general

Airlines are flexing their pricing power as limited capacity and strong consumer demand have eased pressure to discount fares to fill their planes.<br/>The rising fares have bolstered the outlook for carriers on both sides of the Atlantic. Major U.S. airlines including Delta, Alaska and United have forecast bumper profits this year. Earnings at most European airlines are expected to improve as well. Airfares in the United States rose at their fastest pace in 21 months in December from a year ago, data from the Department of Labor shows. In Europe, airline ticket prices were up 6% year-on-year in 2024, according to data from travel research group ForwardKeys. Global airlines body IATA has forecast about a 15% year-on-year jump in net profit per passenger for North American airlines in 2025. European carriers are estimated to reap a 12% annual increase in net profit per passenger. Rising fares are a reflection of enforced capacity discipline as a shortage of planes due to production and engine delays has put a cap on the industry's growth plans. Aircraft deliveries from Boeing and Airbus have been slow due to supply-chain challenges. And ongoing inspections of RTX's Pratt & Whitney GTF (geared turbofan) engines have forced airlines to ground a number of jets.<br/>

Airlines have burnt through 13% more jet fuel to avoid Russia and Ukraine's air space during the war in Europe, dealing a blow to air travel's efforts to cut its environmental footprint. Carbon emissions from flights from Asia to Europe were up by more than a sixth due to tit-for-tat airspace closures linked to the war, a study revealed on Wednesday. The impact dwarfed that of Middle East airspace closures linked to armed conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen. Russia's vast territory, spanning 11 time zones, is off limits to most US and European carriers under a ban imposed by the Kremlin in retaliation at western sanctions. Russian airspace is still used by domestic flights as well as some Middle East and Asian airlines. Russian aircraft are similarly banned from flying over UK and EU territory. Commercial flights over Ukraine have also been suspended since the February 2022 Russian invasion, forcing many flights to reroute. Insurers in London have held talks about getting air traffic back off the ground, but European regulators continue to advise against using Ukraine's airspace because of the risk of attacks and of civilian aircraft being mistaken for warplanes. Flight paths are designed to optimise fuel use but the detours due to political tensions put a “major obstacle” in the way of more efficient and environmentally friendly air travel, University of Reading meteorologists said. They said the extra journey time caused by the war in Ukraine amounted to about 1% of all flying emissions in 2023, as airlines took longer journeys south of Russia or over the Arctic.<br/>

Storms dumped heavy snow and freezing rain on a swath of the U.S. East from Kentucky to the nation’s capital, causing hundreds of traffic accidents, knocking out power in places and threatening to flood waterways as temperatures began rising Wednesday. California, meanwhile, was bracing for an atmospheric river that could flood areas ravaged by the recent wildfires. The storm system, which cut a path from Kentucky to Maryland and points farther north on Tuesday, brought more than 14 inches (37 centimeters) of snow to Iron Gate, a tiny Appalachian town in western Virginia, and 12 inches to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, a small city about 65 miles (105 kilometers) to the west, the National Weather Service said. The region’s airports received several inches of snow, according to Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center. Nearly 7,000 flights were canceled or delayed across the United States, including almost 300 into Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware.com.<br/>

Two U.S. senators called on Wednesday for increased funding and staffing for FAA air traffic control after a fatal midair collision in the nation's capital last month highlighted the persistent lack of aviation safety personnel. Senators Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, and Republican John Hoeven in a letter first reported by Reuters urged the FAA to work with Congress and the controllers to increase funding for operations, modernize facilities and equipment and expand the FAA training academy's capacity. The January 29 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter killed 67 people near Washington Reagan National Airport in the deadliest U.S. air disaster in more than 20 years. "For the sake of America's traveling public, we can and must do better," the senators wrote. "At a minimum, we must commit to doing all we can to reinforce our (controller) workforce and keep tragedies like this from becoming commonplace." The senators noted the FAA is currently more than 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels and nearly all control towers have staffing shortages. FAA controller staffing has been relatively flat in recent years and is down 10% from 2012. The senators said Reagan National's tower has 25 fully-certified controllers, below the targeted 30. "As in many places across the country, (Reagan's) controllers often work six-day weeks and ten-hour days," the senators wrote. "The fatigue and stress that they regularly experience as a result of this substantial workload will only grow worse unless we take significant and long overdue measures."<br/>

