Summer travel is off to a roaring start, with little sign of a slowdown on the horizon. And airline executives say they are doing all they can to keep up, including contending with bad weather and congestion in the skies and on the ground. Three of the nation’s largest carriers — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines — set records for quarterly revenue in the three months that ended in June. Profits more than doubled from the same period last year, and the three companies raised their projections for how much they would earn this year. “We’re still in a world where demand is very strong,” Vasu Raja, American’s CCO, told reporters and investors on a call on Thursday. The strong quarterly results underscore the durability of the travel industry’s recovery coming out of the pandemic. June was slightly busier than the same month in 2019, and July appears to be on track to match prepandemic traffic. The TSA screened nearly 2.9m people on the Friday before the Fourth of July weekend, the most it has ever handled in a single day. But the recent recovery has been marred by problems, including delays and cancellations around the country. Airlines and the air traffic control system have struggled to overcome bad weather, technology problems, staffing shortfalls and other disruptions over the past two years, contributing to major meltdowns like the one that Southwest Airlines suffered over several days in late December. Delays and cancellations have often cascaded on themselves, disrupting air travel for days, leaving many people stranded far from their destinations. Weather has been responsible for nearly 70% of flight delays this year, compared with just under 61% during the same period last year, according to federal data. Heavy traffic has also contributed to delays. United struggled to overcome a disruption before July 4, for which it had initially blamed bad weather and an air traffic control staffing shortage affecting its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport, but other airlines in the region did not struggle nearly as much. In the week leading up to the holiday weekend, the airline canceled about 17% of all of its flights and delayed more than 51%, according to FlightAware, an aviation data provider. Story has more.<br/>
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The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for the next half-decade, moving at a time of growing dysfunction and disruption in the system to make a number of changes that affect passengers. The bill would address airlines’ refunds and reimbursement obligations to passengers, enhance protections for passengers with disabilities, boost hiring of air traffic controllers, shore up aviation safety, unlock funding to modernize airport infrastructure, invest in upgrades to the agency’s technology and more. The House passed it on a vote of 351 to 69, sending it to the Senate. “Today, the House voted to bolster America’s global aviation leadership,” Representative Rick Larsen of Washington, the senior Democrat on the Transportation Committee, said in a statement. “This good faith process yielded a bipartisan bill that will create a safer, cleaner, greener and more accessible US aviation system. It will maintain our gold standard in safety and innovation, make a more sustainable and resilient aviation sector a reality and improve accessibility and consumer protections for all passengers.” A number of sticking points had threatened to hold up a final agreement, including disputes over proposed changes to a pilot training rule and an increase to their mandatory retirement age. Republicans and the airline industry largely oppose new regulations proposed by Democrats and aimed at strengthening consumer protections. And Washington-area representatives have said they would block the measure if it allowed for more long-distance flights in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, just outside the capital. But the House dispensed with some obstacles on Wednesday night before passing the bill on Thursday. It rejected, 229 to 205, a bipartisan proposal to add seven round-trip flights to Reagan National. Story has more.<br/>
Airlines’ cargo revenue is slumping. That’s a sign of good news for travel recovery. Delta, United and American this month each reported year-over-year declines of about 40% in their Q2 cargo revenue. For the first half of 2023, Delta’s cargo business generated $381m, down from $561m in the first half of 2022, while American’s cargo unit brought in $420m compared with $692m in the first six months of last year. United brought in $760m from cargo so far this year, down from $1.2b a year earlier. Meanwhile, airlines are reporting record revenue, if not earnings, thanks to the rebound in travel demand. That means the business impact of cargo, which once helped prop up airlines’ revenue during the Covid pandemic travel plunge, has faded. Cargo revenue at United, which generates the most of that business of the three largest US carriers, for the first half of 2023 represented a less than 3% slice of the carrier’s $25.6b year-to-date revenue. That’s a significantly smaller portion than 2020, when cargo revenue made up more than 10% of United’s sales. Through June, cargo revenue made up 1.3% and 1.6% of overall revenue at Delta and American, respectively, down from 3.5% and 12% in 2020. But it’s not all bad news. Flying goods around the world was a lifeline for passenger carriers during the pandemic when bookings dried up and travel restrictions forced airlines to slash service abroad. Normally about half the world’s air cargo flies in the bellies of passenger planes. That reduced cargo capacity during the pandemic helped drive shipping rates up to records, along with strong e-commerce demand, supply chain problems and port congestion. But travel demand has roared back, particularly for international trips, as customers rush to take vacations abroad that they put off in recent years.<br/>
