The FAA plans to impose tougher safety requirements on public charter airlines such as Dallas-based JSX, a move toward closing what critics have called a loophole in US aviation rules. The new regulations aim to ensure that public charters that effectively operate like a typical commercial airline abide by the same safety rules, the FAA said in a statement on Monday. JSX markets itself as “the ultimate travel hack” because passengers can bypass airport crowds and security lines. “If a company is effectively operating as a scheduled airline, the FAA needs to determine whether those operations should follow the same stringent rules as scheduled airlines,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. The rise in popularity of operations like JSX and whether they pose any safety or security risks has split the industry. Critics have said JSX and others like it exploit a loophole in current rules, allowing them to operate scheduled flights like large airlines under less-stringent standards intended to govern private charter operations. Proponents have argued for keeping the status quo since such carriers serve small cities and provide a pipeline for pilots. JSX has also attracted big backers in the industry, with United Airlines Holdings Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. among its investors. The move announced Monday comes after the regulator solicited feedback on potential rule changes in August, leading to about 60,000 comments from other airlines, unions, airports, cities and travelers. “As the country’s largest public charter air carrier, JSX has modeled the way forward for safe, secure, and reliable regional operations,” JSX said in a statement. “We eagerly look forward to collaborating with our regulators to cement the importance of public charters and expand access to vital air connectivity in the future.”<br/>
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A new report says travellers are paying significantly more to fly within Canada during peak tourism season compared with last year, as limited capacity and competition outweigh softening demand to push up airfares. Prices for domestic flights from July through September stand 14% higher on average than they did 12 months ago, according to figures from the Flight Centre Travel Group. "We're seeing definite increases in cost across the board," said Chris Lynes, managing director of the Australia-based travel agency's operation in Canada. As the pent-up demand for leisure travel that followed the COVID-19 pandemic began to wane, slight price drops were anticipated, he said. But plateauing seat capacity and less competition conspired to boost fares, a trend especially noticeable on short-haul flights. One-way flights from Calgary to Vancouver climbed 27% to $580 on average, according to Flight Centre. Montreal-to-Toronto routes saw a 36% price increase to $781. Tickets for an Edmonton-to-Vancouver trip surged 82% to $737. "The seat capacity has either stayed the same or reduced. So when you have the excess (demand) and the lack of seats, you're always going to see the prices increase," Lynes said. Several Canadian airlines have run into plane delivery delays caused by production problems at aircraft maker Boeing Co., which has constricted their ability to grow their fleets. WestJet's CEO said last month the airline is on the hunt for aircraft to offset postponed Boeing deliveries after a door plug blowout on a 737 Max jet flown by Alaska Airlines in January prompted U.S. regulators to halt a production expansion.<br/>
As part of the coordinated ramp-up in sanctions against Russia announced by various governments during the recent G7 Summit, Canada has now designated low-cost carrier Pobeda (DP, Moscow Sheremetyevo) while the United Kingdom has sanctioned Volga-Dnepr Group. Ottawa did not provide detailed reasons for including the Aeroflot Group budget airline on its sanctions list but did say that its recent update of the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations act targets "entities in Russia's military-industrial complex that supply key technology and electrical components in support of Russia's efforts. In addition, the sanctions target entities involved in sanctions circumvention that facilitate Russia's access to sanctioned goods". Pobeda was the only Russian airline included in the list. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Pobeda on May 1, 2024, for its alleged role in smuggling sanctioned parts into Russia. Parent company Aerolfot Group is also sanctioned in the US and the UK. The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Pobeda operates forty-two B737-800s. Despite sanctions, Pobeda maintains it will not suspend its international flights.<br/>
Complicated market conditions have prevented foreign airlines from launching local operations in Brazil, planemaker Airbus' head in the country told Reuters. In 2018, rules which had limited the size of the stake a foreign investor could hold in an airline were overturned in a bid to open up competition among carriers in Latin America's largest economy. Still, market share in Brazil is dominated by just three companies: Azul, Gol and LATAM, the latter the result of a merger in the 2010s between local airline TAM with Chile's LAN. Airbus executive Gilberto Peralta said in an interview last week that the reluctance from international airlines to enter Brazil was mainly due to judicial uncertainty, citing a high number of legal actions taken by Brazilian customers against airlines, as well as high fuel prices. "Capital barriers are gone, a foreigner could come and set up a company in Brazil, but they don't... It's a lot of trouble," he said. Brazil's strong consumer protections make it easy for flyers to sue carriers for a range of issues, including delayed or canceled flights. Late last year, airline lobby group IATA had urged state-run oil company Petrobras to reduce fuel costs, calling kerosene prices in the South American nation "excessively high." Petrobras said earlier this month that jet fuel prices in Brazil have already fallen 8.8% so far in 2024. Airbus' global production capacity currently stands between 60 and 65 aircraft per month, while the company aims to increase that figure to 75 planes per month by late-2025 or early 2026.<br/>
