Global passenger traffic was within 1 percentage point of 2019 levels in November last year, according to the latest data from IATA, as it closes on the pre-Covid peak. The airline association’s monthly figures have shown traffic and capacity inching back towards parity with 2019 during 2023, and the data released on 10 January continues that trend. That parity and growth beyond it – which are expected in 2024 data – have been much-discussed milestones during the industry’s recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, albeit it will still leave the sector significantly short of where it would have been in 2024 without three years of lost growth. “We are moving ever closer to surpassing the 2019 peak year for air travel,” says IATA director general Willie Walsh. “Economic headwinds are not deterring people from taking to the skies.” Measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), global traffic was 0.9% down on 2019, the data for November shows, with capacity measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs) some 1.8% lower on the same basis. Within the traffic data, international RPKs were 5.5% below November 2019, while domestic traffic was up 6.7%. Overall traffic among African carriers (-0.9%), Asia-Pacific airlines (-6.8%) and European carriers (-1.9%) continued to lag 2019 levels in November, while Latin American (+4.0%), Middle Eastern (+1.3%) and North American (+8.2%) airlines all reported RPKs above pre-Covid levels.<br/>
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A winter storm that drenched the US Northeast with record rainfall has left thousands of people without power, grounded hundreds of flights and put New York and New Jersey on high alert for flooding from swollen rivers as another system approaches. “This was a far-reaching storm,” said Rob Carolan, owner of Hometown Forecast Services, which provides outlooks for Bloomberg Radio. “It was a potent, potent low” pressure system, he said. Forecasters are already bracing for another storm that is expected to hit Manhattan late Friday, bringing more rain to inundated rivers and streams and elevating risks of dangerous flooding through the region. That would come days after Manhattan’s Central Park received 1.73 inches (4.4 centimeters) of rain on Tuesday — a record for the date. The US Weather Prediction Center is calling for an additional 1 to 2 inches to fall from Arkansas to Atlantic Canada though the weekend. Even as rain from the latest storm tapers, flood warnings and watches remain in place from Maine to North Carolina. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who declared an emergency Monday ahead of the storm, warned Wednesday that rising waters in the Passaic River is increasing the risk of additional flooding throughout the region. Other New Jersey waterways — Saddle River and Ramapo River — swelled overnight, while New York’s Bronx River rose to just below major flood stage by early Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service said. New rainfall records were also set at the region’s main airports — New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia, and Newark in New Jersey. The rain and winds played havoc with air travel across the region, grounding 652 flights as of early Wednesday with LaGuardia topping the list, according to airline tracking company FlightAware said.<br/>
US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg has said no grounded Boeing Max aircraft would return to service until they are safe as the plane maker’s CE disclosed that the blowout on a flight operated by Alaska Airlines was the consequence of a “quality escape”. Buttigieg said on Wednesday that there was no timeline for grounded 737 Max 9s to resume flight. He added he spoke to Boeing CE Dave Calhoun and told him the company must establish 100% confidence in its planes. The jet that lost a section of its fuselage in flight last week was the result of a “quality escape”, Calhoun told CNBC — using industry jargon for a manufacturing mistake. “Mistake” is the word the chief executive used a day earlier speaking at a company-wide safety meeting at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington, where it builds the 737 Max. The meeting was broadcast to employees worldwide but closed to the media. “We’re going to approach this, number one, acknowledging our mistake,” Calhoun said, according to excerpts shared by the company. “We are going to work with the [National Transportation Safety Board] who is investigating the accident itself to find out what the cause is . . . I trust every step they take.” While there were no serious injuries among the 171 passengers and six crew, Calhoun said all he could think about was “whoever was supposed to be in the seat next to that hole” when he saw the images. The US FAA grounded 171 Boeing 737 Max 9s on Saturday. The door panel that blew out during the Alaska Airlines flight was later found in the garden of an Oregon physics teacher. United Airlines and Alaska Airlines on Monday found bolts in the plugged doors of some of their Max 9s that needed tightening. Boeing issued instructions to airlines on how to inspect the door inserts on their other Max 9s, but the FAA on Tuesday said those technical instructions were only “the initial version” and were being revised “because of feedback”. “The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service,” the FAA said.<br/>
A cabin blowout at 16,000 feet and the grounding of more than 170 Boeing jets have rekindled frustration among airlines over the planemaker's struggle to contain a series of safety and supply crises, industry officials and experts said. Alaska Airlines, which operated Friday's domestic U.S. flight, and United Airlines together have 70% of the MAX 9 fleet and have canceled hundreds of flights. And with provisional checks turning up loose bolts in some of the grounded planes, the return to service could be delayed, with implications for the earnings of both airlines. Some analysts have already trimmed first-quarter profit estimates for both the carriers. However, the scale of impact depends on how long the planes remain grounded. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun on Tuesday acknowledged mistakes and told staff he and many customers had been "shaken to the bone." Boeing must work to earn their confidence, he said. "In the next couple of weeks, we will be under siege," Calhoun warned, according to people familiar with his remarks. The siege may be felt in the media, investigation labs or the corridors of Congress - but also in boardrooms of some of the world's largest airlines, according to executives. That could also increase pressure for further discounts to win new sales - though the market for new planes remains tight and long lead times additionally mean prices usually creep up again to cover inflation, airline and market sources said.<br/>
