Four of the world’s largest airlines - Delta, American, United and Emirates - said Monday they had no plans to start hedging their fuel bills despite recent rises in oil prices. Speaking on the same panel at the Airline Economics conference in Dublin, executives from the four carriers said in response to a query that they had no plans to alter their separate strategies of not hedging their fuel exposure. The global Brent benchmark briefly climbed above $70 per barrel earlier this month for the first time in three years. “We have not hedged since the merger and our philosophy has not changed. We are the largest purchaser of jet fuel and we think we would be bidding against ourselves. The market is quite thin beyond 12 months,” Amelia Anderson, managing director and assistant treasurer at American Airlines, said. “I don’t envision our fuel hedging practice to change in the short term,” she added. <br/>
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US authorities issued an emergency order Monday requiring additional screening of cargo on flights departing for the US from five Mideast countries, citing a threat of terrorism. The Transportation Security Administration order is aimed at preventing terrorist attacks in response to "persistent threats to aviation," TSA said. The countries falling under this order are Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. The countries were chosen because of "demonstrated intent by terrorists groups to attack aviation from them," the statement said. TSA said most of the requirements of the emergency order are already being carried out voluntarily by airlines in some countries, but didn't identify the countries. Airlines that TSA said are affected by the order are EgyptAir, operating out of Cairo International Airport; Royal Jordanian, operating out of Queen Alia International Airport; Saudia, operating out of King Abdul-Aziz International Airport and King Khalid International Airport; Qatar Airways, operating out of Doha International Airport; and Emirates and Etihad, operating out of Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport. EgyptAir, however, previously stopped accepting cargo shipments on flights to the U.S. at the request of American authorities. Under the requirements of the order, airlines are supposed to provide certain information to US customs officials on the shipments "at the earliest practical point" before loading the cargo. The shipment information is then compared to information the US has on terror threats.<br/>
The Japanese capital of Tokyo on Tuesday dug out from more than 20cm of snow that had snarled traffic, trapping cars on bridges and in tunnels, and serious transport delays remained around the metropolis. The snow that began on Monday morning tapered off early on Tuesday after dumping some 23cm on a city that rarely has snow accumulate, with freezing temperatures keeping snow-choked roads slick and pedestrians wary. It was the heaviest snow to hit Tokyo in four years. Most commuter lines were operating normally, but a number of train services were cancelled and highways remained closed, while airports struggled to clear a backlog of flights. Cancelled flights and a lack of transport left 6,000 people stuck at Narita airport overnight. Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and other airlines cancelled more than 300 domestic and international flights, particularly those departing from and bound for Haneda airport, near downtown Tokyo. According to JAL, one of its planes that landed at Narita airport, east of Tokyo, from Manila was stuck on a taxiway, as its front wheels could not move due to snow. The airport operator closed two runways to ensure safety and remove snow.<br/>
Heavy snow and strong winds pushed across the Midwest on Monday, prompting highway closings in Kansas and South Dakota, school cancellations in Minnesota and grounding of flights in Denver and Minneapolis. Weather service meteorologist Bill Borghoff in Minnesota says the storm started brewing Saturday night over Nebraska and spread to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He called it "a very classically developed winter storm," with widespread heavy snow on its northern end. Transportation officials lifted a no travel advisory for parts of southwest Minnesota, but advised motorists that blowing snow was still a problem. Winds were gusting up to 40 mph (64 kilometers), Borghoff said. "If you don't have to travel, don't travel," Borghoff said. Statewide the Minnesota State Patrol reported nearly 200 crashes and nearly 300 spinouts as well as 30 jackknifed semis by late Monday afternoon. About a dozen flights were cancelled or delayed at Denver International Airport on Monday, partly due to a storm hitting Minneapolis. Airlines are working to catch up a day after about 200 flights from Denver, about 15% of the day's schedule, were cancelled because of snow. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reported more than 400 cancellations by Monday afternoon, with average delays of about six hours, Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Pat Hogan said. "It's really a tough day at the airport," Hogan said.<br/>