The US FAA and DOT said on Thursday they expect teleworking government employees to boost in-person work, part of the Biden administration's return-to-office efforts. The FAA said it expects agency employees who are regularly teleworking to be in offices at least three days per week. The FAA said in an email seen by Reuters it expects employees working remotely as of Oct. 9 to increase in-office presence to at least three days per week. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg separately told department employees in a video "we need to be around each other in-person more than we are now to ensure this department's long-term success." The department said in an email to employees it expects teleworking employees to report in person to their official duty location a minimum of three days every two weeks starting Sept. 10 and a minimum of four days per pay period starting Dec. 3. "We understand this will be a big transition for some, and there will certainly be an adjustment period. We commit to providing as much support as possible to employees as you navigate this change," USDOT said in an employee email. In April, the White House Office of Management and Budget in a memo first reported by Reuters asked federal agencies to revise workforce plans as it aims to "substantially increase meaningful in-person work in federal offices."<br/>
Heathrow failed to meet the minimum accessibility standards for disabled passengers in the year to March, the sector’s regulator has said. The airport was the only one in the UK to be rated as “poor” and “needs improvement” by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over all four quarters in the period, according to the report. Eighteen airports received good or very good ratings and seven airports improved from poor to good. Heathrow was an outlier, however, not having met the criteria for a good rating. Heathrow’s COO, Emma Gilthorpe, said: “Last year we didn’t consistently deliver an appropriate level of service for passengers requiring extra support with their journey through the airport. Between 2019 and 2022, disabled and less mobile passengers represented 2.38% of all passengers at Heathrow, the highest proportion in the UK, according to the regulator. “I want to reassure those passengers that we have put in place a strong plan which is turning that around and we are now meeting service targets,” said Gilthorpe. The report covers 26 of the UK’s largest airports, in an industry that has encountered unprecedented challenges in recruitment, industrial action and equipment shortages since the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the airport was one of several, including Bristol, Leeds Bradford and Luton, to come under scrutiny from the aviation regulator after many disabled and less mobile passengers missed flights or had to wait for extended periods.<br/>
Some 40 kilometers south of the Rwandan capital of Kigali in the Bugesera District, construction vehicles and high-visibility vests swarm across an arid expanse of land. Here, two strips of tarmac are the cornerstone of a $2b airport, whose developers want it to be the jewel in the crown of Africa’s aviation industry. Slated for completion in 2026, the new facility will boast a 130,000-square-meter main terminal building capable of accommodating 8m passengers a year, a figure expected to rise to over 14m in the following decades. Adjacent will be a dedicated cargo terminal, capable of accommodating 150,000 tons of cargo a year. It’s a significant upgrade on the existing Kigali International Airport, which is set to remain operational for special arrivals, some chartered flights, and a pilot training school. Pre-pandemic, the airport was shuttling close to 1m passengers annually, but its geographic limitations – perched on top of a small hill and surrounded by human settlements – meant a move was necessary to allow expansion. “I’m amazed, it’s like a dream come true to see the impact and magnitude of this project to the population,” said Jules Ndenga, CEO of Aviation Travel and Logistics Holding, the Rwandan government-owned company that is overseeing construction. “We are really impassioned to see the efforts completed and starting operations.” Qatar Airways will have a 60% ownership of the new airport. The Middle Eastern airline will also acquire 49% of shares in the African country’s flag carrier airline, Rwandair, offering access to over 65 locations around the world.<br/>
Pakistan is to proceed with the sale via tender of a contract to manage Islamabad airport after consultations with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday. In March Pakistan had kicked off the outsourcing of operations at three major airports and the ministry said Islamabad airport was the first of these to be affected, as the country seeks to generate foreign exchange reserves for its ailing economy. In a statement the ministry said it had been unanimously agreed for the outsourcing of operations at Islamabad airport to go ahead in order to improve service delivery in line with best industry practices. Officials say Pakistan has been in talks with Qatar to jointly run the terminals at Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore airports. The Qatar Investment Authority pledged to invest $3b in Pakistan after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Doha late last year.<br/>
