United Airlines is requesting the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to “immediately grant” the carrier’s uncontested application for a soon-to-be-vacated slot at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. The Chicago-headquartered carrier requested the DOT’s blessing for its “first-ever daily non-stop” flights from Guam to Haneda in a 13 February filing with the regulator. The carrier is proposing seven weekly flights operated year-round on the route. Hawaiian Airlines recently notified the DOT that it would be returning its night-time slot at Haneda as of 1 April, citing headwinds in the slow-to-return Japanese air travel market. United requested permission to use the “underutilised” slot in September 2023 and again on 26 January. “As of the date of this filing, no other carrier has filed an application for the returned night-time slot and the time for answering United’s application has lapsed,” United says in its filing. “Accordingly, United application is uncontested and may be granted immediately by the department.” The carrier argues that a prompt response from the DOT would “ensure that this valuable asset will immediately be put to its highest and best use as soon as it becomes available” on 1 April. Last month, Hawaiian said that it had re-introduced flights from Kona to Tokyo in October 2023 and incrementally boosted flight frequencies during its winter schedule. “However, current market conditions make continued operation of the flight economically unviable,” the airline said at the time. It added that “Asia and Japan specifically have been among the last markets to recover from the precipitous drop in travel demand” after the Covid-19 pandemic. <br/>
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Aircastle, Air New Zealand, Embraer, Google, HIS, Natixis CIB, Safran, and Technip Energies are now part of a first-of-its-kind effort to reduce emissions and drive the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by providing startups with both financial and strategic capital. United customers play a role too, with more than 115,000 people contributing nearly $500,000 since February 2023. United today announced that Aircastle (a Marubeni & Mizuho Leasing Company), Air New Zealand, Embraer, Google, HIS, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, Safran Corporate Ventures, and Technip Energies are now among the 22 corporate partners that make up the airline's The United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight FundSM, a first-of-its kind effort to reduce emissions and drive production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through investments in startups. These corporate partners make up all parts of the aviation supply chain – airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, fuel producers, engineering and technology experts, financiers, travel management and more – and have now committed more than $200m while collaborating to provide strategic expertise to help the Fund's portfolio companies reach commercialization. Since its inception in February 2023, the Fund remains aviation's first and only venture fund backed by a broad limited partner base and created to identify and support startups advancing feedstock and technology development focused on increasing the supply of SAF.<br/>
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby talks to Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd about the airline’s plan to be net-zero by 2050. That means replacing fossil fuels with “sustainable aviation fuels” made from things like cooking oil, farm waste and even carbon pulled right out of the air.<br/>
Air Canada has been ordered to compensate a B.C. man because its chatbot gave him inaccurate information. The Civil Resolution Tribunal's decision on the dispute was posted online Wednesday(opens in a new tab), finding in favour of a man who relied on information provided by the bot about fares when he was booking a flight to attend his grandmother's funeral. "I find Air Canada did not take reasonable care to ensure its chatbot was accurate," tribunal member Christopher C. Rivers wrote, awarding $650.88 in damages for negligent misrepresentation. "Negligent misrepresentation can arise when a seller does not exercise reasonable care to ensure its representations are accurate and not misleading," the decision explains. Jake Moffatt was booking a flight to Toronto and asked the bot about the airline's bereavement rates – reduced fares provided in the event someone needs to travel due to the death of an immediate family member. Moffatt said he was told that these fares could be claimed retroactively by completing a refund application within 90 days of the date the ticket was issued, and submitted a screenshot of his conversation with the bot as evidence supporting this claim. He submitted his request, accompanied by his grandmother's death certificate, in November of 2022 – less than a week after he purchased his ticket. But his application was denied and the tribunal decision said emails submitted as evidence showed that Moffatt's attempts to receive a partial refund continued for another two-and-a-half months. The airline refused the refund because it said its policy was that bereavement fare could not, in fact, be claimed retroactively. In February of 2023, Moffatt sent the airline a screenshot of his conversation with the chatbot and received a response in which Air Canada "admitted the chatbot had provided 'misleading words.'" But Moffatt was still unable to get a partial refund, prompting him to file the claim with the tribunal. Story has more.<br/>
