br/>
Boeing on Tuesday warned about a new defect on its 787 Dreamliner planes and that it will delay deliveries of the wide-body aircraft, the manufacturer’s latest production issue. “We are inspecting 787s in our inventory for a nonconforming condition related to a fitting on the horizontal stabilizer,” Boeing said in a statement. “Airplanes found to have a nonconforming condition will be reworked prior to ticket and delivery.” The issue Boeing detected relates to tiny spacing in the horizontal stabilizer. Boeing said it isn’t related to flight safety and that planes in service can continue operating. Near-term deliveries will be delayed by about two weeks, Boeing said. The problem is the latest in a spate of manufacturing issues on Boeing planes that have slowed if not paused deliveries of certain aircraft outright, just as airlines are clamoring for new planes to capitalize on the travel boom. Boeing had paused deliveries of the planes for several weeks earlier this year because of a separate problem on a fuselage component on certain 787s. The latest issue currently doesn’t affect Boeing’s full-year outlook for Dreamliner deliveries, the company said. Boeing has estimated that it would deliver between 70 and 80 of the planes this year. The company has also had to rework some of its bestselling 737 Max planes this year because of an issues with fittings in some planes’ aft fuselages, made by Spirit Aerosystems<br/>
The FAA said Tuesday it agrees with Boeing’s assessment that a new production issue on the 787 Dreamliner does not pose an immediate safety issue for aircraft already in service. Boeing said it discovered improper shimming bracket on the horizontal stabilizer of the 787. The FAA said it “will ensure that Boeing takes the appropriate steps to address the situation. The agency will issue no new airworthiness certificates for the 787 until the matter is addressed to its satisfaction.” <br/>
John Morris had to see it for himself. An accessible travel expert who uses a power wheelchair, Morris flew to Hamburg, to check out a prototype of a new airline seat being unveiled by subsidiary of Delta Air Lines on Tuesday that could dramatically - although not immediately - improve the flying experience for wheelchair users. In an email from Germany, Morris called the seat a "tremendous first step in the race to accommodate disabled passengers' personal wheelchairs in the aircraft cabin". Travellers who use motorised wheelchairs have been asking for such a solution for years as complaints mount about damage to chairs that have to be stowed with luggage. Last year, US airlines mishandled 11,389 wheelchairs and scooters, or 1.54 per 100 that were loaded onto planes. Delta Flight Products, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, showed off the prototype at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. The concept is the result of years of work, first among a group called Air 4 All that includes design studio PriestmanGoode, advocacy organisation Flying Disabled, wheelchair manufacturer Sunrise Medical and SWS Certification, which works to get approvals for aeroplane interior products. The consortium has been working with Delta Flight Products for more than a year but only announced the partnership in recent days. "With their contribution we have reached a position where we have a fully working prototype that DFP can showcase to all airlines," Daniel MacInnes, director of PriestmanGoode, said in an emailed response to questions. "Having something tangible for users to test and to demonstrate brings it much closer to flying, but no announcements have been made on the first airline partner."<br/>