Nanna Baldvinsdóttir has become used to being inundated with unsolicited calls after speaking at industry conferences. The co-founder and CE of Icelandic start-up IðunnH2 has something to offer that is in high demand across the aviation industry: plans for a commercial scale, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facility. “I get cold calls afterwards,” says Baldvinsdóttir. “I am asked: how much? When?” How to secure adequate supplies of SAF — low-carbon alternatives to conventional fuels — and at what cost have become two of the biggest questions for the aviation sector as it seeks to reduce its carbon footprint. Climate change poses a commercial threat to aviation, which accounts for 2-3% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The sector’s visibility has made it a high-profile target of policymakers and environmental campaigners in recent years. “The sector needs to deliver,” says Tim Alderslade, chief executive of industry group Airlines UK. “There is no question that, if we fail to do so, governments will act to make aviation smaller.” Airlines, aircraft manufacturers and other industry stakeholders have pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 through a mix of new fuel technologies, including the use of SAF and hydrogen, as well as more efficient aircraft and engines. Airbus, Europe’s aerospace and defence champion, has committed to flying a hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035. The plane maker, along with US rival Boeing, is also exploring new aircraft designs. Meanwhile, government-backed initiatives such as the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute are researching lightweight materials and wing technology. However, breakthrough technologies, such as hydrogen- or electric-powered aircraft, are still years away from being commercially viable. In the interim, the industry is looking at other levers to cut emissions. Better air traffic management is one. In the UK, for example, industry stakeholders are forecasting a 4.7% reduction in carbon emissions through airspace changes by the middle of the century. <br/>
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President Joe Biden signed on Thursday sweeping aviation legislation that will boost US air traffic controller staffing, increase funding to avert runway close-call incidents and speed up refunds for canceled flights.<br/>The $105b, five-year measure reauthorizes the FAA. It prohibits airlines from charging fees for families to sit together, requires airplanes to be equipped with 25-hour cockpit recording devices, raises maximum civil penalties for airline consumer violations from $25,000 per violation to $75,000 and boosts aircraft production scrutiny. "Following flight disruptions, runway close calls and consumer frustrations, this law is set to deliver the safest, most reliable aviation system in the world," said Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell. "Plane manufacturers will see more safety inspectors on factory floors and tougher safety standards from the FAA." Biden has repeatedly clashed with air carriers, calling for new stricter consumer rules and harshly criticizing them for imposing fees. His administration has also aggressively moved to block further consolidation in the passenger airline industry, including successfully blocking a tie-up between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines and quashing an alliance between JetBlue and American Airlines. The law also adds five daily round-trip takeoff and landing slots at busy Washington National Airport, which Delta had lobbied for. The bill also directs the FAA to deploy advanced airport surface technology to help prevent collisions. Efforts to boost aviation safety in the United States have taken on new urgency after a series of near-miss incidents, as well as January's door plug mid-air emergency on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 flight.<br/>
Biofuel firms are pouring more than $1b into building China's first plants to turn waste cooking oil into aviation fuel for export and meet domestic demand once Beijing mandates the fuel's use on airplanes to cut emissions. The world's second-largest aviation market, with about 11% of global jet fuel use, China is expected to unveil this year its policy on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) use for 2030 that could spur billions of dollars of investment, industry executives told Reuters. Companies such as Junheng Industry Group Biotech, Zhejiang Jiaao Enprotech and Tianzhou New Energy plan to start up plants over the next 18 months to produce more than one million metric tons per year (tpy) of SAF combined, six SAF investors told Reuters. That figure would be equivalent to 2.5% of China's current annual demand for aviation fuel. Once online, the projects would soak up supplies of used cooking oil (UCO) feedstock that China currently ships out as world's largest exporter, company executives said. Last year, China exported a record 2.05m tons of UCO, mostly to the United States and Singapore, and providing feedstock to biofuel refiners such as Finnish firm Neste. "We're taking positions to prepare for the future," said Eason Chen, a vice president of Tianzhou New Energy, which is building a 200,000 tpy SAF plant in the southwestern province of Sichuan. "We're in discussion with airlines and oil majors for first exports and have proposed to the Chinese government to announce a clear SAF target," said Chen, a former jet fuel marketing executive with oil major BP.<br/>
All foreigners arriving in Singapore, regardless of nationality, can now use the automated lanes at Changi Airport to clear immigration. The feature was rolled out in early May, allowing even first-time visitors to Singapore to use the automated lanes without any prior enrolment in the system. It is part of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s (ICA) new clearance concept that was announced in 2019, which aims to provide faster and more secure immigration clearance. Previously, the automated lanes could be used by only Singapore residents and passport holders from 60 jurisdictions. More than 160 automated lanes were installed in 2023, with another 230 lanes to be set up in 2024. ICA intends to install about 800 such lanes across all of Singapore’s checkpoints by 2026.<br/>
