Business is good for airlines, except where it’s not. That was the word in the halls and meeting rooms of the industry’s largest annual gathering, the IATA Annual General Meeting, this week. The organization has upped its airline financial outlook for the year to $22.4b in operating profits, a seven-fold increase from the $3.2b forecast in December. Lifted by continued travel demand strength and easing fuel prices. Full-year passenger traffic is expected to come in just 4% below its 2019 peak. “Despite economic uncertainties, people are flying to reconnect, explore, and do business,” IATA DG Willie Walsh said at the event in Istanbul. “Airports are busier, hotel occupancy is rising, local economies are reviving, and the airline industry has moved into profitability.” But behind bullish numbers is a turbulent backdrop. The corporate travel recovery has stalled, economic concerns persist, aircraft production issues and delays continue, and a shortage of spare parts and engines has some airlines scrambling. “In the U.S., we’re in a business recession, and consumer is just fine — consumer is strong,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in Istanbul. Corporate travel revenue from large, managed accounts, has plateaued in the U.S. at between 75 and 80% of 2019 levels based on comments from executives at American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United. The airlines are already looking beyond the current summer season for the next potential step up in business travel. But that does not mean things are bad. “If we’re in the middle of a recession, this is the best recession the airline industry has ever seen,” United CCO Andrew Nocella said. Asked about post-summer travel demand, when many think a slowdown could occur, and he pivoted from definitive comments to say United “remains optimistic” that it will meet its full-year pre-tax margin target of roughly 9%. Emirates President Tim Clark was much more confident that the rest of 2023 will be good for airlines. “For the next nine months we’re full. [But] what happens in 2024 is anyone’s guess,” he said. For example, a mild recession in global markets could negatively affect the recovery but an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine could be “another kickstart to the global economy.”<br/>
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The FAA is delaying flights to New York City-area and Philadelphia airports Thursday, saying wildfire smoke from Canada was reducing visibility and impacting US flights. The agency said it was delaying flights into New York City's LaGuardia Airport with delays averaging 54 minutes after it had earlier halted some flights into the airport. Visibility issues are also delaying flights at nearby Newark Liberty Airport. The FAA warned it might also need take steps to delay traffic into Washington and Charlotte, North Carolina. Earlier the FAA had temporarily halted flights to LaGuardia and Philadelphia from the U.S. northeast, Ohio and Mid-Atlantic. United Airlines said it is waiving change fees and fare differences for passengers wishing to reschedule trips Thursday and Friday for cities impacted by smoky conditions including New York, Buffalo, Washington, Philadelphia, Syracuse, New York; Hartford, Connecticut and Columbus, Ohio. Hundreds of forest fires in Canada have led to a blanket of smoky air, triggering health alarms in US cities.<br/>
The Biden administration has submitted draft legislation to Congress that would mandate airlines pay cash compensation for delays of three hours or more when carriers are responsible. The proposal sent earlier this week and seen by Reuters would require "cash compensation in an amount commensurate with the inconvenience experienced" when a delay or cancellation is due in part or in whole to an issue under the carrier's control. It comes as House of Representatives and Senate committees are working on draft legislation to reauthorize the FAA that could be debated as early as next week. Biden in May said the administration was writing new rules to require airlines to compensate passengers with cash for significant flight delays, but legislation from Congress would significantly bolster the administration's legal authority. Congress must act to extend the legal authority of the FAA to operate by Sept. 30. The Biden administration also wants Congress to write new rules to require transparency for baggage and other ancillary fees when booking a ticket. The Transportation Department last year asked carriers whether they would agree to pay at least $100 for delays of at least three hours caused by airlines. So far none have agreed and several airlines have spoken out publicly against the proposed rules. USDOT has said it plans to write regulations that will require airlines to cover expenses such as meals and hotels if carriers are responsible for stranding passengers. Most carriers voluntarily committed last August to provide hotels or meals but resisted providing cash compensation for delays. The administration also wants Congress to mandate an increase to the recording time of cockpit voice recorders from the currently 2-hour loop to a proposed 25-hour loop for all future manufactured aircraft.<br/>
