general

Airline stocks are going through some turbulent times. US carriers like American Airlines, United, and JetBlue are sputtering into Q4 after losing their gains from the first half of the year — when shares were flying high on "revenge travel." Even Delta, the only major airline in the green for the year, has come down from its summer peak. And among those names, US airlines that offer international routes are faring better than their domestic counterparts. "The tide has shifted," Chris Raite, sector analyst at Third Bridge, told Yahoo Finance. "We are seeing a divergence. International travel is a lot more profitable, so it gives them a bit more leeway to be competitive." The US Global Jets ETF (JETS), which tracks a range of airline operators and manufacturers, is down 30% over the last three months. The index's almost 30% rally in the first half of the year has been wiped out. Q3 results shows the industry is facing choppiness amid labor negotiations and higher jet fuel costs. On Thursday United stock sank 9% after the major carrier cut its forecast, citing the impact of flight disruptions to Tel Aviv amid the Israel-Hamas war and higher fuel costs. "Fuel remains volatile and worked against us in the quarter. Our average fuel price for the quarter ended $0.30 higher than the midpoint of our July expectation and more than accounts for the entirety of the reduced outlook for the third quarter," Michael Leskinen, CFO of United, said during the company's earnings call. Costlier jet fuel is no real surprise to Wall Street after the air carriers released warnings last month of impacts to their bottom lines. Delta CEO Ed Bastian reminded analysts during the carrier's earnings call in October that "since raising full-year guidance over the summer, our revenue outlook has improved, though earnings and cash flow have been impacted by higher fuel and maintenance costs."<br/>

Industry over-regulation, high taxation, supply-chain issues, ageing infrastructure and creating a level playing field for both public and private players are just some of the issues Latin American airline leaders are looking to address at their forthcoming annual ALTA AGM and Airline Leaders’ Forum in Cancun. While most carriers in the region have returned to pre-pandemic capacity levels and are focusing on expansion, they say macroeconomic concerns along with regulatory red-tape threaten to hinder their growth plans. They’re calling for ”more inclusion” in decision-making, and telling the region’s governments they need more scope and support in order to thrive in the post-pandemic world. “Regulations are a critical part of how we operate,” Avianca CE Adrian Neuhauser, who is also the chairman of ALTA’s executive committee, said during a 22 October press briefing ahead of the opening of the forum. “But regulations must be aligned to provide more accessibility and open up more doors so people can travel more.” “We have a responsibility to our consumers, and we need to align the private sector, the authorities and the rest of the stakeholders to be more inclusive,” he adds. “We are trying to explain to the authorities that the entry point into a country is the airline boarding pass,” says Jose Ricardo Botelho, ALTA’s executive director. Tourists can easily decide to spend their money elsewhere if a country’s rules are too rigid, if the process is not convenient, or if the value proposition is too expensive. ALTA represents 153 airlines and related industry companies across Latin America and the Caribbean. The region’s airline executives come together as the Latin American aviation industry continues to lose money. According to IATA, the region’s carriers will lose about $1.4b this year, with North American, European and Middle Eastern airlines all well in the black. That said, the potential remains huge. IATA statistics show that per-capita trips in Latin America are at 0.65 per year, compared to the USA where that figure is 2.6. <br/>

Mexico is looking to reduce the costs of airplane tickets by as much as 12% following the modification of a fee structure for airport operators. The government estimates cost reductions of between 9% and 12%, said Miguel Vallin, the head of the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC), at the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum conference. The reduction will take place from January. “Flights will go down by a decent percentage,” he said. Mexico shocked investors earlier this month by changing the terms of the contributions airport operators pay to the government. The announcement roiled markets, with shares of airport operators falling as much as 44%, amid concerns of overreach by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. On Thursday, the operators reached a deal with the government to pay it 9% of gross revenue, up from the current 5%, though it’s still unclear how consumers will be impacted. “The reduction in fees will also reduce costs,” Vallin said. “This represents a reduction of profits for the airport groups. But it’s not as drastic as some want it to seem, rather, it’s a rearrangement of how the fees should be based on growth and users’ possibilities of paying the service.” Passengers pay an airport use fee as part of their airfare, known as the TUA. Fees were previously reviewed every five years, but the government now aims for that to happen annually, Vallin added. Reviews on airport operators’ investment plans will continue to happen every five years. <br/>

