LATAM Airlines' share of Brazil's domestic market reached its highest level in 11 years in March, data from local aviation regulator ANAC showed on Monday, while rival Gol continued to falter after filing for bankruptcy. The Brazilian unit of Chile-based LATAM had a market share of 41% in the month as defined by revenue passenger-kilometers (RPK), according to ANAC figures, which the firm said was its highest since the 41.6% reached in July 2013. LATAM has been leading the domestic segment in Latin America's largest economy since 2021, when it overtook Gol, which in turn has seen its market share decline since entering bankruptcy proceedings in January. Brazil's once leading carrier had 29% of the domestic market in March, with its RPK dropping 13.4% on a yearly basis, losing the second place to rival Azul , which hit 29.5% after a 6.7% year-on-year growth in traffic. Gol, which has struggled with heavy debt load and delays in deliveries by planemaker Boeing filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States earlier this year to restructure its debt. LATAM itself came out of pandemic-related bankruptcy proceedings with an $8b reorganization plan in late 2022 and resumed growth afterwards, while Azul had to conclude a broad debt restructuring last year.<br/>
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Chilean investigators have determined that an involuntary forward shift of the captain’s seat preceded the in-flight upset involving a LATAM Airlines Boeing 787-9 last month. The aircraft had been cruising at 41,000ft en route to Auckland from Sydney on 11 March. It experienced a “sudden unintentional” loss of altitude, says Chilean aeronautical directorate DGAC, at about 02:30UTC while around 320nm west of Auckland. The aircraft descended some 400ft but the crew recovered without exceeding load limits for the twinjet. But the incident injured 13 occupants – 10 passengers and three cabin crew – with three of them needing hospital treatment. Flight LA800 had been carrying 263 passengers and nine crew members. “The seat on the left side of the cockpit, with the captain in his position, began an involuntary movement forward,” says the inquiry. Investigators have not determined the reason for the movement of the captain’s seat, but state that there were no adverse weather conditions or turbulence affecting the aircraft. But the inquiry has recorded video footage of the back of each pilot’s seat, where a switch to adjust the seat’s position is located and normally accessed by lifting a cover. The switch cover for the captain’s seat appears not to be lying flush with its surround, in contrast to that on the first officer’s seat – although the inquiry has not remarked on the relevance of the video to the circumstances.<br/>
The CEO of Emirates Airline issued an apology letter to customers over the weekend after historic rains in the United Arab Emirates caused record flooding and mayhem at Dubai’s airport. Hundreds of flights were grounded and thousands of customers were stranded as a result. “I would like to offer our most sincere apologies to every customer who has had their travel plans disrupted during this time,” company chief Tim Clark wrote in the letter published on the airline’s website Saturday. “We know our response has been far from perfect. We acknowledge and understand the frustration of our customers due to the congestion, lack of information, and confusion in the terminals. We acknowledge that the long queues and wait times have been unacceptable.” While the airline’s service hub at Dubai airport remained open, “flooded roads impeded the ability of our customers, pilots, cabin crew, and airport employees to reach the airport, and also the movement of essential supplies like meals and other flight amenities,” Clark wrote. He said that the airline diverted dozens of flights on Tuesday as the worst of the storm raged, and that “over the next 3 days we had to cancel nearly 400 flights and delay many more, as our hub operations remained challenged by staffing and supply shortages.” Emirates on Wednesday issued a notice urging travelers not to come to the airport, except for in emergency situations. It also suspended check-ins for those meant to fly out of Dubai, put an embargo on ticket sales and halted connecting flights from other cities to Dubai, leaving some passengers stuck around the world. As of Saturday, Emirates’ regular flight schedules had been restored. In the letter, Clark said the airline still had more than 30,000 pieces of luggage to return to customers. “We have put together a taskforce to sort, reconcile, and deliver some 30,000 pieces of left-behind baggage to their owners,” he said, adding that it will “take us some more days to clear the backlog of rebooked passengers and bags,” and asking for customers’ “patience and understanding.”<br/>