Polly Trottenberg, the deputy US transportation secretary and a former New York City transportation commissioner, has been named the interim leader of the FAA, the latest attempt by the Biden administration to fill the leadership void atop the nation’s federal air safety regulator.The move comes after President Biden’s nominee to lead the FAA, Phillip A. Washington, withdrew from consideration in March. He had faced criticism from Republican senators and struggled to win support to be confirmed. The FAA has been without permanent leadership since Stephen Dickson, a former Delta Air Lines executive and appointee of President Donald J. Trump, stepped down in 2022. Trottenberg, 59, will succeed the FAA’s acting administrator, Billy Nolen, who had previously been the agency’s top safety official. Nolen announced in April that he planned to step down.<br/>
The US and Mexico still have "differences" of opinion regarding Mexico's recovery of a coveted air safety rating, Mexico's president said on Thursday. The US FAA downgraded Mexico to the Category 2 air safety rating more than two years ago, citing safety concerns. The decision means Mexican airlines cannot open new routes to the US. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Mexico on Wednesday, where Mexican officials said the rating change would be discussed, but two sources with knowledge of the matter cautioned that the rating recovery would not coincide with his trip. The US wants to make clear any decision to restore Mexico's safety rating would be based on technical merits, not politics, the sources said. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said at a press conference on Thursday that the U.S. was "bargaining" with Mexico over the rating and that a change to cargo flights was another sticking point between the countries. Lopez Obrador wants cargo flights to land at the new Felipe Angeles airport in Mexico City rather than the more centrally located Benito Juarez airport to free up space, but said some US companies are reluctant to move. "Yesterday, we met with the transportation secretary," said Lopez Obrador. "There are differences. But these are important matters, and we must come to an agreement."<br/>
May figures rose 18.7% year-on-year and 10% compared to the same month of 2019, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit Türkiye, according to State Airports Authority General Directorate (DHMI) data. Some 8.2m passengers took domestic flights in May, while 10.6m traveled to other countries. Türkiye's airports served 185,689 planes, including 76,003 on domestic routes and 69,654 on international ones. The numbers include overflights in May, a 12.3% rise from last year. The directorate added that the cargo traffic last month amounted to 340,356 tons. Istanbul Airport welcomed 6.56m passengers on international and domestic routes in May, with 44,080 airplanes. Türkiye's second-busiest hub, Sabiha Gokcen Airport located on Istanbul’s Anatolian side, saw 3.05m passengers and 18,742 planes.<br/>
Vietnam will add two more airports in its airport construction agenda until 2030, bringing the total number of planned airports to 30.<br/>In a decision approved by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday, the Thanh Son Airport in the central province of Ninh Thuan and the Bien Hoa Airport in Dong Nai Province that borders HCMC will be added to the roster of new airports. By 2030, Vietnam will still have the same 14 international airports it has now, as well as 16 domestic airports. Thanh Son and Bien Hoa airports will be used for both civilian and military purposes. By 2050, Vietnam will have 33 airports in total. The total number of international airports will remain the same at 14, but the Cat Bi Airport will be replaced by the Hai Phong Airport.<br/>
The climate crisis is leading to more turbulence during flights, driving up costs and increasing the risks for passengers and crew, according to new research. The study found that warmer air, caused by carbon emissions, is creating bumpier flights around the world with severe turbulence in the North Atlantic up by 55% since 1979. The study’s co-author Mark Prosser, from the University of Reading, said every additional minute spent travelling through turbulence increased the wear and tear on an aircraft, as well as the risk of injuries to passengers and flight attendants. “Turbulence makes flights bumpy and can occasionally be dangerous. Airlines will need to start thinking about how they will manage the increased turbulence, as it costs the industry $150-500m annually in the USA alone.” Previous studies have suggested that a climate that is heating up could increase turbulence but Prof Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading and co-author of the research, said it was the first evidence it was already happening. “We should be investing in improved turbulence forecasting and detection systems, to prevent the rougher air from translating into bumpier flights in the coming decades,” he said. The rapidly changing climate is already known to be affecting air travel. A faster jet stream across the Atlantic is increasing travel times and rising temperatures are reducing the weight aircraft can carry. At the same time carbon emissions from aviation are a significant driver of the climate crisis.<br/>