France, already on its highest security alert, is to boost security at airports around the capital and on trains after a wave of bomb hoaxes, the transport minister said on Sunday. Security patrols at Paris airports will be increased by 40% and staff at the national railway company SNCF will be reinforced by 20% in addition to extra police patrolling railway stations, minister Clement Beaune said on France Inter. France has been on its highest alert since Oct. 13 after a 20-year-old man fatally stabbed a teacher in the city of Arras in northern France. "Transport (networks) have been places that have seen heavy tolls in attacks in the history of our country and in Europe," said Beaune. Alongside the heightened risk, there were "people who are playing with fear", he said, referring to the wave of fake bomb alerts that have hit transport networks, schools and cultural centres over the last week. Since last Wednesday, there have been 70 bomb hoaxes in airports in France, he said, adding that almost all of these alerts were sent from the same Swiss-based email address. False alerts are generally punishable by two years in prison and a 30,000-euro fine. This can rise to three years in prison and a 45,000 euro fine if the alert includes a threat. Beaune told France Inter that hoaxes are not "small jokes, they are serious crimes" and that they will be investigated.<br/>

Leeds Bradford Airport has reopened after a "huge team effort" to recover a plane that skidded off a runway during Storm Babet. The TUI flight from Corfu came off the runway while landing amid heavy rain and wind on Friday afternoon. Passengers were evacuated and the site was closed to allow for recovery. The airport reopened at 11:30 BST. LBA warned there would be "continuing disruption" and urged passengers to check with airlines before travelling. "The LBA team and partners have worked tirelessly throughout the night in torrential conditions to recover the aircraft in order to safely reopen the runway and airport," a spokesman said. "It has been a huge team effort from all corners of the airport and our partners. We want to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in supporting the effort dealing with the incident, disruption and recovery of the aircraft in exceptionally difficult conditions."<br/>

At least two workers were killed on Sunday "as a result of Israeli bombardment targeting Syria's Damascus airport at dawn," Syria's general directorate of meteorology said in a statement. The two workers who were killed were from the meteorology service and based at the airport, the agency said.<br/>

Travelers are flocking to airport lounges in search of complimentary food, drinks and perhaps most importantly, a chance to relax away from the hordes of travelers at the gate. The problem: plenty of other travelers are too. Armed with high-end rewards credit cards and fresh from years of big spending, more and more travelers are gaining access to airport lounges, turning what were once small, exclusive spaces for an elite few into a must-have stop for millions of passengers. The trend has posed both an opportunity and a challenge for airlines and credit card companies as they market luxury to the masses. The spaces have to be both exclusive and attainable for enough people. For top frequent flyers and certain credit card holders, standard airline lounge access is complimentary or discounted. Individual annual lounge memberships run between $650 and $850 for the major US carriers, which have raised prices in recent years. Delta Air Lines Sky Club lounges — and the credit cards that grant entry to them — became so popular that customers complained about the long lines and crowds at many locations. The airline in response curbed access for employees, instituted time limits and in its most controversial move yet, announced annual limits on visits for many credit card holders — even stripping some credit cards of access altogether. But many customers complained about those changes, too, saying they were too strict. This week, Delta walked back some of the changes, highlighting how hard it has become to strike the right balance between exclusivity and access. “Any wait is too long, and we are doing everything we can to minimize that,” Delta’s chief customer experience officer, Allison Ausband, said last summer at the opening of a new, larger Sky Club at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. She said the lounges are “not a profit center for Delta by any means” but are an “investment that we’re making in the premium experience for our customers.”<br/>