general

Hurricane Milton roared ashore in Florida near Sarasota late Wednesday killing at least 10, knocking out power to more than 3m customers and causing widespread flooding. But officials were cautiously optimistic that damage won’t reach the level wrought by Hurricane Ian in 2022. Governor Ron DeSantis said Florida avoided a “worst-case scenario” even as emergency crews start assessing damages and dealing with widespread power outages. In addition to Milton’s wrath, the hurricane spawned a rash of tornadoes across central Florida Wednesday afternoon. Between the hurricane impacts and the tornadoes, damages and losses may reach between $60b to $75b, said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler with Enki Research. Ian, which struck near where Milton came ashore, killed at least 156 people and caused more than $112b in damage and losses in September 2022, according to the US National Hurricane Center. Milton is the fifth hurricane and second major storm to strike the US Gulf Coast this year. Overall, the six-month Atlantic hurricane season has produced 13 named storms, one less than on average. However, Hurricane Helene, which hit exactly two weeks ago, destroyed a large swath of the US South and led to at least 230 deaths. The impact of that storm together with Milton is likely to tax federal emergency funds and flood insurance programs. As of 3:30 p.m. New York time, about 3.1 million customers were without power across Florida, down from 3.4 million earlier, according to PowerOutage.us. In addition, 2,718 flights around the US were canceled through Friday, most of them serving Orlando, Tampa, Palm Beach, Miami and Southwest Florida International, said FlightAware, an airline tracking service. <br/>

Toronto city council is granting the island airport a lease extension that would keep the hub open for at least another two decades. In a 17-8 vote on Wednesday, councillors passed a motion by Mayor Olivia Chow that could see the agreement governing Billy Bishop airport expire as late as 2045, up to 12 years later than planned. The tripartite deal between the city, PortsToronto and the federal government had been set to end in 2033. The motion comes despite the mayor’s approval last week of a staff report that advised against drawing out the agreement before more public consultation. The PortsToronto federal agency that oversees the airport had argued a longer lease was essential to secure financing for construction of safety zones at either end of the runway, in line with updated federal rules. Located near downtown, the airport has proven a point of controversy over the decades, with backers pointing to economic benefits and skeptics warning of the risk to waterfront revitalization and new housing.<br/>

The US government has joined Irish and American airlines in warning Irish regulators against a plan to limit passenger numbers at Dublin Airport to 25.2m next summer. Air travel watchdog, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), this week confirmed it would impose the restriction between March and October 2025 to keep numbers within an overall cap of 32m a-year. The move means airlines will have fewer take-off and landing slots at the airport than they did this summer and is likely to prompt legal action. The US department of transportation wrote to the IAA on September 26th asking it to instead find “an immediate and temporary solution” allowing airlines to keep whatever slots they operated in summer 2024, documents published by the IAA show. Industry body, Airlines for America, whose members include United Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue, all of which have operations at Dublin, has warned that the IAA appears to be ignoring Irish obligations under treaties allowing Canadian and US airlines equal access with European carriers to EU airports. Its submission argues that the IAA move could allow local airlines to cut European routes to maintain US and Canadian flights while Airlines for America members are forced to cut services on the same transatlantic routes.<br/>

Relatives of some of the 346 people who died in two crashes involving Boeing 737 Max planes are expected in court on Friday, where their lawyers will ask a federal judge to throw out a plea agreement that the aircraft manufacturer struck with federal prosecutors. The family members want the government to put Boeing on trial, where the company could face tougher punishment. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with winning regulatory approval of the Max. The settlement between Boeing and the Justice Department calls for Boeing — a big government contractor — to pay a fine and be placed on probation. Passengers’ relatives call it a sweetheart deal that fails to consider the lives lost. “The families who lost loved ones in the 737 Max crashes deserve far more than the inadequate, superficial deal struck between Boeing and the Department of Justice,” said Erin Applebaum, a lawyer whose firm represents some of the families. “They deserve a transparent legal process that truly holds Boeing accountable for its actions.” Lawyers for the government and the company filed court briefs defending the settlement, and lawyers for the passengers’ families explained their opposition to the deal. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor will get to question both sides during Friday’s hearing in Fort Worth, Texas. If the judge accepts the guilty plea, he must also approve the sentence that Boeing and prosecutors agreed upon — he can’t impose different terms. It is unclear when O’Connor will decide the matter.<br/>

Boeing said late on Thursday it filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the union that represents about 33,000 striking U.S. West Coast factory workers. The planemaker said the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers unit representing the workers had failed to bargain in good faith during the four-week work stoppage. Boeing said the union had engaged in a "pattern of bad faith bargaining, and of issuing misinformation to its members about the status of negotiations."<br/>

