Americans are expected to set a new record for Thanksgiving travel, with nearly 80m to hit the roads, catch flights and board cruises over the holiday period, travel group AAA said on Monday. About 1.7m more people will travel this year from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2, compared to a similar period in 2023. Although staffing and aircraft shortages have capped the airline industry's ability to ramp up capacity during the holidays in previous years, a record number of Americans are expected to fly to their destinations this year. American Airlines plans to shuttle 8.3m passengers from Nov. 21 to Dec. 3, about 500,000 more customers than last year. Delta Air Lines said it is expecting a record 6.5m passengers over a 12-day period, a 5% year-over-year increase. Southwest Airlines and American Airlines both said their passenger volumes will peak on Sunday, Dec. 1, as more travelers plan to return home immediately following the holiday versus extending their trips. United Airlines said its passenger volumes on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving have increased 20% from 2023, while demand for Monday and Tuesday is flat. The air carrier is expecting a record 6.2m total passengers over a 13-day period. Travelers are paying more to travel domestically this year, with the average airfare priced at $273 as of the end of October, up 9% from last year, according to travel booking app Hopper. However, airfares for the holiday remain lower than in 2022 and pre-pandemic levels, the company said. International flight booking numbers are up 23% compared to last Thanksgiving, while average ticket costs are down 5%, the AAA said.<br/>
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he Government of Canada has announced a C$30m ($21.3m) investment to enhance safety and connectivity at the Thompson Regional Airport in Manitoba. The funding is allocated through the Airports Capital Assistance Programme (ACAP) to address the destabilisation of permafrost at the airport due to warming temperatures. The destabilisation has compromised the existing apron and taxiway, which lack the required strength to support essential aircraft. The funding will be used to build new apron and taxiway structures on stable bedrock by incorporating an advanced technique to strengthen the underlying permafrost. These enhancements are expected to improve safety for passengers, crews, and airport workers. Moreover, they will bolster year-round connectivity and supply chain resilience for the 37 northern communities that depend on the Thompson Regional Airport, which serves as a crucial link to 15 remote Indigenous communities.<br/>
Wartime Ukraine could reopen a first airport in its western Lviv region next year, as it tries to restore air travel that has been suspended nationwide since Russia's 2022 invasion, a senior partner at insurance broker Marsh McLennan said. Moscow has regularly conducted missile and drone strikes on Ukraine during more than 2-1/2 years of fighting. Ukraine's national flag carrier and several other companies have gone bankrupt due to the suspension of air travel. Kyiv has taken part in discussions with European aviation authorities and airlines on restoring some air travel for almost a year, Crispin Ellison of Marsh McLennan told Reuters. "If regulators agree it is safe to open it and a political decision is made, the insurance industry is ready to support the recovery efforts," Ellison said, referring to 2025. The State Aviation Service said in written comments it was considering the possibility of a phased and limited opening of airspace for civil aviation "provided the risks are assessed and reduced to an acceptable level, and additional security measures are implemented". It did not provide any timeframe. Ensuring the safety of the airspace is a primary task and "there has been a lot of work around this challenge", Ellison said. He did not provide additional details. Lviv region, which borders Poland, rarely comes under Russian strikes compared to other parts of Ukraine, although Russian troops have attacked its gas infrastructure and fired drones and missiles at it. The airport has two terminals and had the capacity to serve up to 3,000 passengers per hour before the war.<br/>
Air freight groups and airlines, which only recently cut flights to China amid weak tourist demand, are scrambling to reroute planes and cash in on elevated freight rates out of the country ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season. Strong growth in demand for cheap online goods from Chinese ecommerce groups and the rising use of air freight amid disruption in the Red Sea are threatening to overwhelm the already strained rapid delivery market before Christmas, causing air freight rates to jump. The freight rate for flying goods from Asia to the US has surged, with the average spot price in October up 49% from a year ago to $5.46 a kilogram, according to market analytics firm Xeneta. Rates from Asia to Europe rose 25% over the same period. The jump in air freight demand comes as China-founded ecommerce groups respond to western consumers’ appetite for cheap goods. Many of their shipments are sent direct to consumers by air, taking advantage of import duty exemptions on shipments below a certain price. US and EU lawmakers are looking to clamp down on the flow of imports from China using this duty “loophole”, with the White House proposing to exclude a range of goods from the exemption in September, while Brussels has discussed scrapping a €150 threshold under which items can be bought duty free.<br/>
Six airlines have agreed to add over 73,000 seats over the New Year period to ensure prices don't surge out of control during the end-of-year holiday season. Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said the ministry has asked Thai Airways International (THAI), as well as carriers under the Airlines Association of Thailand (AAT) -- namely Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air, and Thai Vietjet Air -- to boost the number of seats available between Bangkok and 14 key destinations, including Chiang Mai, Phuket and Udon Thani, during the New Year period. He said the airlines have agreed to boost seat capacity by increasing the number of flights and/or adjusting the type of aircraft used. The decision, Mr Suriya said, was made to ensure ticket prices don't spiral out of control like they did during last year's New Year holiday period. The minister said AAT carriers will add 247 additional flights between the target cities between Dec 26 and Jan 5, adding 48,244 seats during the period. The extra flights will be available for bookings from Monday Thai Airways, meanwhile, will operate larger aircraft on key routes between Bangkok and Phuket, Krabi, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, adding 25,144 seats from early next month to early January. "With the cooperation from the airlines, there will be 73,388 additional seats available for people who want to travel during New Year," he said.<br/>
Airports of Thailand (AoT) will push Thai airports to join the ranks of the world's best 20 within five years amid plans to use Singapore's Changi Airport as a model. Permanent Secretary for Transport Chayatan Phromsorn said the Transport Ministry has assigned AoT to improve Suvarnabhumi Airport, raising its quality and efficiency so that it can reach a global top ranking. Chayatan recently visited Changi Airport in Singapore to discuss potential collaboration with Yam Kum Weng, the Changi Airport Group's (CAG) CEO. Changi Airport, known for its efficiency and world-class amenities, is an inspiration for plans to overhaul Thailand's major airports, especially Suvarnabhumi. AoT president Kerati Kijmanawat said development plans aiming at positioning Thailand as a key aviation hub in the region are already in place. He said AoT is looking to increase the capacity of two airports in Bangkok, Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi, to 200m passengers per year and place them among the 20 best airports in the world within five years<br/>
Boeing has delivered layoff notices to more than 400 members of its professional aerospace labor union, part of thousands of cuts planned as the company struggles to recover from financial and regulatory trouble as well as an eight-week strike by its machinists’ union. The pink slips went out last week to members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or SPEEA, The Seattle Times reported. The workers will remain on the payroll through mid-January. Boeing announced in October that it planned to cut 10% of its workforce, about 17,000 jobs, in the coming months. CEO Kelly Ortberg told employees the company must “reset its workforce levels to align with our financial reality.” The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or SPEEA, union said the cuts had affected 438 members. The union’s local chapter has 17,000 Boeing employees who are largely based in Washington, with some in Oregon, California and Utah. Of those 438 workers, 218 are members of SPEEA’s professional unit, which includes engineers and scientists. The rest are members of the technical unit, which includes analysts, planners, technicians and skilled tradespeople.<br/>