Stakeholders at New York JFK International Airport were told to implement new interim emergency operational measures “immediately” to avoid a repeat of the calamities seen at JFK Airport during and after the Jan. 4 winter storm, according to directives issued Jan. 18 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “What happened at JFK, as we have emphasized over the past two weeks, was unacceptable and must not be allowed to happen again,” Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton said. “[These] interim directives and protocols … are critical initial steps to ensure improved operations in future storms.” With a focus on factors that stymied the airport during the storm, the interim measures look to address procedures involving inbound international carrier traffic, gate availability and wait times, passenger communication, ground equipment failures and baggage repatriation, the Port Authority said. Meanwhile, the independent investigation into the causes and background of the airport’s storm-related failures—which included backed-up incoming aircraft waiting for available gates, a water pipe break and subsequent flood in Terminal 4, a shutdown of Terminal 1 as ground equipment froze, and even an aircraft clipping incident outside T4—being conducted by former US Transportation secretary Ray LaHood formally began, Cotton said.<br/>
The Philippines raised the alert level at its Mayon volcano on Monday after a loud explosion in the wake of increased activity made a hazardous eruption likelier, prompting authorities to close all schools and urge residents to stay indoors. Mayon, the country’s most active volcano, has been spewing ash, lava, and pyroclastic material since Jan. 13, displacing close to 40,000 residents in the central province of Albay. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised its alert on Mayon to level 4, signifying a hazardous eruption is imminent, from level 3, which warns that such an eruption could be “weeks or even days” away. “We strongly advise all people, both residents and tourists, to avoid the danger zone, and airlines to avoid flying near the volcano summit,” agency chief Renato Solidum told a news conference. The danger zone around the 2,462-metre volcano has been expanded to a radius of 8km, he added.<br/>
Boeing’s newest and largest 787 Dreamliner got the federal approval it needs to fly commercially, winning authorization before the government shutdown Friday. The certification concludes a flight-test program that began last March for the first of the 787-10 carbon-fiber jets to be assembled solely at Boeing’s South Carolina factory, the planemaker said Monday. That clears one of two new Boeing airplanes that were on the verge of winning approval from the Federal Aviation Administration as the shutdown loomed. The second plane awaiting a green light is the 737 Max 9, a new single-aisle model, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union representing FAA certification workers. FAA certification usually sets the pace for other regulators. Singapore Airlines, the 787-10 launch customer, said it expects to get its first airplane in late March. The jetliner is the last of three planned Dreamliner models to enter the market, and is designed to haul 330 people as far as 6,430 nautical miles.<br/>
Plans for a potential new Boeing mid-sized jet are gaining momentum, prompting Airbus to respond by beefing up its strong-selling A321neo model, Air Lease Corp CE John Plueger said Monday. “I think they (Boeing) feel they have momentum from the customers and that they are building momentum internally for the business case,” Plueger said, referring to a project for a 220-260-seat jet known as New Mid-Sized Airplane (‘NMA’). “I think that they ... are feeling better about the NMA, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some time this year we saw a decision about a launch or not a launch,” he said. Boeing’s plans call for a mid-market plane with an estimated 220-260 seats - larger than the single-aisle workhorses of short-haul travel but smaller than traditional dual-aisle long-haul aircraft. But airlines and leasing companies have set Boeing stringent goals on the price at which they would be prepared to buy, insisting on only a narrow premium to single-aisle models. Plueger said Air Lease would be interested in the new Boeing jet at the right price.<br/>Aengus Kelly, CE of lessor AerCap, said failing to set a competitive price would make it a “tougher sell to get a big user base behind it.” The new plane should probably trade at some premium to the Airbus 321neo, but at a “very big discount” to small widebody jets like the Airbus 330neo and Boeing 787-8, he said.<br/>
The head of the world’s largest aircraft leasing company, AerCap, does not expect a significant number of mergers or acquisitions in the sector despite pressure on the owners of two of his largest rivals: GECAS and Avolon. CE Aengus Kelly said Monday that the draw of consistently stable returns would make owners of major aircraft leasing firms very reluctant to sell. “M&A is a continual theme. But do I think there will be much of it? No,” Kelly said. “Sellers that have been in this business a long time are very reluctant to take out an asset that has generated such stable returns historically.” He said he did not expect to see an attractive acquisition opportunity in the sector unless there was significant stress specific to one of the owners. Asked specifically about rivals GECAS and Avolon, Kelly said it was “impossible to say” what might happen, with both businesses showing consistent profitability.<br/>
ATR, the world’s largest turboprop maker, reported on Monday that its number of orders had more than tripled from a year ago, buoyed by a general pick-up in the aviation sector. ATR, which is jointly owned by Airbus and Italian aerospace group Leonardo, said it had firm sales of 113 aircraft in 2017, compared to 36 in 2016. The company, whose main rival is Canadian group Bombardier , added that its annual turnover had stabilised to stand at $1.8 billion, which ATR said was among its best results since the company was founded in 1981. <br/>