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Shares of United Airlines Holdings Inc. have been on a tear lately, outpacing rivals as investors pile back into the once-unloved airline sector. However, despite the huge run-up in the stock, analysts are confident the rally has more room to run. United’s shares jumped more than 37% in October, their best monthly return since surging 40% in February 2010. The recent gains have propelled United’s 93% year-to-date rise, trouncing peers Delta Air Lines Inc. and Alaska Air Group Inc. which have risen 44% and 24% respectively. If the gains hold through the end of the year, it’ll be the stock’s best annual performance on record. “United is representative of a broadening of the market,” said Jane Edmondson, head of thematic strategy at TMX VettaFi. “If we continue to see this growth trend over the next few quarters, it’s definitely going to be on people’s radars,” she added. So what’s behind investors’ heightened appetite for the stock? Industry-wide plans to cut back on unprofitable routes over the summer have contributed to strength within the sector more broadly, with the S&P Supercomposite Airlines Sub Industry Index trading around levels unseen in nearly three years. Earnings from United pushed gains further after the Chicago-based carrier reported Q3 profit in mid-October that beat Wall Street’s projections. Subdued oil prices are also a big help as aviation fuel is one of the industry’s biggest expenses. United’s stock closed Friday at its highest level since February 2020, climbing for a record-extending 13 straight weeks.<br/>

Turkish Airlines’ profits slipped amid higher costs in Q3, a period in which strong cargo growth helped offset flat passenger revenue. The Star Alliance carrier boosted revenue 5% year on year to $6.63b in the three months ending 30 September 2024. Notably, while passenger revenue was virtually flat at $5.55b versus the same quarter last year, cargo sales jumped 47% year on year to $911m. The latter growth was driven by strong demand from the Far East. Operating costs over the same period rose 14% year on year to $5.42b, including a 54% year-on-year increase personnel costs. The carrier also flags the cost impact of the continued groundings of a portion of its Pratt & Whitney GTF-powered Airbus narrowbody fleet. As a result, the carrier’s profit from main operations fell 22% to $1.35b in Q3, while net profit was down a fifth at $1.54b. The growing role of cargo amid heightened cost pressures continues a trend already evident in Q2. While Turkish Airlines’ freight revenue for the first nine months of 2024 was up 40% year on year, its passenger turnover increased only 3% year on year during the nine-month period.<br/>

Ethiopian Airlines, a leading African aviation company, has formed a strategic alliance with Euroairlines to manage its domestic and international flight operations. This partnership provides Ethiopian Airlines access to Euroairlines’ extensive network across more than 60 countries, connecting it to a broad range of travel agencies, OTAs, consolidators and aggregators through the IATA Q4-291 accreditation. With its recent partnership with Euroairlines and ongoing investments in fleet technology, Ethiopian Airlines aims to strengthen its dominance in African Aviation while positioning itself as a dominant force in the aviation market.<br/>

While French investigators believe an intense oxygen-fuelled cockpit fire brought down an EgyptAir Airbus A320 eight years ago, they have yet to determine fully the reasons for the oxygen leak and pinpoint the source of ignition. Investigation authority BEA has dismissed the Egyptian air accident commission’s official explanation – detonation of explosive material behind the cockpit – for the fatal 19 May 2016 accident. But it acknowledges that, despite extensive tests, establishing the precise mechanism for the fire’s initiation has “not been possible”. It is unable to state whether the oxygen leak or the fire came first. BEA says, however, that the speed at which the blaze developed “favours” a hypothesis of internal damage to the first officer’s oxygen system. It has theorised that a component failure, either in the first officer’s oxygen mask storage box or the upstream distribution system, or perhaps the pressing of the ‘emergency’ knob on the mask itself, triggered a flow of oxygen. While conducting studies into the ignition source, BEA learned about three recent in-flight oxygen-leak incidents on A320-family aircraft during 2022-23. Initial analysis of these incidents, it says, suggests faulty installation or adjustment of the regulator which controls the cockpit-oxygen cylinder could cause overpressure of the oxygen system. Overpressure could lead oxygen-mask regulators to fail and a high-pressure leak could occur in one, or all, of the masks. BEA points out that the first sign of oxygen flow during the accident came via the first officer’s mask regulator.<br/>

French investigators probing a fatal EgyptAir Airbus A320 crash in May 2016 have highlighted the potential risk of smoking in the cockpit, even though they could not establish whether a lit cigarette sparked an oxygen-fuelled fire on the jet. Investigation authority BEA has recommended that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency consider the possible danger presented by a lit cigarette and, if necessary, amend operational and certification regulations. Smoking on board aircraft has long been prohibited by the majority of operators. But BEA says international regulations are “not explicit” about banning smoking in the cockpit. “While there are warnings about smoking near oxygen in the passenger compartment, there are no similar warnings with respect to the cockpit,” it states. “The decision seems to rest with the captain.” BEA believes the leak, and ignition, of concentrated oxygen in the A320’s cockpit caused an intense fire which the crew was unable to extinguish, subsequently leading to a loss of control. The aircraft, which had been cruising at 37,000ft, descended and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, with no survivors among the 66 occupants. Two pilots and a flight attendant were in the cockpit when the blaze broke out. The inquiry has not been able to determine – or rule out – whether any crew member was smoking. BEA adds that a series of ignition tests “do not suggest” that a lit cigarette contributed to the accident sequence.<br/>

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is investing S$1.1b ($835m) in a multi-year retrofit programme to install its all-new long-haul cabin products across 41 Airbus A350-900 long-haul and ultra long range (ULR) aircraft. As a result, the airline’s seven A350-900ULR aircraft will get an all-new first class cabin for the first time, while all 41 aircraft will also get SIA’s next generation business class seats. These A350-900 first class and business class products are designed from the ground up, with a spacious layout and ergonomic elements that cater to every customer’s needs, the Star Alliance carrier said. These are the same seat designs that will feature on SIA’s upcoming Boeing 777-9 aircraft. The premium economy class and economy class cabins will also be refreshed on these 41 A350 aircraft. “Over the past six years, we have extensively engaged customers and stakeholders in the design of our next-generation long-haul cabin products, anticipating their evolving preferences and expectations down to the finest detail,” said SIA CE, Goh Choon Phong.<br/>