general

Record summer air travel demand isn’t translating to record U.S. airline profits. Carriers will have to answer for that disconnect when they report quarterly results this month. Some airlines have forecast record demand, and in some cases, revenue. On Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration screened more than 3m people, a one-day record. But higher labor and other costs have eaten into airlines’ bottom lines. To adapt to slower demand growth and other challenges, some carriers have slowed if not halted hiring compared with hiring sprees when they rebuilt after the pandemic. And some airlines are facing delays of new, more fuel-efficient aircraft from Airbus and Boeing at the same time that a Pratt & Whitney engine recall has grounded dozens of jets. Yet US airlines have increased capacity, flying about 6% more seats in July than they did in July 2023, according to aviation data firm OAG. The expansion is keeping airfare in check, and stocks in the sector have fallen behind the broader market. The NYSE Arca Airline Index, which tracks 16 mostly U.S. airlines, is down almost 19% this year, while the S&P 500 has advanced more than 16%. What the third quarter will look like for airlines is “clear as mud,” Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth said in a note Friday, citing headwinds such as potentially weaker spending from coach-class clientele, the Paris Olympics’ impact on some Europe bookings, and possible changes in corporate travel demand.<br/>

Airlines in the United States canceled more than 1,300 flights and delayed over 1,000 flights on Monday as Hurricane Beryl intensified and made landfall in Texas. A total of 1,479 flights were canceled and 2,254 flights were delayed as of 12.33 p.m. ET, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. United Airlines led the list with 405 flights canceled, followed by Southwest Airlines at 268. “We are continuing to monitor Beryl and have reduced flying at Intercontinental Airport of Houston (IAH) Sunday night and Monday.” United Airlines said. Southwest said it was monitoring the situation and has proactively adjusted its flight schedule on Monday in Houston and south Texas due to the hurricane. Both United and Southwest also issued travel advisories citing Hurricane Beryl impacting flights in airports including Austin, Corpus Christi, Harlingen and Houston among others in the region. Beryl, the season’s earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, made landfall near the coastal town of Matagorda in Texas early in the day, pounding the coast with dangerous storm surges, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Air Canada said it has canceled daily flights scheduled for Tuesday between Houston and Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The largest ports in Texas also closed operations and vessel traffic on Sunday after Beryl intensified. The FAA on Friday warned of thunderstorms impacting travel across the country.<br/>

Unions representing workers at Aeroports de Paris ADP are planning to strike on July 17, they said on Monday, days before the start of the 2024 Olympics, to increase pressure on management to meet demands over pay and work conditions. The unions, including the CGT, CFDT, FO and UNSA unions, are demanding a bonus for all airport staff and additional resources during the busy Olympics period. The Games begin in Paris on July 26. The ADP group runs the French capital's Orly and Roissy Charles de Gaulle airports.<br/>

Heavy rains flooded roads and railway lines on Monday in India's financial capital Mumbai, disrupting flights and forcing the closure of schools and colleges. Just ahead of the morning rush hour, more than 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rain lashed the city of 12m in the six hours through 7:00 a.m (0130 GMT), civic officials said in a statement. More heavy showers were forecast, accompanying a high tide of 4.40 metres (14 ft) in the coastal city. Just 10 days after record-breaking showers in New Delhi caused the fatal collapse of an airport roof, Monday's Mumbai rains also disrupted air travel. Airport authorities had to suspend runway operations for more than an hour from 2:22 a.m., airport sources said. More than 430 flights were delayed and 49 cancelled, Flightradar24, a website that tracks flight data, showed. Airlines IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India were among those reporting disruptions.<br/>

A two-member Canadian team will arrive in Pakistan to assess security arrangements at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi next week, the Pakistani Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said on Monday. The team comprising officials of Transport Canada, a Canadian government entity responsible for policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation, is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on July 14. It will begin its assessment at Karachi airport on July 15, focusing on aviation security documentation, airport arrangements, catering, and cargo complexes, according to the PCAA. “The goal is to ensure that the aviation security, overseen by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), is in compliance with the standards set by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) and Transport Canada,” the PCAA said. “The PCAA is fully prepared for the assessment and is working closely with all stakeholders, including airport management, ASF (Airports Security Force), PIA (Pakistan International Airlines), cargo operators, and catering companies.” The authority said the PIA, which operates direct flights to Canada, would be of particular interest to the Transport Canada team. The assessment would be the 5th international evaluation of Pakistan’s aviation security system. The PCAA has successfully passed all previous inspections, including the recent inaugural assessment by the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority (UAE-GCAA) of Islamabad and Karachi that concluded on July 5. Pakistan’s aviation protocols have faced significant scrutiny since 2020 following a scandal wherein approximately 262 out of 860 active pilots were said to have obtained fake licenses, leading to the grounding of around 150 pilots from the PIA and other carriers.<br/>

