The explosions that rocked a publicly accessible part of Brussels’ main airport Tuesday reignited an aviation-industry debate over whether airports can be better secured, and at what cost to travel. The airport attack ranks as one of the deadliest assaults on a major air hub, and one of the worst aviation-industry related terror incidents since the Sept 11, 2001. That is all expected to ratchet up scrutiny of security measures that were in place at the Brussels airport before the attack, as well as measures taken at airports around the world. Most developed-world airport checks have focused on keeping weapons and bombs off planes, subjecting passengers and their luggage to heavy screening before being allowed to proceed to gates. That leaves public spaces at the airport before those checks largely accessible by anyone. <br/>
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Terrorist attacks at the Brussels airport and subway are likely to cut into ticket sales for US airlines that had been poised to benefit from strong demand going into the busy summer season. Each of the three biggest US carriers generate at least 12% of total revenue from trans-Atlantic travel, led by United Continental, said an analyst at Raymond James Financial. The Brussels blasts, which killed at least 31 and injured more than 230, will renew fears of travel to Europe after a series of assaults in Paris 4 months earlier, said one aviation security expert. The proximity of the latest attacks to the summer may cause particular anxiety for leisure passengers and hurt airline revenue during Q2 and Q3, said a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. <br/>
A4A president and CE Nicholas Calio slammed proposals circulating in the US Congress that he said “look a lot like pre-1978” regulation of the US airline industry. Calio reiterated his strong criticism of the Senate’s proposed FAA reauthorisation bill and other airline customer-service proposals in Congress, such as one to regulate seat size on commercial aircraft. He called the proposed consumer-protection measures a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” that “will make flying more expensive and reduce service, especially to small- and medium-sized markets.” Calio added, “Members of Congress, with all due respect, if you to want to run an airline, buy some aircraft—and good luck getting slots at [Washington] National Airport.” <br/>
Boeing is not seeing its Asia-Pacific customers focus more on sheer aircraft range, despite recent moves to establish long-haul routes. Dinesh Keskar, senior VP of sales in Asia Pacific and India, says absolute range has not moved up aircraft buyers’ priority list. “Airlines realise that you don't optimise the aircraft for one range, and make the aircraft sub-optimal for 95% of routes,” says Keskar. “They don't push you on range, but they want to know what you can do. For a 777-9, we say it will do every route they're doing with the 777-300ER, and they're fine. But, they will ask what additional city pairs can be opened if the range goes up by 100 to 500 miles.” In the last 6 months, long-range services have enjoyed a renaissance among carriers serving the Asia-Pacific. <br/>
Major Japanese airports were crammed with thousands of passengers unable to take domestic flights Tuesday due to problems with airline computer systems. The delays began in the morning, with ANA posting a notice on its website apologising for delays and cancellations due to a "system malfunction." The airline said Internet check-in, seat selection, new reservations, changes to reservations and payments were not available for domestic flights. It said it was trying to identify and fix the problem as soon as possible. The problem appeared to be worst at Tokyo Haneda. There, dozens of flights were listed on the airport's flight update site as either delayed or cancelled. Four smaller airlines that use the same system — Starflyer, Airdo, Solaseed Air and Ibex Airlines — also were affected. <br/>
China’s airlines are reaping the benefits of a policy not to hedge in the oil market, unlike some of their rivals across Asia Pacific. The ’Big Three’ Chinese airlines will probably report next week at least a 70% surge in net income for 2015 amid a plunge in oil prices, which helps to trim their biggest expenditure. Hainan Airlines, the biggest non-govt carrier, is due to report Thursday. The Chinese carriers’ strategy is in contrast to Cathay Pacific and SIA, which both reported hundreds of millions of dollars from hedging losses last year. Crude oil’s plunge to a 12-year low in January has fuelled a rally among airline shares amid a surge in traffic in a country set to become the world’s biggest travel market. Passenger traffic rose 11% last year to 440m trips. <br/>
Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection Tuesday joined other public sector workers in a growing strike that will hit air travel at the nation's biggest airports ahead of the holiday weekend. The strike could severely inconvenience international and domestic travellers as the nation heads into a four-day weekend for the Easter holiday, one of the busiest times of year for air travel. "Our goal is to put pressure on the agency and on the govt to actually talk with us. That's entirely the reason why this is being held, and the timing is because that's the timing that will apply the most pressure," a CPSU spokesman said. Strikes at major airports, which are aimed at ending a 2-year contract dispute between public sector workers and the federal govt, will continue after the holiday weekend. <br/>