The dramatic blowout of a section of the fuselage on an Alaska Airlines flight has put the focus back on Boeing’s 737 Max — the US company’s most popular plane and also its biggest source of revenue in its commercial aircraft business. The latest crisis involves the 737 Max 9, a longer version of the most common model, the Max 8 which was at the centre of a controversy after two crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed a combined 346 people. About 217 Max 9 aircraft are in operation, according to aviation consultancy Cirium. The FAA has grounded 171 of these, including United Airlines’ 79-plane Max 9 fleet. United and Alaska Airlines on Monday found loose parts on some of the grounded aircraft, threatening to widen the problems for Boeing. The blowout wiped $12b off Boeing’s market value on Monday. Whatever the outcome of the investigation, Boeing will have a massive battle to restore passenger confidence in the Max family. The Max is the updated version of Boeing’s best-seller, the 737 which for decades was the workhorse of short-haul air travel. The US plane maker launched the model in a rush to catch up with European arch-rival Airbus whose new, more fuel-efficient A320neo, was snaring orders. In its haste to get the aircraft certified and launched by 2017, Boeing cut corners, leading to the Max 8 accidents. The Max 8 was the biggest crisis in Boeing’s history. Investigations following the crashes revealed the company had concealed design flaws in flight control software from pilots and regulators in a race to get the aircraft certified. The crisis led to the grounding of the Max fleet in late 2019 for 20 months, costing Boeing billions of dollars. It led to the ousting of its then CE and called into question its credibility as a manufacturer. The Max was modified and then comprehensively retested before being recertified and allowed back into the skies. <br/>
Brazil’s development bank is considering granting loans to the country’s airlines as part of a government plan aimed at alleviating financial pressures at Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Azul SA and other carriers that have caused sharp increases in fares. BNDES, as the bank is known, is looking for options to help the airlines come up with sufficient collateral, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. One idea is to turn a public aviation fund into a guarantee fund for those loans, which still needs congressional approval, the people said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private. Azul and Gol need roughly 4b reais ($817m), but BNDES is unlikely to provide the full amount due to how much collateral the airlines can offer, said one of the people. The companies, which weathered the pandemic without filing for Chapter 11 or government aid, are finding themselves in a more challenging position than Latam Airlines Group, which went through bankruptcy. Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has instructed his cabinet to find solutions to lower prices, part of his pledge to restore prosperity to Latin America’s largest economy. “I want more people traveling by plane. I want more poor people traveling,” Lula said in an October interview with a Minas Gerais state TV station. Yet fares have surged nearly 50% since the beginning of 2023, according to government data. They jumped more than 23% in the first-half of December alone versus the prior-year period, which was the main reason why inflation remained above estimates. The government is also launching a new program known as Voa Brasil that will see major airlines offer discounted tickets to students and retired workers. Lula is separately negotiating cuts in aviation fuel prices with state-owned energy major Petroleo Brasileiro SA.<br/>
Greece plans an initial public offering (IPO) of Athens International Airport, the country's biggest, on the Athens Stock Exchange next month, two sources with knowledge of the plan said on Wednesday. The government in Athens wants to divest a 30% stake owned by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), the country's privatisation agency. A previous effort to sell the stake to private investors in 2018-2020 ended after COVID-19 brought world travel to a halt. The Greek sovereign wealth fund HCAP (Hellenic Corporation of Assets & Participations) holds another 25% in the lucrative asset which handled more than 26m passengers, mostly foreign nationals, last year, a 25% annual rise. An IPO for a 19% stake in the airport and the listing is seen happening "in the first half of February", a senior HRADF official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.<br/>Another official told Reuters last year that the agency aimed to list the airport in Q1 2024 and sell to Germany-based airport manager AviAlliance, which currently holds a 40% stake, a further 10% at a premium to the IPO price. An additional stake of 1% will be sold to the Copelouzos family, which owns 5% of the airport, the HRADF official said.<br/>
Airlines may need to hire up to 20% more pilots for the current level of operations with the introduction of new duty rules announced by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. While pilots have welcomed the new norms, which enhance their weekly rest period from 36 to 48 hours, airlines are worried about an increase in employment costs as pilot salaries already account for over half of an airline’s wage bill. “As per ballpark estimates, we could require 15-20% more pilots for the current level of operations. For expansion, we will require many more, and our growth could slow down,” a senior airline executive remarked. An another clause in proposed rules that is worrying airlines pertains to night duty and restrictions on number of landings that pilots can make when their duty begins or continues during night. For the purpose of night duty, the definition of night has been amended, and it will now cover the period from midnight to 6 a.m. instead of midnight to 5 a.m. under the earlier rule. The maximum duty time and number of landings that pilots can make are now restricted to two under the revised rules.<br/>
