Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis said Monday he was “humiliated" after being handcuffed and removed from a United Airlines flight, then later apologized to by law enforcement, over the weekend. Davis, who previously played for the Denver Broncos, wrote in an Instagram post that he had tapped a flight attendant on the arm, prompting the employee to shout “don't hit me” and hurry toward the front of the plane. Once the flight from Denver to Orange County, California, landed, Davis wrote, law-enforcement boarded the plane, put Davis in handcuffs without explanation and removed him from the flight. “I was - and remain - humiliated, embarrassed, powerless, and angry," Davis wrote. While in questioning, Davis said law enforcement determined the flight attendant's accusations didn't have merit and apologized. United Airlines said in a statement that they reached out to Davis' team to apologize and have removed the flight attendant from duty while they review the incident. “This is clearly not the kind of travel experience we strive to provide," the statement read. FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller said in a statement that agents and law enforcement partners at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport responded to a report of an incident aboard a flight, and detained and then released an individual who was cooperative. Wrapping up his Instagram post, Davis demanded an investigation into the flight attendant “who blatantly lied and placed undue harm on me and my family.”<br/>
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Deutsche Lufthansa AG is facing long-running “profound” problems ahead, according to Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analysts, who cut their price target to a new low and urged clients to sell the stock. The German carrier is growing capacity too quickly and will continue to face pressure on pricing and costs, according to Johannes Braun. He cut his price target to €4.50, a new low among analysts tracked by Bloomberg and one that implies about a 20% drop from current levels. Lufthansa shares fell as much as 3.1% on Monday. “There is too much inefficient capacity growth despite yield weakness, combined with perceived product shortcomings and uncompetitive cost structures,” Braun wrote in a note, cutting his rating to sell from hold. Lufthansa has been beset with problems throughout 2024. The German carrier cut its profit outlook last week and recently warned employees in a letter that it would need to cut costs further because stiff competition is driving down fares and corporate travel has not rebounded sufficiently. The stock is down 29% this year. More broadly, airlines in the US and Europe are coming under pressure as they struggle to fill seats during the key summer season, weighing on fare prices. Delta Air Lines Inc. offered a grim assessment last week as it reported worse-than-expected financial results and a weak outlook for the current period. <br/>
Singapore Airlines reported robust passenger and air cargo demand in June that closed out a strong first quarter. The number of passengers carried by SIA and its low-cost unit Scoot in the three months through June 30 hit 9.6m, up 13.8% from the same period in 2023 and broadly in line with the fourth quarter ended March 31. However Singapore’s flag carrier remained just shy of surpassing its pre-Covid-19 monthly traffic levels – benchmarked to January 2020 – carrying 3.19m customers in June, according to SIA’s latest operating results on July 15. Passenger traffic for January 2020 was 3.38m. The rising demand was attributed to mid-year school holidays in Singapore and the northern hemisphere’s summer travel season. Air cargo loads rose on robust e-commerce and some spillover from port congestion and disruptions to sea freight. SIA’s continued rebound after the pandemic comes as the South-east Asian nation more broadly picks up speed. The country’s economic growth accelerated in the second quarter, putting it on track to expand between 1% and 3% in 2024. A slew of high-profile events in 2024, including pop star Taylor Swift’s only South-east Asia concerts, has spurred an influx of overseas visitors and traffic at Changi Airport got back to full strength in February.<br/>