Airbus is facing concerns over supplies of key structural parts for its largest and smallest jets from Spirit AeroSystems, part of a cascade of supply chain problems challenging growth in deliveries, several industry sources said. The problems mean airlines face a growing prospect of delays in deliveries of some jets including the long-haul A350 next year given long lead times for parts, two of the sources said, prompting the planemaker to deploy extra resources to keep them moving. Data issued on Wednesday showed Airbus needs to boost total deliveries by 11% in the fourth quarter to reach a target of 770 jets for the full year. Some analysts have lowered their forecasts towards 750 or 760 planes.<br/>Spirit mainly supplies Boeing, which is in the process of buying back its former subsidiary. But Airbus also relies on the company for major parts for its A350 twin-aisle and A220 single-aisle jets. The sources, who were not authorised to speak publicly about the matter, cited concerns over the production of fuselage parts built in Spirit's Kinston plant in North Carolina. Separately, Airbus has intervened to speed up the supply of wings for the smaller A220 by airlifting parts from the supplier's factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland, they said. In July, Airbus agreed to take on the two loss-making plants as Boeing moved to buy back the rest of Spirit to stem a growing industrial crisis following the mid-air blowout of a door plug.<br/>

A market for aircraft bonds that all but shut down after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is showing signs of life again, a development that makes it easier for investment firms to buy planes. Sales of airplane leases bundled into bonds have climbed to more than $5b this year, from around $1b in 2022 and 2023. Carlyle Aviation Partners and Global Jet Capital are among the leasing companies that have sold the debt in recent weeks. Russia’s incursion into Ukraine in February 2022 threw the bonds into turmoil, when Russia seized hundreds of planes owned by global leasing companies. Those aircraft were leased to Russian airlines, and were kept in the nation after western sanctions emerged. Some of the riskiest portions of airplane ABS were downgraded while other parts took losses. But in recent months, the bonds have grown more attractive to issuers and investors. ABS deals impacted by Russia’s seizures are poised to see recoveries through insurance settlements, according to Stav Gaon, a strategist at Academy Securities Inc. Some settlements have already taken place, with one transaction seeing a $62.5m payout and another picking up $50m while others continue to pursue recoveries, according to Gaon. That’s giving hope to money managers holding existing aircraft ABS that more money will start flowing to the securities. Aircraft ABS are a key part of the more than $225b raised in aircraft lessor debt financing between 2010 and August 2024, making up more than a fifth of the total, according to Deutsche Bank AG data. The comeback is also being boosted by leasing companies that bought airplanes in 2021 using short-term financing, when interest rates were lower. As bond yields have fallen in recent months, those lessors can sell bonds more cheaply, and turn their temporary financing into longer-term borrowing. <br/>

As Singapore’s aviation industry continues to grow in tandem with rising demand for air travel, a bigger push is being made to attract more young women to careers in aviation. To that end, a pact was signed on Oct 10 between the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Singapore chapter of Women in Aviation (WAI-SG). The memorandum of understanding (MOU) aims to promote aviation-related experiential activities for young women and expose them to the diverse career opportunities in the sector. As part of the pact, more will also be done to encourage young women interested in Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to apply these skills to aviation. CAAS and WAI-SG will also collaborate to help young women build strong networks and professional relationships in the aviation sector. At a dinner where the MOU was signed on Oct 10 at Orchard Hotel, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the partnership was timely, as the aviation sector needs to hire more talent to power its growth. “We want the younger generation to continue seeing aviation as an exciting sector, and ensure that our next generation of aviation enthusiasts are equipped with the necessary skills,” he said, adding that the aviation workforce is a critical factor to the industry’s success.<br/>

Embraer’s E190 Freighter has been certificated by the FAA. The Brazilian airframer disclosed on 10 October that the E190F, as well as the type’s cargo loading system, had been “fully certified” last month by the FAA. ”We are excited to enter this market, filling a gap that has evolved in the market to meet the growing demand globally for faster deliveries, not just to metro areas but to all regions,” says Martyn Holmes, CCO of Embraer Commercial Aviation. Embraer launched the P2F programme, which also includes an E195 Freighter, in 2022 as the company moved to ”meet the changing demands of e-commerce and modern trade, which require fast deliveries and decentralised operations driving the demand for faster delivery of shipments to regional markets”. The programme also extends the lifespan of Embraer’s ageing E190 family of jets. The E190F was unveiled in Sao Jose dos Campos during an employees-only ceremony in November 2023, achieved first flight in April and publicly appeared in July at the Farnborough air show. The type received certification in July from Brazil’s aviation regulator, ANAC. Combining cargo capacity under the floor and on the main deck, the E190F’s maximum structural payload is 13,500kg (29,762lb). The larger E195F will have a payload of 14,300kg. <br/>

It is the trillion dollar question. How can aviation, one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries, become more sustainable? A new study suggests that slower planes could be part of the solution. A new research piece, published by the University of Cambridge, lists a series of sustainable aviation goals to be achieved in the next five years. The authors issue a stark warning if they are not actioned. “If these goals are not implemented immediately and achieved by 2030, the opportunity for transformation will slip away, leaving the world to face the escalating climate impacts of a rapidly growing aviation sector, which is projected to at least double by 2050,” the report says. The aviation industry accounts for GBP2.67t of the world’s gross domestic product, around 4.1%. However, flying is one of the most carbon intensive activities you can do, and the aviation industry emitted around 915m tonnes of CO2 in 2019. In total it is estimated aviation is responsible for 4% of all man-made activities that drive climate change. Acknowledging this, in 2021 the IATA approved a resolution for the industry to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The study maps out the projected development of technologies such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), hydrogen or methane which will help to achieve that goal. But there are also a number of solutions that will have a direct impact on the passenger experience, including slower planes, steeper ticket prices and newer aircraft. Let’s take a look at how the pursuit of net zero could impact you, the passenger.<br/>