Belarus and Russia are in negotiations over introducing flat fares on flights between the two countries, just like those that already exist within Russia, Interfax reported, citing Dmitry Krutoy, Belarussian ambassador to Russia. The diplomat stated that the idea was outlined at a meeting of the High-Level Group of the Council of Ministers of the Union State, referring to a supranational union between Russia and Belarus which will turn 25 at the end of this year. Furthermore, Krutoy stressed that additional joint legislation would be needed to implement the project, with Minsk already prepared to use its budget to subsidize air travel to sister cities in Russia, Murmansk and Ulyanovsk Vostochny. He went on to say that flights between Moscow and Minsk could also fall under the programme once launched. Belavia operates eight weekly flights to Moscow while Aeroflot operates five flights on the same route, ch-aviation schedules shows. There are no scheduled operations at the moment between the Belarussian capital and its sister cities.<br/>
Asia Pacific carriers made a rebound to profitability in 2023, on the back of a “vigorous recovery” in passenger demand and ending a loss-making streak through the pandemic. Data from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) – covering 27 of the region’s operators – shows that combined net profit stood at around $8.8b. The association notes that passenger revenue saw the sharpest rise in 2023, more than doubling year on year to more than $151b. Still, it found that passenger yields shrank 6.7% year on year - in line with the reintroduction of capacity. The strong passenger recovery contrasted with a decline in combined cargo revenue, which the AAPA notes fell “markedly” by 43% year on year to $21b. The association’s data also shows a 31% increase in combined expenses, as airlines ramped up their operations. Fuel costs rose 41.5%, but this was mitigated by a 20% drop in global jet fuel prices. AAPA director general Subhas Menon says: “In 2023, Asia Pacific airlines made a welcome turnaround following three consecutive years of steep losses during the COVID-19 pandemic years.” He notes that while the outlook for demand “continues to be strong”, there are several challenges in the horizon, including “delayed deployment of additional capacity” owing to supply strain constraints. <br/>
A power outage lasting several minutes at India's busiest airport in Delhi caused minor disruptions to some services within the terminal on Monday, airport management said. "Voltage imbalance from the Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) grid briefly impacted all IGI terminals, affecting baggage acceptance and e-gates," a spokesperson for Delhi International Airport said. The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the capital New Delhi, owned and run by GMR Airports, has three terminals for commercial and cargo flights. The power back-up system was started within a few minutes and the main power supply was restored shortly after, the spokesperson added. Air conditioners in the terminal stopped working during the outage which lasted about 7 minutes, but were restored soon after, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Temperatures in the capital have soared to record breaking levels in recent weeks, with water shortages and frequent power cuts adding to residents' woes. One airline source, who did not want to be named, said the power outage could cause check-in and boarding delays. June is typically a busy month for the airline industry in India as schools are shut for the summer break. Some social media users posted images of passengers standing in long queues at check-in counters as airline officials waited for computers to power up again. India is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets with domestic air travel expected to double to 300m passengers from a record 152m in 2023, according to government data.<br/>
The Hong Kong Airport Authority has been urged to review its contingency procedures after hundreds of passengers’ travel plans were thrown into turmoil on Monday amid an eight-hour closure of a runway triggered by a cargo plane bursting a tyre during an emergency landing. The call by a legislator came as an aviation expert also said the authority should have notified the public and other airlines sooner, but he appreciated the long time taken to resume full operations of the runway given the safety concerns involved. The north runway at the airport was forced to close shortly after 7am after a cargo plane made the emergency return landing when its hydraulic system failed and it burst a tyre upon landing. The runway did not resume normal operations until 3.45pm. Nearly half or 450 of the 932 flights handled at the airport between 7am and midnight were delayed as a result, according to the authority. Only Hong Kong International Airport’s south runway was operating as a result of the emergency. One runway closed for modification works in 2022 and will reopen this year. Passengers said their itineraries were severely affected, with some missing their onwards connections. Legislative Council transport panel chairman Chan Han-pan said the authority should review its contingency plans and procedures. <br/>
