general

Geopolitical tensions, aircraft shortages and ambitious environmental targets will deliver a host of challenges to global airline bosses at an annual summit next week, with softening fares completing a delicate outlook for carriers. The influential IATA, which represents more than 300 airlines and over 80% of global air traffic, holds its annual meeting on June 2-4 in Dubai, the world's busiest international hub. Aviation leaders have said the pandemic that grounded most of the world's fleet and ravaged airline balance sheets at the start of the decade is finally in the rear-view mirror. The industry returned to profit in 2023 and air passenger traffic touched 2019's record numbers early this year, IATA says. Global airline capacity in the second quarter of 2024 is 4% higher than in 2019, according to aviation data provider OAG. However airlines have warned yields - the average price paid by a passenger to fly one mile - are under pressure from rising costs and competition as networks reopen or grow. Conflicts and geopolitical tensions are causing longer routes for airlines, and the aviation industry faces growing questions over whether it can achieve a target for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 that IATA adopted in 2021.<br/>

Hundreds of Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport will stage a three-day strike from Friday in a dispute over rosters. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said more than 500 of its members working on passport control at Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 were taking action. The union said more than 250 staff faced losing their jobs or being moved to other work against their will. Those who remain will have longer shifts, inflexible shift-swapping rules, no clarity on booking leave and no way to work around caring responsibilities, the PCS said. A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are disappointed with the union’s decision to strike but remain open to discussing a resolution with PCS Union." A petition has been launched in support of the workers. PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “We call on all trade unionists and the public to support this petition and tell Border Force management to scrap this unwelcome and unworkable roster that has already caused misery to our members. “PCS has repeatedly called for more flexibility in the new roster but management has refused to listen. Until they do, and they put forward proposals to improve the roster, then the dispute will continue.”<br/>

Dubai is looking to add more airline capacity and is betting on a new visa that facilitates return trips to attract more visitors, as it shifts its focus from serving as a transfer hub and short-term destination. Among the regions the city is targeting is Africa, with Dubai flagship carrier Emirates announcing this month that it’s reinstating its service to Nigeria from Oct. 1. Dubai is also seeking to market itself as a year-round destination, touting sports like padel — a popular cross between tennis and squash — and indoor shopping to overcome its image as an unbearably hot place best avoided in summer. While Emirates and low-cost partner FlyDubai are important channels to push traffic into Dubai, “we don’t tie ourselves to them,” Issam Kazim, the CEO of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Economy, said in an interview. “Whenever it makes business sense to them, we match our plans together and we work with them,” Kazim said in Dubai, citing Emirates’ strong operations and reputation. “But at the same time, if they’re restricted by ceilings or their own growth factor or their own strategy, I immediately go and work with local carriers.” Dubai has long thrived as a gateway for transfer travelers using its hub to connect between global destinations. With the number of available hotel beds more than doubling in a decade, including more facilities for budget-minded travelers, the city has managed to turn itself more into a destination in its own right. The number of repeat visitors within a year now stands at 25%, Kazim said. <br/>

Ireland's High Court is to begin hearing a dispute around insurance claims for aircraft stuck in Russia on June 11, a week later than scheduled, after parties in the case asked for additional time to prepare, a court spokesman said on Thursday. Lessors are suing dozens of insurers around the world for billions of dollars after more than 400 planes were unable to leave Russia due to Western sanctions in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine that forced the termination of their leases. The world's number two and three lessors, SMBC and Avolon, as well as BOC Aviation, CDB Aviation, Nordic Aviation Capital and Carlyle Aviation Partners are pursuing their claims in Ireland, where more than 60% of the world's leased aircraft are owned or managed. The world's biggest aircraft lessor, Irish-based AerCap is pursuing its insurance claims through London's High Court. The Irish case is to be held at a special venue as no court in Ireland is large enough to accommodate the 180 lawyers involved, Justice Denis McDonald told a hearing last year. The case had been due to begin on June 4.<br/>