South Korea has liberalised air traffic rights to Manila, which it hopes will spur an increase in flights from its secondary airports to the capital of the Philippines. The country’s transport ministry says effective 4 July, it has lifted a 20,000 seats a week cap for flights between Korea and Manila, though it made an exception for flights between Seoul Incheon and Manila. Ministry officials will cap the number of seats available for flights between the capital cities to 30,000 seats per week, still a significant jump from the previous limits. Six carriers currently operate daily flights between Manila and Seoul Incheon: Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, Philippines Airlines (PAL), Philippines AirAsia and Cebu Pacific. Says Kim Young-guk, the ministry’s director of aviation policy: “Until now, flights between (Korean secondary cities) and Manila have little service due to limited traffic rights. We hope that the secondary city airports will be revitalised (with the liberalisation) and the convenience of travel be improved.” Apart from Seoul Incheon, PAL operates to Busan from Manila. There are currently no operators between other Korean airports and Manila. <br/>

Thailand has pledged to improve the efficiency of its air navigation services and related aviation solutions in both normal and emergency situations, Transport Deputy Minister Surapong Piyachote said on Friday. His commitment follows a recent report showing a new record of international flights from China, with 100% growth, and aligning with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's government's national development policies, which include improving aviation as one of the key agendas for moving forward. According to a recent report, Thailand-China flights accounted for the highest proportion of total international flight volume from October 2023 to May 2024 (20%). The volume of flights between the two countries was 55,433, up 213% from the same period last year. It is expected that 86,150 flights will be operated between Thailand and China in 2024, representing a 126% increase over the previous year. Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Samui, and Krabi airports currently receive flights from China, with cargo and passenger pick-up and drop-off flights available, with the exception of Don Mueang and Samui. Many airlines have now resumed services on the Thailand-China route, with requests to add flights to major economic destinations such as Chengdu.<br/>

Boeing’s announcement on Sunday that it had agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge as part of a deal with the Justice Department was the culmination of a yearslong crisis involving the company’s 737 Max plane. The agreement may help Boeing put to rest a federal case stemming from two fatal crashes of the 737 Max in 2018 and 2019. But the deal is not the final word on that saga and may have little impact on other problems, including questions about the company’s production quality that were brought to light when a panel blew out of a Max jet during a January flight. Boeing and the Justice Department first reached an agreement in 2021 about the two crashes that allowed the company to avoid criminal charges. But federal prosecutors this year said that the company had violated the terms of that agreement and came up with a new one, which was agreed to in principle on Sunday. Under the latest agreement, Boeing would plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the federal government. The company would also agree to an independent monitor, three years of probation and additional financial penalties. That includes a $487.2m fine, half of which could be forgiven because of Boeing’s earlier fine payments. But the arrangement is not yet official. “Sometimes people hear that there’s been a plea agreement and think that things are finalized, but that’s not necessarily true,” said Kya M. Henley, a co-founder of Saint Park, a law firm specializing in white collar crime and former public defender. A formal agreement is expected to be filed in a federal court in the coming days and the judge overseeing the case will then review the deal, which many of the families of the people who died on the two crashes strongly oppose. If the judge sides with the families, Boeing and the Justice Department will have to come up with a new deal. Story has more.<br/>

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday it is requiring inspections of 2,600 Boeing 737 airplanes because passenger oxygen masks could fail during an emergency. The FAA said it was requiring the inspections of 737 MAX and NG airplanes after multiple reports of passenger service unit oxygen generators shifting out of position, an issue that could result in an inability to provide supplemental oxygen to passengers during a depressurization event. Boeing, which did not immediately comment, on June 17 issued a bulletin to airlines calling for visual inspections, the FAA said. The FAA said its airworthiness directive was immediately effective and requires inspections and corrective actions if needed within 120 to 150 days based on the 737 model. The FAA is also barring airlines from installing potentially defective parts. Airlines must conduct a general visual inspection and if needed replace oxygen generators with new or serviceable oxygen generators, strap thermal pads and reposition impacted oxygen generators, the agency said.<br/>

Boeing is discussing a potential path forward with the US Defense Department to preserve its government contract business after the company agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge tied to two fatal crashes of its 737 Max jet, according to a person familiar with the discussions. A Pentagon spokesperson separately said on Monday that the department will assess the plea agreement and related matters to “make a determination as to what steps are necessary and appropriate to protect the federal government.” The talks come after Boeing’s guilty plea risked calling into question the viability of such contracts. Boeing’s defense, space and security division accounted for about a third of the company’s total revenue last year. The government contracts are more important than ever as it relies on its defense division to counteract plunging revenue at its commercial airplane business. The person who confirmed the talks, which were reported earlier Monday by Reuters, asked to remain anonymous to discuss the private conversations. Boeing reached an agreement in principle with the Justice Department early on Monday, under which the company would plead guilty to criminal conspiracy in connection with the Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. As part of the deal, which requires court approval, Boeing would pay a fine and agree to install a corporate monitor for three years. <br/>

