The IATA is launching a worldwide action group focusing on improving and examining the safe and secure transport of mobility aids essential to accompanying travelers with disabilities. Having previously participated in similar working groups with the Canadian<br/>Transportation Agency and the US Department of Transportation on the safe loading and security of mobility aids in the cargo, IATA is working on improving travel accessibility for the aging population and travelers with disabilities, said Linda Ristagno, IATA’s manager of external affairs. Providing access to everyone is a goal for trade group defining itself as being the business of freedom and stresses the importance of providing freedom and equal rights to everyone. Ristagno said it’s also estimated to be a return on investment for airlines and aviation based on the spending power of passengers with disabilities. American adults with disabilities spent $11b solely on air travel, a 2020 market study by Open Doors said. “Every year, thousands of wheelchairs are transported safely by air. However, damage or loss is still occurring. And when it does, it is devastating to the passenger as these devices are more than equipment—they are extensions of their body and essential to their independence,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s DG. <br/>
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The aviation recovery is gaining momentum. A summer travel bonanza is exceeding expectations, helping airlines earn profits again and brightening the outlook for the rest of the year. It’s a welcome relief for a battered industry and a sign that the rebound that began this spring appears to be here to stay. The economic upturn, aggressive cost-cutting and an enormous federal stimulus that paid many salaries have helped to improve the finances of the largest carriers, which took on vast amounts of debt and lost billions of dollars during the pandemic. This month, consumer spending on airlines briefly exceeded 2019 levels on a weekly basis for the first time since the pandemic began, according to Facteus, a research firm that monitors millions of online payments. Ticket prices have rebounded, too: In June, fares were down only 1% from the same month in 2019, according to the Adobe Digital Economy Index, which is similarly based on website visits and transactions. And on Sunday, the TSA screened more than 2.2m travelers at its airport checkpoints, the most in one day since the start of the pandemic. “As people have gotten vaccinated and things have reopened, the demand is just very, very strong — and I think, in general, it’s stronger than people thought it would be,” said Helane Becker, an airline analyst at the investment bank Cowen. “People have money and time, and they’re using it to travel.” A full recovery rests on the return of two pillars of the business, corporate and international travel, but executives said they expected both to improve meaningfully over the coming months. And while the Delta variant of the coronavirus could still threaten the travel rebound, customers are so far undeterred.<br/>
Commercial flying is a real carbon bomb as emissions from commercial aviation are growing rapidly and are on track to triple by 2050, when they could make up about a quarter of the global carbon budget. But now a new study shows how people could reduce their emissions while still flying on airplanes, if they were able to choose the most carbon-friendly routes. The research paper looked at potential ways to reduce the burden of flying. Researchers at the International Council on Clean Transportation analyzed the carbon footprints of the 20 most popular US domestic plane routes in 2019. It finds that on average, the least-emitting itinerary on a route can emit 63% less carbon dioxide than the most-emitting option, and 22% less than the route average. “The wide emissions gaps point to potentially significant climate benefits in encouraging consumers to choose the lowest-emitting flights,” the authors write. The problem is that it’s not always easy to identify which routes create the fewest emissions. In general, flying direct and on newer aircraft can help a consumer choose less-emitting flights, but not always, the researchers say. Other variables, including load factor and seating configuration, also affect the carbon intensity of a trip. Single-aisle, mainline aircraft or turboprops generally have lower emissions than regional jets, although relative airline fuel efficiency performance varies across routes.<br/>
During the Covid pandemic, perhaps no other industry has been harder hit than the global travel and tourism sector, with planes grounded, resorts closed and care-free vacations a distant memory for most of us. Some countries in Europe — Greece, Spain and Portugal, for example — rely on tourism to boost economic growth with the prosperity of thousands of businesses, livelihoods and communities tied to the success or failure of the season. As Covid vaccines rolled out across Europe, hopes were high for a rebound in summer tourism. Instead, the season is looking highly uncertain as the delta variant surges in Europe, prompting a plethora of varying rules and restrictions, traffic-light systems designating country risk as well as possible quarantines and vaccine entry requirements. Travel within Europe these days is certainly not for the faint hearted, in more ways than one. The Covid infection rate has surged across the region as the highly infectious delta variant has swept the globe. As with the previous alpha variant, which delta has now usurped, the UK was something of a harbinger of doom when it came to what the rest of Europe could expect. Britain saw a further Covid wave at the start of the year caused by the alpha variant and is now seeing another wave with delta. Despite efforts on the continent to hold back the variant, the inevitable spread has taken place, with the strain now accounting for the majority of new infections from country to country.<br/>