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) is looking to increase the number of seats on commercial flights to and from India by 7,000 per week as part of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's policy to promote Thailand as the region's aviation hub and boost tourism traffic. Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said on Monday the prime minister is committed to implementing the aviation hub policy. It involves increasing frequency of international travel to the kingdom, establishing Thailand as an important destination, lifting the country's aviation industry status to that of an aviation hub of the region and enhancing the growth of tourism industry. Chai said the CAAT has acted on the policy by entering into an agreement with India's Civil Aviation Ministry to increase the number of seats on flights between the two countries. The CAAT held talks with the Indian Civil Aviation Ministry and some Indian airlines back in March. As a result of the discussion, both parties will be allowed to increase the capacity and frequency of flights between the countries on the condition that each country must fill at least 80% of the maximum flight quota granted, said Chai. In addition, the countries will each provide up to 7,000 extra flight seats per week for flights between their major cities, starting in November, he said.<br/>
As crisis engulfs Boeing Co. following the near-catastrophic accident on an airborne 737 Max 9 aircraft, CEO Dave Calhoun has kept an increasingly low profile in recent months. Now Calhoun faces a very public grilling from US senators accusing Boeing of putting profit before safety. A hearing on Tuesday will put the CEO on the spot to defend his record and salvage his legacy as he prepares to step down later this year. Investors who have endured a 32% stock slump this year and watched Boeing’s credit rating come dangerously close to junk status have already shifted their focus to Calhoun’s yet-undisclosed successor. New Chairman Steve Mollenkopf, who took over as part of a senior management shakeup in March, is leading the search for the next CEO — and the hunt has picked up speed in recent weeks, say people close to the matter. “Everyone is focused on the next leader, hopefully someone who can redeem them from this sorry episode,” said Richard Aboulafia, a managing director with AeroDynamic Advisory. The CEO’s reckoning before US lawmakers comes as Boeing navigates one of the most turbulent stretches of its century-long history. The manufacturer has faced a customer revolt over quality lapses illuminated by the mid-air blowout in early January. The Justice Department, Congress and other federal agencies are probing the company. FAA Chief Michael Whitaker has lamented too lax regulatory oversight, vowing to keep Boeing on a tight leash until there’s real evidence of progress.<br/>
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun plans to apologize for Boeing’s recent safety failures in Senate testimony Tuesday and admit to problems with the company culture, but he’ll push back on whistleblower claims that the company retaliated against those who brought safety issues to light. “Much has been said about Boeing’s culture. We’ve heard those concerns loud and clear,” he will say in prepared remarks released by Boeing Monday afternoon. “Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress. We understand the gravity, and we are committed to moving forward.” The “far from perfect” remark is a massive understatement. Boeing has been under intense scrutiny with numerous federal investigations and congressional hearings since a January 5 Alaska Air Boeing 737 Max flight had a door plug blow off, leaving a gaping hole in both the plane and Boeing’s reputation. The hearing Tuesday by the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations is entitled “Boeing’s broken safety culture.” It is just the latest congressional hearing this year about safety issues at Boeing but the first time Calhoun is testifying in his more than four years running the troubled company. He will be joined by Howard McKenzie, Boeing’s chief engineer.<br/>
GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp has declined Boeing's request to consider taking over as the U.S. planemaker's top boss, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Boeing and GE Aerospace did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Culp on several occasions had said he was not interested in the job. In April, Culp told Reuters he can best serve Boeing by being its best supplier. The U.S. planemaker has had to navigate safety concerns after it came under scrutiny following a mid-air cabin panel blowout in an Alaska Airlines-operated MAX 9 jet carrying 171 passengers this year and prior accidents involving the same family of jets. The U.S. FAA has barred Boeing from expanding production of its cash-cow 737 MAX family of jets without estimating how long the limitation will last. <br/>
Over a year after the commercial debut of its home-grown C919 narrowbody jet, China is set to plough more resources into its aviation sector, with a new research fund established to spur the development of new widebody planes and expand the domestic production of essential parts. On Friday, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation agreed to move capital into a joint fund for aircraft research. The authorities did not disclose the size of the fund, but industry insiders have made low-end estimates of several billion yuan. Filling its airspace with its own planes and reducing foreign sourcing for advanced components like engines and avionics have been decades-long priorities for Beijing, and the launch of the C919 under the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) was a milestone moment in the pursuit of those goals. The new fund, building off this initial success, comes shortly after the country established its largest-ever investment pool for semiconductor research. “The fund’s focus on basic research can be a sign Beijing has realised that, even with the launch of the C919, China needs to lay a more solid foundation … to close the gap with the West in making bigger jets,” said Li Hanming, an aviation analyst and founder of a transport consultancy which operates in the United States. “It’s a whole new level if you aim to progress from the C919 to bigger models with comparable capabilities to [Boeing’s] 787 and 777 or [Airbus’] 350 and 330 series,” he added. At last week’s launch ceremony, minister of industry and information technology Jin Zhuanglong said the fund will identify the realms where its help is most needed. State media, meanwhile, touted the fund’s creation as a move serving national strategic needs.<br/>