The U.S. FAA said on Monday that unruly airline passenger incidents remain high, and the agency vowed to maintain a zero-tolerance policy. There were 915 cases of unruly passengers reported in 2024 through June 9, including 106 cases of passenger disturbances due to intoxication, the FAA said. The number of unruly passengers spiked in 2021 to nearly 6,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic with the introduction of mask mandates -- including 4,290 mask-related incidents -- but still remain about twice that of 2020 or earlier levels. Unruly passenger incidents fell last year by 15% to 2,075 as the FAA levied $7.5m in fines, compared with 2,455 cases and $8.4m in fines in 2022. Growing concerns about unruly passengers come as airlines and the FAA are gearing up for a record summer of travel. Last month, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it screened 2.95m airline passengers on May 24, the start of the long Memorial Day weekend, the highest number ever on a single day. The FAA said last year that it referred 39 unruly passengers in 2023 to the FBI, bringing the total of such referrals for violent and threatening behavior on planes to more than 270 since late 2021.<br/>U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI to prioritize investigations of airline passengers committing assaults following a 500% spike in incidents in 2021.<br/>
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When Bob Jordan addressed Southwest Airlines Co. shareholders after another disappointing quarterly performance in April, the CEO expressed regret and promised to do better. Elliott Investment Management isn’t accepting the apology. The activist investor on Monday called for the ouster of Southwest’s leadership as it revealed a $1.9b stake, setting up a fight at one of the world’s largest carriers. It’s the latest activist play in the beaten-down air travel market, after Carl Icahn earlier this year parlayed an almost-10% stake in JetBlue Airways Corp. into two board seats. Elliott is calling for new management at Southwest and a “comprehensive business review“ geared toward cutting costs, improving customer choice and upgrading its technology in a bid to boost Southwest’s stock performance 77% over the next year. The drama is playing out against a backdrop of overly optimistic forecasts by many airlines that have dashed investor hopes for sustainable profit growth and punished stock prices — even as the industry enjoys record passenger numbers. Some of that has been outside of senior management teams’ control, such as volatile jet fuel prices, aircraft grounded by defects in RTX Corp. engines and postponements by Boeing Co. of new jets needed to expand. But airlines have also copped to painful blunders. American Airlines Group Inc.’s CEO admitted last month that the carrier’s marketing strategy had angered corporate clients. JetBlue got stuck with excess capacity for Latin American routes. Spirit Airlines Inc. and Frontier Group Holdings Inc. have recently begun to rethink their cheap-chic ethos. And a near total meltdown at Southwest in late 2022 stranded millions of travelers, something Elliott pointed out as a sign of ineptitude. Story has more details.<br/>
More than a decade ago, executives at Boeing made a pivotal decision: To keep up with the company’s main rival, Airbus, they gave up on the idea of developing a new airplane and raced to update the 737, the company’s most popular jet. That effort culminated in the 737 Max, which had two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 and attracted more scrutiny this year when a panel blew out of one of the planes during a flight in January. The jet’s troubles have left Boeing behind Airbus in the global market for single-aisle planes, which it once dominated. Now, Boeing, which is expected to appoint a new CE by the end of the year, has to make another critical choice: When should it develop its next brand-new plane? If the company missteps, it could spend billions of dollars and still lose market share to Airbus, which is based in Toulouse, France. Both manufacturers also face a distant but rising threat from China and growing pressure to cut planet-warming emissions. “That will be one of the most important decisions for whoever steps into the C.E.O. role,” said Ken Herbert, an aerospace and defense analyst at RBC Capital Markets. “Their legacy is going to be defined by what they do with the portfolio.” Boeing declined to provide comment for this story. Commercial planes are generally divided into two groups. Narrow-body, or single-aisle, planes like the 737 typically carry 100 to 200 passengers on domestic U.S. flights. Wide-body, or twin-aisle, planes can take more passengers farther — from, say, New York to London or Tokyo. Boeing and Airbus sell many more narrow-body jets, but airlines are increasingly demanding larger versions of those planes because of limited gates and runway capacity at many airports and growing demand in travel. The Max was designed to compete against the Airbus A320neo family of planes. Experts say the verdict in that contest is clear: Boeing lost. Airlines around the world have ordered many more of the Airbus jets, especially the largest, the A321neo. The European company’s lead was solidified after the Max crashes — which experts traced to poor design and engineering decisions — and the ensuing 20-month global ban on the plane. Story has more.<br/>
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is seeking approval this week to issue several billion dollars in bonds to modernize O’Hare International Airport as well as convert two office buildings into affordable apartments. The city council’s finance committee on Monday voted on a series of proposals from the Johnson administration. The proposals could add up to more than $4b in debt. The plans still need approval from the full city council, which next meets on June 12. The fortunes of the nation’s third-largest city have risen in tandem with the state of Illinois in recent years. Chicago bonds have been rallying, despite a surge in municipal issuance, including in the airport sector. An index of BBB rated municipal bonds, of which Chicago is the third-biggest issuer, has gained about 0.6% this year compared to losses in the broader market. Airport debt makes up the bulk of the proposals. The committee approved a plan to issue up to $3b in general airport senior lien revenue bonds and passenger facility charge revenue bonds for O’Hare capital improvements. The bonds would be a mix of new money and refinancings in three different transactions from July through November, according to the city’s presentation at the meeting on Monday. The panel also held a hearing on Monday as part of the renewal of an authorization for up to $1b in short term line of credit or commercial paper notes to allow tax-exempt spending to continue for O’Hare.<br/>
Electric aircraft maker Eve expects to raise funds as early as next month to finance operations through the certification of its flying taxi in 2026, CE Johann Bordais told Reuters. Eve, which is majority owned by Brazilian planemaker Embraer, has enough cash and borrowing facilities to fund operations through 2025, but the company forecasts certification and entry into service in 2026. Eve is one of numerous startups worldwide developing battery-powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically to ferry travelers on short city trips. Its orders come from clients in countries such as Brazil, the United States, India and France. Among companies to have signed letters of intention to purchase Eve's eVTOL are U.S. carrier United Airlines, charter firms Global Crossing and Air X, as well as aircraft lessor Azorra. Bordais did not say how much Eve wants to raise or what form the fundraising may take. Eve debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2022, raising around $400m to develop and produce its eVTOL aircraft, a project initially slated to cost $540m. It later secured an additional 490m-real ($92m) facility from Brazilian state development bank BNDES. By the end of the first quarter this year, Eve's total liquidity stood at $280m.<br/>