International airlines could cut back flights to Australia in coming years because the high-polluting long haul routes stand out as low-hanging fruit to meet future environmental commitments, the country’s parliament has been warned. Mandatory emissions reductions schemes for global aviation are still being negotiated. However, Australia risks being “priced out” of the international aviation network when carbon pricing and other binding targets begin taking effect over the next decade, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) said in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry. “As Australia is at the edges of the global air network with long distances from Australian airports to major regional and global hubs in Asia, North America and the Middle East, it is essential to ensure Australia remains a viable destination for international migration, tourism and business travel,” the AAA’s submission said. Operators disproportionately reducing frequencies of flights to the southern hemisphere as an easy path to meet their obligations in a carbon-constrained future could leave Australians with considerably fewer – and significantly more expensive options – to connect with other continents. Ensuring the local sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry and stores are capable of refuelling aircraft on SAF for their return leg will be essential to prevent ambitious environmental commitments from isolating Australia, the AAA warned, as it called for the government to be an active voice at discussion tables as global agreements are fleshed out. While domestic aviation targets fall under Australia’s own emissions reductions scheme, emissions related to international flights are considered under the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation (Corsia). “Failure to negotiate an effective and equitable deal for Australia may mean a contraction in Australia’s connectivity to the world,” the AAA said.<br/>
Aircraft manufacturers are stabilising production runs but problems will likely persist in the supply chain as they ramp up deliveries in the next two years, the head of the world's third-largest aircraft lessor said on Thursday. A rapid post-pandemic recovery in air travel has left planemakers and smaller suppliers struggling to keep up with demand amid rising costs, parts shortages and a scarcity of skilled labour. "We continue to see increased levels of stabilisation coming to the production runs," Avolon CEO Andy Cronin told Reuters in a telephone interview, adding not to underestimate the challenges ahead in the next two years. "While we're continuing to try to ramp (production) very aggressively, we'll continue to see problems somewhere in the supply chain." Avolon on Thursday posted a 14% year-on-year rise in second quarter lease revenue to $613m. Cronin said this showed increasing demand for planes across the globe, even as parts of Asia and China recover a little bit slower than anticipated. The Dublin-based firm committed last month to buy 20 Airbus A330neo aircraft, and said it is already in advanced talks on placing some of the new Airbus planes. Its Airbus purchase followed another recent order for 40 Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes.<br/>
Electric aircraft maker Eve said on Thursday that its first production facility will be located in Taubate, Brazil, capitalizing on the town’s logistical advantages and proximity to parent company Embraer . Eve expects to start commercial operations of its electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) in 2026, and recently announced key equipment suppliers for the project. Taubate is located near Embraer’s headquarters in the neighboring town of Sao Jose dos Campos, Eve said. Taubate is 130 kilometers from Brazil’s biggest city, Sao Paulo. The manufacturing plant will be situated on a designated portion of land within an existing Embraer unit, which will be expanded, Eve said. “When we began our search for a manufacturing location to build our eVTOL, we wanted to reimagine how the aircraft could be built using the latest technology and manufacturing processes, coupled with other aspects such as supply chain and logistics,” Eve co-CEO Andre Stein said. The company touted the site’s proximity to a railroad and two key highways, as well as proximity to Embraer’s headquarters and its own engineering and human resources team, as enhancing its agility and competitiveness. Eve is seen as a leader in the nascent eVTOL industry, having amassed an order backlog of up to 2,850 aircraft from clients in countries such as Brazil, the United States, India and France before starting production. Eve, on its website, says its eVTOL will have a range of 60 miles and carry four passengers plus a pilot, and when autonomous flight is certified it will take up to six passengers. The development of its eVTOL is backed by investors such as United Airlines, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems .<br/>
Reliable Robotics, a Silicon Valley startup aiming to automate conventional fixed-wing planes, has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to proceed with its plan to test and certify fully automated aircraft systems, the company said on Thursday. "We're three to four years out from being able to remotely operate these aircraft at any kind of reasonable scale," said Robert Rose, co-founder and chief executive of the Mountain View, California-based company which aims to license its autonomous flight system to other companies."We want to be on multiple aircraft frames (and) sell into multiple markets," including cargo and military applications, said Rose, a former executive with Tesla and SpaceX. The US Department of Defense, which is a development partner, is interested in installing Reliable's software and hardware on the workhorse KC-135, a four-engine military companion to the Boeing 707 that dates to the late 1950s and is still used for refueling and cargo transport. NASA is also working with Reliable systems engineers on advanced air mobility research, and said test data will be used to evaluate flight path procedures for future aircraft.<br/>