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. is set to be privatized as its two biggest shareholders team up with buyout firm Global Infrastructure Partners and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to make a takeover offer for the airport operator. Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd., Employees Provident Fund, GIP and ADIA offered to pay 11 ringgit per share to acquire 67% of the company, according to a Bursa Malaysia filing on Wednesday. That represents a 15% premium to the company’s prevailing three-month volume-weighted average price — a measure of a stock’s valuation — and values Malaysia Airports at 18.4b ringgit ($3.9b). “MAHB’s airport network serves some of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets, which are benefiting from regional economic growth, increased air travel affordability and shifts in consumer spending,” Khadem Alremeithi, executive director of the infrastructure department at ADIA, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, said in a joint statement by the consortium. The announcement confirms a Bloomberg News report earlier Wednesday that Khazanah and EPF were weighing taking Malaysia Airports private. Khazanah and EPF, the nation’s biggest pension fund, will raise their stakes in the airport operator to 40% and 30%, respectively, after the planned takeover, according to the statement. New York-based GIP and ADIA will hold the remaining 30%, it said.<br/>
As Boeing’s board searches for a CEO to steer the US planemaker out of its worst crisis in years, directors are intent on finding a leader who can make a fresh start — meaning deep aerospace experience isn’t necessarily required. That opens the door to industry outsiders, and it’s heightened interest in the intentions of the former technology executive leading the recruitment drive: Boeing Chairman Steve Mollenkopf, the former Qualcomm Inc. CEO, an engineer by training who’s no stranger to corporate turmoil. Mollenkopf isn’t tipping his hand as to the search process. Privately, he’s been sounding out Boeing suppliers and airline customers on their frustrations to get a better sense of the magnitude of the clean-up facing the company’s next leader. His methodical fact-finding suggests the CEO hunt is still in the early stages, with executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates Inc. aiding the process, according to people familiar with the process. That adds to the intrigue as Mollenkopf makes his first public appearance as chairman at Boeing’s annual general meeting on Friday. While such gatherings are often mundane affairs, the virtual session will be closely watched for any hints Mollenkopf and current CEO Dave Calhoun provide on the state of affairs. Even the election of directors will contain an element of drama: proxy adviser Glass Lewis & Co. recommended investors vote against Calhoun and directors David Joyce and Akhil Johri, citing “significant concerns” about the planemaker’s safety culture<br/>
A Boeing engineering union said on Thursday it will offer its representatives training on US whistleblower laws for the first time, following concerns that its members lack adequate protection against possible reprisals. The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) will hold sessions on Friday for shop stewards at Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems after receiving queries from members on how to become whistleblowers, a union director told Reuters. Testimony at a U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in April raised questions over Boeing's treatment of whistleblowers. A Boeing engineer said at the hearing he was told to "shut up" and removed from a plane program when he flagged safety concerns.<br/>Reuters could not independently verify the claims. Boeing, while not immediately available for comment on the union training, has previously said it has "zero tolerance for retaliation and encourage our employees to speak up when they see an issue." The FAA said earlier this month it has opened an investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner after an employee saw what appeared to be an irregularity in a required conformance test.<br/>The company is going through a full-blown crisis after a door panel blew off a plane in January. Union representatives will be trained to help members who want to raise safety concerns, said Rich Plunkett, director of strategic development at SPEEA's Seattle-area local.<br/>
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. plans to lay off about 450 workers at its main campus in Wichita, Kansas, as it grapples with mounting losses and a slowdown in shipments to Boeing. Lower deliveries of 737 Max airframes and other components “compels a reduction to our workforce,” Spirit spokesman Joe Buccino said in an emailed statement. The company plans to notify affected employees in the coming weeks, he said. Spirit faces growing financial pressure and scrutiny from multiple federal investigations alongside Boeing, its former parent, following a nearly catastrophic accident involving an airborne 737 Max in January. The aerostructures supplier said on May 7 that it had burned through $444m in free cash during the first quarter due to plunging deliveries of 737 airframes to Boeing and mounting losses on contracts to supply Airbus SE’s A220 and A350 airliners. Boeing in March confirmed it was in discussions to acquire Spirit, a move that would help stabilize its supply chain and give it more direct control over its aircraft production. Spirit’s shipments to Boeing plummeted after the planemaker stopped accepting 737 fuselages from the supplier with missing or incomplete components. Both companies expect that to turn around during the second half of 2024, as new quality measures take root.<br/>