For the FAA, Jan. 29 was the beginning of one of the most challenging stretches it has faced in decades. That night, in Washington, an American Airlines regional jet collided with an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, resulting in 67 deaths. In a news conference the next day, President Trump pointed his finger at the F.A.A., even though the crash investigation was just beginning. On Jan. 31, a medical jet crashed in a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff, killing all six on board and one person on the ground. While it remains unclear whether the F.A.A.’s lack of oversight contributed to the episode, the timing has raised concerns. Adding to the agency’s woes, on Feb. 1, an aviation alert system had an outage, its first in two years. The 10-day period of crises was capped by another deadly crash, on Feb. 6, involving Bering Air Flight 445 near Nome, Alaska, resulting in the deaths of 10 people. As the incidents unfolded, confusion in the F.A.A. grew regarding the future of its air traffic controllers, particularly about whether they were exempt from federal job cuts. Less than a month into Trump’s new administration, the convergence of crashes, equipment malfunctions and fatalities is raising profound concern about the safety of U.S. airspace. Though the crashes may ultimately be attributed at least in part to pilot error, treacherous conditions or both, their quick succession and the recent system outage nonetheless point to a troubling question: Is the F.A.A. still able to keep air travel safe? Story has details.<br/>

Mexican airport operator GAP Tuesday announced a 52b peso ($2.53b) investment spread across five years, part of what it described as a development plan that aims to support economic growth and the country's key tourism sector. GAP operates a dozen airports in Mexico, including hubs in the major beach resorts of Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos, among the country's top draws for international visitors. In a statement, GAP noted that the plan also includes the construction of a new airport terminal in Guadalajara, one of Mexico's largest cities, as well as an additional roadway to improve connectivity to the airport. The plan calls for the completion of a new terminal at the Puerto Vallarta airport, which GAP said will double the facility's capacity. Expansions of existing terminals at the company's hubs in Tijuana, just south of the U.S. border, as well as in Los Cabos, are also envisioned as part of the investment plan, which overall should boost capacity at GAP's airports in Mexico by 50%, according to the statement.<br/>

All commercial flights to and from Belgium on Thursday have been canceled as air traffic controllers plan to join a nationwide strike against the new government. The controllers' walkout will begin at 6:45 a.m. and lasts until 10:15 p.m., public broadcaster RTBF reported, halting all air traffic below 7,500 meters at Brussels, Charleroi, Liège, Antwerp and Ostend airports. The cancelation of all departing flights from Brussels and Charleroi was announced on Monday due to a planned walkout by baggage handling and security staff. The ACV Transcom union later announced that air traffic controllers would also protest in solidarity with other workers most affected by the Belgian government's new plan to cut costs in public services, including a pension reform. Rescue and medical flights will continue operating during the strike.<br/>

The cost of flights from France will rise next month when the government more than doubles its “solidarity tax” on tickets. The French government has said the increases are fair on ecological and fiscal grounds but critics say it will hit France’s ability to compete globally. Airlines are expected to pass the cost of the tax hike on to passengers but Air France has estimated it will cost the company about E100m at a time when the airline is recovering from Covid losses. Ryanair has threatened to reduce flights to and from the country’s airports. The cost of flights from France will rise next month when the government more than doubles its “solidarity tax” on tickets. The French government has said the increases are fair on ecological and fiscal grounds but critics say it will hit France’s ability to compete globally. Airlines are expected to pass the cost of the tax hike on to passengers but Air France has estimated it will cost the company about €100m (£83m) at a time when the airline is recovering from Covid losses. Ryanair has threatened to reduce flights to and from the country’s airports. Income from the new rates of “airline ticket solidarity tax”, also called the Chirac tax after the former president who introduced it in 2006 to fund international aid programmes, is expected to more than double to almost E1b a year.<br/>

The UK government must bring in sweeping reforms to the country’s air travel regulations if it wants Heathrow’s controversial third runway to become a reality, the airport’s CE has said. Weeks after chancellor Rachel Reeves and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer threw their weight behind the project, CE Thomas Woldbye said the “risks” facing the runway were largely things that could be addressed by ministers.  “This is a huge project, and there are lots of uncertainties and there are lots of risks,” he told the Financial Times. The government needs to commit to reforming Britain’s airspace to fit in more planes, and to make changes to the regulatory model that sets Heathrow’s landing charges, before the project could go ahead, he said.  “Many of the aspects of this, we call them building blocks . . . need to be delivered by government,” he said, adding he is “confident the government can” make the changes needed.  “I think it is now a shared project,” he added. “We heard the minister say [they are] putting all their weight behind it, we will put all our weight behind it. And I think with those two we can deliver it.”  Heathrow executives have also privately suggested they will want clarity on how the government’s planning reforms could smooth the way, including minimising potential delays caused by judicial reviews. Woldbye said the airport will deliver a “proposal” for a third runway to the government by the summer, including an estimate of how much the project would cost — which he admitted would be “significantly” more than the GBP14b estimated in 2014, largely because of inflation.<br/>