A Scandinavian Airlines plane struck a fence at the Oslo airport on Wednesday, causing minor damage to the aircraft and no injuries, the airline said. It was the third mishap in two weeks reported at Norway's main airport. The plane bound for Stockholm was leaving the gate at the airport in Gardermoen when its left wing tip crashed into a railing, Scandinavian Airlines told The Associated Press. It was not immediately known how many people were on board. Two of the three recent incidents at the airport "have occurred as a result of pushback from the same gate,” Oslo airport spokeswoman Monica Iren Fasting told the AP. “All incidents will be reviewed.” As a result of Wednesday’s incident, the gate was closed, Fasting said. A spokesperson for the carrier, Tonje Sund, told Norwegian newspaper VG that the plane received damage that grounded it. The exact damage was not known. On Feb. 2, a Norwegian airline plane bound for Stockholm collided with a fence at the same gate. No one was injured. On Tuesday, another Norwegian plane headed for Kristiansand hit another airplane, clipping its wing. Charlotte Holmbergh, head of communications with the airline, said one plane was taxiing out when another Norwegian plane “came too close and hit the flight next to it at low speed" and their wings touched.<br/>
Romanian operator Animawings has disclosed plans to expand its fleet with Airbus A220s and A320neos, following Greek carrier Aegean Airlines’ divestment of its entire majority shareholding in the company. Aegean says it has “completed the transfer” of its stake in Animawings to travel firm Memento Group, which becomes the sole owner of the carrier. Animawings specialises in services to Greek island destinations. One of the two aircraft leased to Animawings has been returned to Aegean, the Greek airline states, and the other will be returned “in a few months”. Animawings indicates that it will embark on a fleet expansion with 12 A220-300 and A320neo jets over the next three years, with the first two A220s arriving this summer. It says the A220 delivery will mark the twinjet type’s “premiere” in the Romanian market. “Animawings will increase the number of domestic and international destinations, for regular scheduled flights as well as charter flights for tour operators,” it adds. The carrier flies from Bucharest as well as nine other Romanian cities.<br/>
Thai Airways International Pcl has dropped Rolls-Royce as its sole supplier of next-generation widebody engines in favor of General Electric — a blow to the UK company as it tries to improve profitability. Bangkok-based Thai Airways on Wednesday said it was ordering 45 Boeing aircraft, with an unspecified number of options available, powered by engines made by US company GE. Thai Airways’ existing Airbus SE A350 planes and Boeing 787 jets use Rolls-Royce engines. Rolls-Royce was publicly rebuked by Thailand’s flag carrier in November when Thai Airways CEO Chai Eamsiri threatened to take his business elsewhere after Rolls balked at price concession the airline sought. Rolls has also attracted heat from Emirates over the durability of its Trent XWB-97 engines on A350-1000s. The British enginemaker has been on a quest to boost profitability under CEO Tufan Erginbilgic, renegotiating existing contracts and taking a tougher line with customers on new deals. The approach has ruffled some feathers but the Thai order marks one of the first times Rolls has publicly lost out on a deal as a result. <br/>
A former flight steward who said he slipped and fell on board a plane is suing Singapore Airlines for S$1.78m, alleging that his former employer was negligent for allowing the workplace to be unsafe. Durairaj Santiran said he had noticed a patch of grease on the floor of the economy-class galley during a flight from San Francisco that was scheduled to land in Singapore on the evening of Sept 6, 2019. The Malaysian said that about 2½ hours before landing, he slipped on the grease patch and fell on his back, hitting his head on the floor. He claimed that as a result of the injuries to his spine, he is medically unfit to continue working as a flight steward. Durairaj, who was employed by SIA from April 2016 to April 2021, now works as a customer care analyst in Malaysia. The damages he sought include $1.29m for loss of future earnings, $30,000 for loss of earning capacity and $150,000 for future medical and transport expenses. The 35-year-old wore a neck brace when he attended court on Feb 13, the first day of a 10-day trial.<br/>