Boeing’s top executives delivered a plan to improve quality and safety to the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday, vowing to address systemic issues that have damaged the company’s reputation and put the aircraft manufacturer at the center of several federal investigations. Boeing detailed these and other steps during a three-hour meeting with the FAA’s administrator, Mike Whitaker, where the company submitted a “comprehensive action plan” that the regulator ordered in February. Whitaker had given Boeing 90 days to develop a plan to make sweeping safety improvements after a midcabin panel known as a door plug blew out of a 737 Max 9 jet flying at about 16,000 feet on Jan. 5. No one was seriously injured during the flight. The FAA said Thursday that “senior” leaders from the agency would “meet with Boeing weekly to review their performance metrics, progress and any challenges they’re facing in implementing the changes.” Boeing was also required to address findings, from an expert panel convened by the FAA last year, that revealed persistent issues with the company’s safety culture. Whitaker said Boeing had accepted all of the recommendations the panel made in the report. “We need to see a strong and unwavering commitment to safety and quality that endures over time,” Whitaker said Thursday. “This is about systemic change, and there’s a lot of work to be done.” In a statement, Boeing said the action plan it delivered to the FAA was based on feedback it received from employees and through conversations with the regulator. Boeing provided some additional detail on the actions it was taking to improve quality but did not make the safety plan public. In an email to employees, Stephanie Pope, the head of Boeing’s commercial plane unit and the company’s COO, said the company is investing in training, simplifying plans and processes, eliminating defects and improving quality and safety. Story has more.<br/>

Starting on 5 June, this year’s ILA Berlin air show will be “bigger and more diverse than previous iterations”, according to its organisers. Billed as “the largest aerospace trade show in the EU this year”, the event has attracted 600 exhibitors from 30 countries, including around 20 international pavilions, says Dr Patrick Keller, head of communications at the BDLI. To run across three trade days and a public-access weekend, the biennial show this time has five main themes: aviation; space; defence and support; supplier; and advanced air mobility. Around 100 aircraft will be in the static display, with attractions including an Emirates Airline A380, the Novespace-operated A310 Zero-G platform, a Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and a NATO Boeing E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System. The German armed forces will be the single largest exhibitor at the show, including within a dedicated defence park which also will feature companies such as Diehl Defence and Israel Aerospace Industries. The event is a major opportunity for Germany’s aerospace industry – including its so-called “Mittelstand”: small- and medium-sized businesses – to showcase their activities. It also will highlight Berlin’s increased emphasis on defence spending, influenced by the war in Ukraine.<br/>

Global demand for passenger travel in April rose 4.6%, growing faster than demand for air freight, which is still in a difficult situation, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in Monday. Demand for air freight, measured in freight tonne kilometres, was up 3.2% in April, but IATA head Tony Tyler said that was not a true reflection of the market. "The reality is that demand is weak, as we see from global trade figures and there's little to indicate an uptick is imminent," he told journalists on a conference call. Tyler was speaking ahead of IATA's annual meeting in Dublin from 1-3 June, where it will provide an updated forecast for airline industry profitability in 2016.<br/>

Little to no ethanol will qualify for U.S. sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) subsidies under a new pilot program by President Joe Biden's administration, which toughened climate requirements at the last minute, according to a Reuters review of government data and people familiar with the matter. The issue could hurt the biofuel industry, which sees SAF as ethanol’s best chance at growth since electric cars have cut into its market as a gasoline additive. It could also hinder Biden's goal of producing 3b gallons of SAF by 2030. He once promised 95% of SAF - a biofuel that can be made from oils, waste, or grains - would come from farmers. Details about how little ethanol will qualify for the subsidies under the pilot program, and how the requirements were raised at the final hour, have not previously been reported. At issue is a $1.25/gallon production tax credit embedded in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act reserved for SAF that demonstrates a 50% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to regular jet fuel. Under the pilot program finalized on April 30, ethanol producers seeking to claim that credit must verify their corn comes from farms using three climate-friendly farming practices in tandem: not tilling the soil, planting cover crops, and using higher efficiency fertilizers. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack touted the program as "a great beginning as we develop new markets for sustainable aviation fuel that use home grown agricultural crops." But a Reuters review of data from the US Department of Agriculture suggests almost no US corn farmers use all three practices at the same time. Officials at five farm and biofuel trade groups told Reuters few, if any, ethanol-makers will be able to meet the standard.<br/>