Amid rising demand for air travel in the Asia-Pacific region, an aviation innovation centre has been set up in Singapore to address airspace and manpower constraints through the use of technology. Changi Airport is likely to be a beneficiary when Terminal 5 opens in the mid-2030s, as the air hub looks to ensure that it has the necessary infrastructure and manpower to serve the growth in traffic. Helmed by Patrick Ky, the former head of Europe’s civil aviation safety agency, the International Centre for Aviation Innovation will also research ways for the sector to reduce its carbon emissions, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) on Jan 10. The centre was incorporated in August 2023 by CAAS as a company limited by guarantee. It will focus on the Asia-Pacific region, as air travel demand here is expected to grow robustly over the next few decades, the authority said. The centre will undertake research and development projects in four key areas: next-generation air navigation services, automated and smart airports, unmanned aviation systems and sustainable aviation. By bringing together governments, industry players and research institutes from around the world to share risk and pool expertise and resources, the centre aims to develop solutions that are eventually deployed in the real world. “You can always have a very smart idea, a new technology which works in a lab, but it never gets implemented... because it stays in a research environment,” said Mr Ky at a press conference. “If you don’t bring in very early in the process the downstream developers or implementers of your innovation, it doesn’t work,” added the Frenchman, who was formerly executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. CAAS director-general Han Kok Juan, who chairs the innovation centre’s governing board, said there is technology available, but it is costly and complex to deploy, hence a new model of cooperation is required. For a start, the centre has secured $140m in funding from Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) to work on next-generation air navigation services over a five-year period.<br/>
For more than a decade, China’s state-owned aircraft manufacturer has plugged away at developing commercial jets. Until recently, efforts to sell foreign customers on an alternative to the US-European duopoly of Boeing and Airbus showed little progress. Then the American giant messed up again. The blowout of a side panel in a 737 Max operated by Alaska Airlines starts to make Commercial Aircraft Corp of China look like an option worth exploring. Airlines tend to share orders between Airbus and Boeing to ensure they are not entirely reliant on one supplier and to play the manufacturers off against each other. With the latest troubles, a third choice makes sense. Better known as Comac, the Shanghai-based company has already secured more than 1,000 orders, but they are largely from domestic customers such as China Eastern Airlines. Foreign operators have stuck with Boeing and Airbus for decades, largely because the two are known entities and airlines are risk-averse when it comes to shelling out billions of dollars for the single most-important piece of equipment required to run their businesses. New entrants tend to fail because the cost of developing a new plane from scratch is sky-high, while customers and investors are unlikely to pony up the capital needed until a proven product can be demonstrated. Like its Western counterparts, Comac has benefited from government support and guaranteed orders from state-backed airlines. With funding secured, all Comac needed to do was build a viable and reliable plane. It took a while, but its C919 – a counterpart to A320 and Boeing 737 jets – finally went into commercial service in May 2023. Now, it is plying the Shanghai-Chengdu route for China Eastern and the carrier has since increased its order. From an initial five, the company in September announced it would buy a further 100, worth US$9.9b at list prices. It is unlikely that major Boeing customers like United Airlines, Ryanair or Emirates will be dropping the Arlington, Virginia-based manufacturer in favour of Comac anytime soon. But a key advantage that had secured the American aerospace firm’s market position – safety and reliability – is starting to look weak.<br/>
The American Airlines jet roared out of the Belize airport and climbed through the tropical skies on its way to Dallas. The Boeing 737 levelled out at 32,000 feet – below the typical altitude – before ascending to a higher-than-usual 38,000 feet. It was an unusual route, but this was not a typical flight. The deviations allowed the aircraft to avoid leaving cloud-like vapour streams known as contrails, a small step in reducing the major impact aviation has on climate change. The flight was one of 70 flown by the airline earlier this year on which the pilots were armed with contrail forecasts. That data, compiled by researchers at Google, pinpointed the location of the moist, cool atmospheric conditions in which ice and water vapour cling to an aircraft’s sooty emissions and form the clouds that can trail an aircraft. Contrails are major contributors to climate change, forming long-lasting clouds that spread and trap the Earth’s heat. Contrails boost aviation’s share of global CO2 emissions to 3.5% from 2.5%, according to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The effect is most pronounced at night, when they do not reflect sunlight and only trap heat. American Airlines, Delta Airlines and others have teamed up with researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Google to reduce aviation’s climate impact by conducting studies and flying at altitudes that do not create contrails, adopting different flight plans in pilot projects. Experts say contrail reduction is the only tool the aviation industry has today to make meaningful cuts in its carbon emissions. Story has more.<br/>