High fuel prices are becoming a big problem for airlines. Delta cut its full year earnings outlook Thursday, a day after American Airlines warned that its costs and sales would be lower than expected last quarter. The culprit: Delta's fuel cost $654m more in Q2 than a year ago, and American said the increase in its fuel costs would be about $50m more than it had expected. Higher oil prices lifted the average price of Delta's jet fuel by 39% during the spring. Prices are expected to continue to climb another 6% this quarter. To avoid a massive dent in earnings, airlines are all doing what they can to hold the line on spending on non-fuel items, including capital spending. Lower profits would also mean smaller profit sharing bonuses for employees. Strong demand for air travel is lifting fares, which has helped offset some fuel costs. Higher fuel prices can make fares more expensive because some airlines operate fewer flights when it costs more to fly them. <br/>
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British PM Theresa May published her blueprint for relations with the EU after Brexit on Thursday, including proposals for the UK to participate in the European Aviation Safety Agency and maintain flying rights. In the whte paper the UK proposes “participation by the UK in those EU agencies that provide authorizations for goods in highly regulated sectors” such as “the European Aviation Safety Agency”. EASA is responsible for issuing safety approvals for all planes and aircraft components. The UK said that under its proposals, it would remain an active participant without voting rights and would make a financial contribution to EASA. It proposes “becoming a third country member via the established route under Article 66 of the EASA basic regulation, as Switzerland has”. The UK’s proposals include “an Air Transport Agreement which seeks to maintain reciprocal liberalized aviation access between and within the territory of the UK and the EU, alongside UK participation in EASA”. “This would permit UK and EU carriers to operate air services to, from and within the territory of both the UK and the EU on an equal basis. This could be supported through an approach to ownership and control that avoids introducing additional barriers to businesses,” the paper said.<br/>
A US push for new global standards to kickstart its fledgling supersonic jet industry is facing resistance by European nations that want tough rules on noise, according to documents and people familiar with the situation. Fifteen years after Concorde’s last flight, US regulators are weighing rule changes to allow testing of early-stage supersonic jets, amid plans for American-made business and small passenger jets due in service by the mid-2020s. But the new industry could face delays at the UN aviation agency where the US and European countries are squaring off over new noise rules needed for the jets to fly, five sources said. The previously unreported dispute follows a 1990s clash on noise standards, when the EU wanted to ban noisy older US-made jets like the Boeing 727 from its airports and Washington threatened to retaliate by banning the Anglo-French Concorde.<br/>
Carriers like United, Delta and Southwest are giving gate agents and flight attendants access to more customer data in hopes of giving passengers more personalized service. Still, there’s only so much a birthday greeting can do to make up for a lost bag or late arrival, particularly when airlines want to steer clear of conversations that feel too personal. While in-cabin recognition might be the most visible way airlines are working to do more with the troves of data they collect, behind-the-scenes efforts to mine stats on everything from collisions between airport vehicles to turbulence touch almost every piece of a passenger’s trip. Most of the data they’re working with is the sort of information airlines have long collected. And there’s no shortage: a Boeing 787 generates half a terabyte of information per flight, said JJ DeGiovanni, a managing director with United’s corporate safety team. The challenge is figuring out how to use it in ways that are meaningful for the airline and its passengers.<br/>
Incheon International Airport has hired a new breed of helpers for travelers: robots. Fourteen artificial intelligence-powered robots will start roaming the bustling airport from July 21, guiding people who are lost and offering information on flight schedules, check-in procedures and other useful advice. Eight will work at Terminal 1 and six at Terminal 2. The robots, named Air Star, have advanced technologies, including self-driving, voice recognition and artificial intelligence. They interact with people through a touch screen, embedded microphone and barcode scanner. They can speak and offer information in four languages ― Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese ― and can visualize 14 emotions on their head screen. "We will continue to introduce high-end technologies to make the airport smarter," airport CEO Chung Il-young said. <br/>