It's beginning to look a lot like the holiday travel season! And, after record-breaking Thanksgiving travel, the airlines are expecting big numbers of travelers this year. American Airlines is expecting a haul this holiday season that would daunt Santa himself - nearly 2m passengers from Dec. 20 to Jan. 8, which they've defined as the peak holiday travel period. AA's Senior Vice President Jim Moses said preparations have been underway for most of the year, starting with new hires. "And that our team members, either on board aircraft on the ground, folks that look after our aircraft, our tech ops team, our customer service agents, our fleet service agents, really all of the team members we have been hiring really throughout the year to make sure we are staffed and ready to go this holiday period." He also said they've invested in new technology. "We also have technology that we use in some key areas to ensure that we are managing our operation really to the best of our ability and doing it better than any of our competitors."<br/>
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Airlines around the world are facing scrutiny from advertising and consumer agencies, regulators, and courts over allegedly making misleading claims about their sustainability efforts, sometimes dubbed "greenwashing". While a civil suit lodged against KLM in the Netherlands is one of the most prominent, complaints and cases against other airlines have been mounting. Here are some other recent examples: Lufthansa, Etihad and Air France-KLM all faced a ban on some of their online advertisements by Britain's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in December over accusations they gave a misleading impression of their environmental impact. Earlier, Ryanair , Lufthansa and Etihad also faced criticism from Britain's advertising watchdog for either alleged instances of oversimplifying or providing misleading environmental claims. Whether it was Ryanair calling itself Europe's "lowest emission airline" or Lufthansa saying it was "protecting the future" or Etihad referring to "sustainable aviation", the airlines were told to avoid wording that could imply their activities were good for the environment. "One of the things we just caught onto was that a lot of airlines are making claims about sustainability and eco-friendly, sustainable choices, greener choices," said Miles Lockwood, the director of complaints and investigations at the ASA. Story has more.<br/>
A “blockbuster” storm tearing up the East Coast that has already knocked out power to more than 500,000 customers and grounded hundreds of flights promises to bring flooding rain and dangerous winds through Monday. The heaviest rain will likely fall across eastern New York and western Massachusetts, with as much as 5 inches (12 centimeters) hitting the ground, said Rob Carolan, owner of Hometown Forecast Services, which provides forecasts to Bloomberg Radio. New York City has received about 1.5 inches of rain since midnight and could get another 1 to 2 inches through Monday, said Rich Otto, a forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center. Flood warnings and watches reach from Maine to North Carolina for the storm that has already drenched Florida and Charleston, South Carolina. Rivers have reached major flood stage across New Jersey, with the Saddle River in Lodi rising more than five feet since midnight and the Passaic River set to crest seven feet higher by Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. In New Hampshire, the Saco River in Bartlett has risen more than 10 feet since Sunday night. Route 9, a heavily traveled secondary highway in eastern Massachusetts, was closed in Wellesley after it flooded. “The two branches of the jet stream have come together and there is a nice, big blockbuster low going right up through New England,” Carolan said by phone. On the air travel side, 488 flights were canceled through early Monday, with the majority at New York’s LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports and Boston’s Logan International Airport, according to data from FlightAware.<br/>
Ryanair has warned that the EU’s much-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES) is not yet fit for testing – even though the European Commission has vowed to launch the “smart borders” project at a single moment next year. The Independent has studied the evidence provided by Europe’s biggest budget airline to the UK parliament’s European scrutiny committee. It backs up concerns expressed privately by senior travel industry figures about the risks involved in imposing the Entry/Exit System at a single moment. But Brussels insists the pan-European linkage of all frontiers to a central database will happen on a big-bang basis. Officials in Brussels have confirmed to The Independent that “no ‘soft launch’ is foreseen” for the new system. In its evidence, Ryanair laments the lack of information provided and ability to develop systems that will work on day one. The airline says: “It is not yet possible to properly test changes to our systems due to delays in providing test environments and many aspects of the system requirements either have not been specified or are simply not clear to us. “This makes meeting the requirements very difficult, regardless of the repeated delays in the implementation date. Overall, this whole project has been delayed multiple times and has been poorly managed.” Ryanair says the implementation date has “been postponed on three occasions due to the complexity of the programmes and the lack of readiness of border authorities across the EU”. But the EC believes all the member states will be ready by the end of July 2024, with the Europe-wide launch in the autumn.<br/>
Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport has proposed accepting around 460,000 flights in 2024, fewer than the airline industry demands but more than environmentalist and residents' groups would like to see, according to a planning document seen by Reuters. The number of flights at Schiphol, one of Europe's largest hubs, has been in doubt since the Dutch government in November was forced to scrap plans for a cap at 452,000 flights amid pressure from the airline industry, the United States and the European Union. In a Royal Schiphol Group document seen by Reuters, the company said allowing 460,000 flights in 2024 was its "preferred scenario" and allowing more - up to 483,000 flights - would only be possible if airlines commit to altering schedules. But it said that would increase the risk of logistical breakdowns similar to those suffered in 2022. The airport said in emailed remarks to Reuters that it was still discussing options with airlines, the Dutch customs department and the Netherlands' air traffic control body. "We are faced with a dilemma," a spokesperson said. "We understand the desire of airlines to fly more than the 460,000 flights". However, the airport faced operational challenges in 2023 carrying out around 435,000 flights, they said. A spokesperson for KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM , said the company was preparing a response but could not comment until Schiphol's formal declaration expected later this week. JetBlue had no immediate comment. Earlier this year, JetBlue filed a complaint to the U.S. Department of Transportation over earlier plans by Schiphol's slot coordinator to deny it landing spots for the summer of 2024.<br/>
Amsterdam’s municipality called for flights at Schiphol airport to be cut by 12% to reduce noise pollution, intensifying the battle between politicians and airlines over the hub’s capacity. The municipality, which holds a 20% stake in Europe’s biggest transfer hub, is now an “activist shareholder of Schiphol” and will take a tougher stance on proposals for a ban on private jets and the cancellation of night flights at the hub, Amsterdam councilor Hester van Buren said in an interview with Dutch newspaper Het Parool published on Monday. The Dutch government, the majority shareholder of the Amsterdam airport, recently walked back its plan to reduce capacity at Schiphol by 8% for the 2024 summer season. The state faced pressure from the the European Union as well as the US government, which threatened to retaliate over JetBlue Airways Corp.’s expulsion as part of the cutbacks. Van Buren warned that if a new government does not stand by the reduction plans, the city will vote against proposals in shareholder meetings that are not in line with downsizing. She said the municipality will hold talks in the coming months with stakeholders and residents’ groups in order to determine how far it wants to take its activist position.<br/>
Not including those performing army reserve duty, an additional 2,000 employees will only work for 75% full time equivalent. The Israel Airports Authority has announced that it is putting 600 employees on unpaid leave, following the sharp fall in the number of flights using Ben Gurion airport since October 7. Israel Airports Authority has 4,600 employees of whom 1,000 have been called up to the army reserves. Not including those performing army reserve duty, about 2,000 employees will only work for 75% full time equivalent. At present only about 100 flights are using Ben Gurion airport daily compared with 500 per day before the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The Israel Airports Authority said, "Despite the sharp decrease in aviation activity in Israel as a result of the war, the Airports Authority has so far refrained from putting workers on unpaid leave. But due to the situation, and in coordination with the workers' committee, it has been decided to put some of the seasonal workers on unpaid leave."<br/>
Thought leaders and stakeholders of the global aviation industry are set to converge on Riyadh for the second Saudi Airport Exhibition to discuss emerging trends and pressing issues facing the sector. The event, to be held on Dec. 19-20 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, will host two co-located conferences, with hopes to add depth and diversity to the discourse on the global aviation industry. With over 6,000 aviation professionals, 250 global exhibitors, 50 participating companies, 200 regional buyers, and 2,000 pre-scheduled meetings the co-hosted Global Aviation Issues Conference and Women in Aviation General Assembly will bring together leaders from the sector, creating a space for dialogue on the challenges and collaborative opportunities facing the industry. Organized by Niche Ideas with Matarat Holding, an arm of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the event has grown by over 75% from its inaugural edition last year and will once again bring global aviation, innovation, and expertise to the Middle East. Exhibitors from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE as well as the UK, Italy, Germany, and the US are among the world’s top airport suppliers showcasing their latest innovations at the event. Participating bodies will be displaying their products and services in the Kingdom, whose economy has for the first time crossed the $1t mark.<br/>
Less than half of Australians who seek a refund for a cancelled flight receive it within a month while one-fifth of those seeking a refund wait more than six months, a poll has claimed, as the government considers a compensation scheme and a passenger bill of rights. The consumer advocate Choice also claimed, in a survey of about 9,000 Australians, that two in five respondents said they had a flight cancelled or delayed in the 12 months between October 2022 and this year. Of those who had a flight cancelled, 63% claimed no reason was provided for the cancellation. Pursuing a refund was also difficult, respondents claimed, with just 47% reporting they received their money back within a month of asking for it. But 20% had to wait more than six months for a refund, they said. A vast majority – 85% of respondents – also reported they were not offered accommodation or meal vouchers from an airline when their flight was delayed. Bea Sherwood, Choice’s senior campaigns and policy adviser, said Australians were having to “fight tooth and nail with the airlines”. “Our survey found people are feeling frustrated as flights continue to be delayed and cancelled, often without reason or sufficient warning,” Sherwood said. While airlines such as Qantas offer refunds and flight credits, and sometimes accommodation, to passengers whose flights are cancelled, advocates say compensation laws would act as a greater cost disincentive against cancelling flights and set out hard timeframes to pay affected customers.<br/>