London Gatwick airport panned Britain’s plan to shield airlines from surrendering unused takeoff and landing slots over the coming winter season, warning the proposed rules will delay a travel industry recovery. A controversial element in the draft legislation would allow carriers to temporarily return any operating slots they don’t need this winter, and pick them up again the following year. They would be required to use only 50% of those that remain. The plan will enable incumbent carriers “to retain substantial slot portfolios at airports, blocking them from competitors, without having to operate any of them,” Jonathan Pollard, chief commercial officer at Gatwick, said in a letter to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. Normally, airlines are required to use 80% of their airport capacity or have the slots taken away. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, regulators have granted seasonal waivers to protect an industry in crisis. This has helped established airlines survive but also held back new entrants or those who would add flights, and acted as a brake on airport revenue. With international travel starting to return, there is pressure from airports and airlines like Ryanair Holdings Plc and Wizz Air Holdings Plc to revert back to the usual rules, or at least minimize the exemptions. They argue that this would free up slots for stronger players. Incumbents like EasyJet Plc and British Airways welcome the flexibility provided by the government’s plan. “The government has not taken the opportunity to implement a sensible return to slot usage rules for the winter season,” Gatwick’s Pollard said. “The new regulations do not strike the right balance between dispensation for airlines when markets are restricted, while also supporting effective competition and choice when airlines decide not to operate services.”<br/>
Russia's airlines struck deals for more than 80 regional jets at its flagship airshow this week, according to state-backed aerospace and leasing companies, as carriers bet on a partial market recovery driven by domestic flights. Russia, like other countries, has heavily restricted international air traffic due to the coronavirus since last year, but domestic flight routes are already recovering. State-owned companies backed by state leasing companies dominated the ranks of buyers and sellers at the MAKS-2021 biennial airshow that opened on Tuesday near Moscow. Five airlines, three of them state-owned, signed agreements to order 58 Sukhoi Superjet 100s and 22 new Ilyushin Il-114 regional jets, according to state-backed aerospace group United Aircraft Corporation and state-owned leasing company GTLK. The domestically-made Superjet is a regional aircraft that entered service in 2011. State-run Red Wings signed an agreement for the delivery of 25 Superjet planes; private airline Azimuth and Aurora, which the government wants to turn into a far east regional carrier, signed agreements for the delivery of 10 and eight of the planes, respectively, UAC said. Aeroflot's Rossiya subsidiary ordered 15 Superjets. The deals point to the rising role of the aircraft on regional Russian routes. The aircraft is only used by Russian airlines and has struggled to find foreign buyers.<br/>
Irish aircraft leasing company AerCap is set to secure unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $30b bid for General Electric's aircraft leasing business, three people familiar with the matter said. The deal between the world's two largest aircraft leasing companies would create a new financing giant and the largest buyer of airliners built by Airbus and Boeing. The deal will reshape a global air finance industry that has in recent years attracted a flood of capital from investors seeking higher returns. Analysts said it could also set off more consolidation in the sector, hit by the coronavirus crisis alongside other industries. The EC, which has set a July 26 deadline for its preliminary review of the deal, and AerCap declined to comment. The US Department of Justice wrapped up its review of the deal last month. The deal to buy GECAS, or GE Capital Aviation Services, includes about $24b in cash and $1b paid in AerCap notes or cash. It includes 111m new shares and will give GE a stake of 46% in the AerCap-controlled company.<br/>
A US agency said Thursday it is permitting three airports to enter into security agreements with Amazon.com Inc's Amazon Air unit that will allow the company to assume some security functions and facilitate Amazon's rapid planned hiring at the airports. In a notice, the TSA said Cincinnati/Northern, Baltimore/Washington, and Chicago Rockford can enter into agreements allowing Amazon Air to assume some security functions. The agreements are typically used when an entire airport terminal is serviced exclusively by one aircraft operator. The exemption will allow Amazon to assume physical control of some airport access and "initiate the employee vetting functions that the airport authorities would otherwise be required to conduct" as well as handle ID issues. "Amazon Air possesses the latest, sophisticated access control and monitoring systems that enhance security by significantly restricting access to cargo and aircraft," TSA said. TSA said the exemptions will "facilitate the rapid hiring of significant numbers of new personnel to support Amazon Air’s expanded presence at these locations, aiding the economy in the surrounding areas." A TSA spokesman said the agreements hold Amazon Air "to the same TSA-regulated security standards that airport and aircraft operators adhere to in their operations."<br/>