Paul Kiernan struggles to talk about what happened on 10 March 2019. He walked his partner, Joanna Toole, to a taxi, put her bag in the back and kissed her goodbye. He told her he loved her, and asked her to let him know when she landed safely. The message never came. Toole’s flight, Ethiopian Airlines 302, crashed minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa killing all 157 people on board. It was the second fatal disaster involving a Boeing 737 Max jet in less than five months. On 29 October 2018, Lion Air flight 610 crashed minutes after taking off from Jakarta. All 189 people on board died. “For others, I guess they read it and see it as a business story, or something,” Kiernan said. “But for us, it’s a very personal thing.” Boeing did what beleaguered companies so often do when they want to repair a battered reputation: ousted its boss, reassured the regulators and attempted to draw a line under the matter. All the while, hundreds of families whose loved ones lost their lives awaited justice. Five years later, and even after this announcement, many feel they are still waiting. The Max disasters seemed to be fading in the public and political arena until this year, when Boeing again came under intense scrutiny after a cabin panel blew off a brand-new 737 Max, minutes after taking off from Portland, Oregon. The incident reignited questions about the aerospace giant’s management, production line and the fundamental safety of its planes. It is “the luck of God”, according to Kiernan, that a third fatal crash was avoided.<br/>

Airbus logged its best monthly deliveries so far this year as the planemaker works to resolve its supply-chain woes and pares back its order backlog. The European planemaker handed over 67 jets in June, taking the half-year total to 323, it said in a statement Monday. That’s less than half Airbus’s revised annual handover goal, although deliveries tend to pick up toward the end of the year. Late last month, Airbus pared back its annual delivery goal of 800 planes to 770, citing supply challenges on a slew of parts from engines and aero structures to cabin interiors. Airbus has long warned of the issue after the pandemic first upended the global aviation industry and then left it unprepared once air travel came roaring back. The planemaker also slashed some longer-term goals, from operating profit to cash generation to the monthly production rates of its all-important A320 model citing those challenges.<br/>

The Middle East’s biggest aviation services firm said delayed deliveries of new jets by Boeing Co. and Airbus SE have driven up demand for its maintenance and overhaul facilities as airlines make do with older planes. “Demand is at an all time high because there is a global shortage in capacity,” Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Chief Executive Officer Firoz Tarapore said in an interview. “Airlines have intense pressure to make sure that every aircraft they own is up flying and making money for them because the supply of new aircraft is constrained,” he said. Without brand-new aircraft, airlines are signing up for more planned maintenance than in the past to ensure their fleet is available at all times as demand for travel continues to be strong, Tarapore said. That, coupled with a shortage of maintenance capacity, has meant lengthier waits for aircraft repairs. DAE’s maintenance facilities — operated by its Jordan-based Joramco unit — are booked up for the next 18 months, Tarapore said. The firm, which is also the Middle East’s largest plane-leasing company with more than 400 aircraft, said it, too, is facing long delays on its jet orders. DAE only expects to receive about half the number of Boeing 737 aircraft that it was previously scheduled to get. Airbus last month warned that it won’t be able to deliver the 800 aircraft it had previously predicted for 2024 as it struggles with shortages on components ranging from engines to structural parts to cabin interiors, while rival Boeing has also been forced to cap production to sort out its manufacturing after a near-fatal accident in January.<br/>

Speed is of the essence. The world has a very short space of time to decarbonise and, while there’s no shortage of innovation, promising technologies have yet to scale. How do policymakers decide which levers to pull to incentivise innovation and investment, while avoiding the sort of unintended consequences that accompanied an early push for biofuels? And how can they be encouraged to move swiftly? Aviation is a good example of the challenge. The industry is responsible for more than 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions, but once non-CO2 emissions are considered the figure could be at least twice as high. No one knows what its decarbonised future will look like. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrogen or battery electric could all play a role, but how much will depend on factors such as the speed of grid decarbonisation, competition for feedstock from other sectors (for example, shipping) and new battery chemistries. In 2020 Professor Rob Miller, director of the Whittle Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, was involved in a series of aviation workshops organised by the then Prince of Wales, through his Sustainable Markets Initiative. All the relevant players were in the room, from technology experts to air traffic controllers and airport operators. “What we realised in those meetings was that people were talking past each other; there was no common language,” says Miller. The field of aviation had “become very siloed … nobody saw the whole picture anymore.”<br/>