Heathrow Airport has confirmed a multi-billion pound investment plan to expand two of its terminals ahead of submitting proposals for a third runway to the government this summer. Heathrow Airport CE Thomas Woldbye said he wants planes to take off from its new third runway before the end of the next parliament, which could be ten years or fewer. The plans, which will be paid for with private cash, come after Chancellor Rachel Reeves backed a third runway at the UK's largest airport last month as part of efforts to grow the UK economy. Reeves' decision to back Heathrow's expansion has angered campaigners and members of her party who oppose it on environmental grounds. During his speech at British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, Mr Woldbye signed a pact to use UK steel to build new infrastructure. He also revealed funding to increase capacity at terminals two and five, and plans to reconfigure the airfield and improve bus connections. The commitment to use UK-made steel comes amid concern in the industry over the impact of tariffs being placed on imports of the metal to the US by President Donald Trump. The US import taxes could lead to excess steel being offloaded to the UK at cheaper prices, with the potential to undercut domestic businesses. While the detailed plans for a third runway at the UK's largest airport, are yet to be finalised, the construction of terminal five, which opened in 2008, required some 80,000 tonnes of steel.<br/>

Thailand - and Bangkok especially - is in tough competition for international air passenger traffic in Southeast Asia, with highly established airports and others where there is a large amount of investment and infrastructure investment ongoing to ensure that they are also in the race for regional dominance. Airports of Thailand (AoT) has already set out its stall with heavy investments at the two Bangkok airports that it controls, as well as new or 'almost new' refurbished airports across the provinces, and especially in tourist areas. But that international competition demands innovation, and the way the Transport Ministry has chosen to do that is by laying out a pathway towards coordinated development of air, surface and marine transport, the latter including both commercial shipping and leisure cruises. Although it is a national scheme to cement the notion of Thailand as a logistics hub, the reality (as CAPA - Centre for Aviation sees it) is that the main thrust, at least to begin with, will be in building up a smaller focused hub between Bangkok and Utapao-Rayong-Pattaya. One that will embrace the two AoT Bangkok airports, a major container and growing cruise port at Laem Chabang, the long established tourist resort at Pattaya and the small and (slowly post-pandemic recovering) airport at Utapao, which with a 3,500m x 60m runway is suitable for long haul charter operations.<br/>

Brazilian planemaker Embraer plans to invest 20b reais ($3.47b) in the country by 2030, CE Francisco Gomes Neto said on Wednesday. "This amount will be used toward an increase in aircraft production and the development of new products," he said at an event in capital Brasilia alongside Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Those new products include Embraer's so-called "flying taxi" electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, under development by subsidiary Eve, Gomes Neto said. The CEO said he felt "quite optimistic about the future" for Embraer's operations in several segments, including commercial and executive aviation as well as defense and security. In a press release issued later in the day, Embraer said that the investment forecast is similar to the firm's spending in recent years and is in line with its growth plan for the next five years.<br/>

The world’s largest commercial turboprop maker, Franco-Italian ATR, delivered 35 aircraft last year, just shy of the 36 handed to customers in 2023, and said on Wednesday it would pause efforts to ramp up production as it addresses problems in its supply chain. ATR, which is jointly owned by Airbus and Leonardo, is the latest aircraft manufacturer to highlight supply problems as the aerospace industry struggles to regain industrial momentum after the pandemic. It had targeted about 40 deliveries in 2024. It did not give a numerical target for 2025, saying it would focus on stabilising production at current levels, which are well below the peak of around 80 aircraft a year before the pandemic. "When I look at 2025, I would say that the context is still very difficult so (the) supply chain situation as we see it will remain tense in some areas, but we see some areas of improvement," CEO Nathalie Tarnaud Laude told a press conference. "This year we will stabilize production at the level where we were and start to prepare for the rampup in the second part of the year. Our ambition is to ramp up to a high level of production." ATR is the dominant producer of regional turboprop planes, with a family of aircraft seating 42 to 78 people. The company also pushed back the target date for a proposed hybrid-propulsion version of its family of aircraft to 2035 from 2030, citing the lack of available engine technology, FlightGlobal reported.<br/>

A global early-warning system for disease outbreaks and even future pandemics is possible with minimal monitoring: testing the waste water from a fraction of international flight arrivals at just 20 airports around the world. When passengers fly while infected with bacteria or viruses, they can leave traces of these pathogens in their waste, which airports collect from a plane after the flight lands. “If you’re going to the bathroom on an aircraft, and if you blow your nose and put that in the toilet – or if you do whatever you have to do – there’s some chance that some of the genetic material from the pathogen is going into the waste water,” says Guillaume St-Onge at Northeastern University in Massachusetts. St-Onge and his colleagues used a simulator called the Global Epidemic and Mobility model to analyse how airport waste-water surveillance networks could detect emerging variants of a virus like the one that causes covid-19. By testing the model using different numbers and locations of airports, they showed that 20 strategically placed “sentinel airports” worldwide could detect outbreaks nearly as quickly and efficiently as a network involving thousands of airports. The larger network was just 20% faster but cost much more.<br/>