Higher airfare is in store this year as strong demand, even during the dead of winter, and limited capacity growth prompt airlines to flex their pricing power. Fare-tracking platform Hopper this month said domestic “good deal” U.S. airfare in January is at $304, up 12% over last year, with more domestic flights going for more than they did last year through at least June. Late deliveries of new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, air traffic constraints and financial pressures have limited airlines’ ability to expand flights, which has pushed fares higher. Spirit Airlines, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, was the most dramatic case and has slashed its flights to cut costs. American Airlines on Thursday forecast a jump in revenue of as much as 5% in the first quarter over the same three months of 2024, while capacity will be flat or even down as much as 2%. “We do expect airfare to come up,” American Airlines CFO Devon May said in an interview. The airline forecast a wider-than-expected-loss for the first quarter, however, disappointing investors as it expects an increase in costs, such as higher wages from new labor contracts signed last year. Startup carrier Breeze Airways on Thursday reported its first quarterly operating profit, for the fourth quarter, and founder David Neeleman, who is also the founder of JetBlue Airways, said conservative industry growth is boding well for future results.<br/>
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Off-season travel comes with the risk of winter storms and flight disruptions, as travellers to and from Ireland and the UK are finding out. Airlines including Air Canada and Aer Lingus have posted travel alerts ahead of Storm Éowyn, forecast to bring extremely rare hurricane-force winds to Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland later tonight and through tomorrow. The storm will hit just as VisitBritain’s annual flagship event, Showcase Britain, gets underway, however event organizers may have timing on their side. The event is ready to kick off today at Hampton Court Palace. Attendees won’t depart for their post-tours across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales until after the British & Ireland Marketplace 2025 (BIM) at the InterContinental London – The O2, taking place tomorrow. Travel trade from across 17 international markets including Canada are taking part in Showcase Britain. The national forecasters for Ireland and the U.K. both issued the most serious weather warnings Thursday about the impact of Storm Éowyn, which is expected to hit the Irish coast in the early hours of Friday before heading northeast to Scotland. With the storm bringing gusts of wind around 161 kph, people have been urged by authorities to put on hold any travel plans.<br/>
Energy secretary Ed Miliband says he will not resign if the UK government approves a third runway at Heathrow, making the scheme more likely to proceed after two decades of wrangling. Miliband has long fought against expanding Britain’s biggest airport on climate and pollution grounds, threatening to resign from the cabinet 17 years ago and opposing the scheme when he was Labour leader. As energy secretary, Miliband has a significant responsibility to help Britain hit its net zero climate targets. But when he was asked on Thursday if he would resign if the Labour government backed the scheme, he replied: “No, don’t be ridiculous.” Miliband’s concession comes as chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to use a “growth speech” next week to signal her economic priorities, including her support for the expansion of three London airports: Heathrow, Luton and Gatwick. Gatwick and Luton are set to receive approval this spring for expansions from Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary. But Heathrow Airport Holdings has not yet put forward a “development consent order” application for a third runway because of a lack of political support. The company paused its planning for a third runway when the Covid pandemic struck in 2020, but has indicated it would make a decision on whether to go ahead this year.<br/>
Boeing warned on Thursday that it expected a fourth-quarter loss of about $4b to close a year marred by a production quality crisis, stricter regulatory scrutiny, supply chain delays and a crippling strike by U.S. West Coast factory workers. The loss would be nearly triple the size expected by Wall Street. Boeing, which will release its results next week, attributed it to charges at its defense and commercial units, lower jetliner deliveries and the strike's effects. The company forecast a quarterly loss of $5.46 per share, which equates to about $4b, sharply steeper than analysts' average expectation of a $1.84 per share loss, according to LSEG data. Boeing shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading as the company projected quarterly revenue of $15.2b, below expectations of $16.27b. After banking record-high profits in the 2010s, Boeing has bled billions of dollars since 2019 after two fatal crashes of its best-selling 737 MAX jet revealed production quality and safety concerns and that the U.S. planemaker had misled regulators during the plane's certification process. The COVID-19 pandemic further squeezed the company, and 2024 began with a mid-air panel blowout on a nearly new 737 MAX, sending Boeing into another crisis. Through the first nine months of 2024, Boeing racked up nearly $8b in losses, hammered by a strike by more than 33,000 workers that halted production of its 737 MAX, 777 and 767 planes and by an ailing defense and space division. Based on Thursday's quarterly results forecast, the company's annual loss for the year could rival 2020, when it lost nearly $12b, the most in its history.<br/>
Boeing's engineering union is formally investigating claims from its members that the company is moving work to non-union locations in the United States and overseas. The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) formally began investigating the allegations in December, when it requested relevant information from Boeing, the union's Director of Strategic Development Rich Plunkett said Wednesday. Union officials worry that the company is using a company-wide downsizing mandate to send work away from the Seattle area, where SPEEA represents 17,000 Boeing workers. In October, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company would cut roughly 10% of its workforce, or 17,000 jobs, "to align with our financial reality." The U.S. planemaker recorded nearly $8b in losses through the first nine months of 2024. The company is expected to report more losses when it releases its year-end results on Tuesday. In November and December, Boeing issued layoff notices to more than 4,000 U.S. workers, including 660 to SPEEA members, according to publicly-available state employment records and the union. Soon after the first round of notices went out, SPEEA officials started hearing from members that "at least some of the work that was being performed by those subject to layoffs is now being sent to other Boeing locations," Plunkett said. <br/>