Passenger Transportation Services

Winter storms - a mix of ice and snow - swept through the U.S. Northeast early on Saturday. This caused disruption to airline traffic after the holiday weekend and led officials in New York and New Jersey declare weather emergencies. The National Weather Service issued ice storm and Winter Storm Warnings in New York State and Connecticut. They forecasted some of the highest snowfall totals, up to one foot locally. According to a Friday emergency declaration by Governor Kathy Hochul warning of dangerous?road conditions, New York City may see its largest accumulations since 2022 with peak snowfall rates?of 2 or...

Flight tracking website FlightAware reports that airlines in the United States have canceled or delayed a large number of flights on Friday during peak holiday travel due to severe weather warnings. The website reported that 1,139 flights were cancelled and 3,808 flights were delayed by 12:30 pm ET. National Weather Service issued a warning this afternoon about winter storms that "will create hazardous travel conditions from the Great Lakes into the northern Mid-Atlantic region and southern New England today through Saturday morning." Airports that are in areas of high impact, such as John F. Kennedy Airport or LaGuardia Airport, have...

Flight tracking website FlightAware reports that airlines in the United States cancelled or delayed thousands of flights on Friday during peak holiday travel due to severe winter storm alerts. As of 12:01 p.m. ET, 1,097 flights had been?cancelled and 3,608 were delayed. ET, according to the website. The National 'Weather Service' issued a warning of winter storms today afternoon, which "will cause dangerous travel conditions for the Great Lakes into northern Mid-Atlantic & southern New England from today until Saturday morning." Airports such as 'John F. Kennedy Airport' and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport have also posted on X to...

A Senate report released late Monday stated that the next generation of 'high-speed'?Acela trains from U.S. passenger rail Amtrak were delayed for more than four year due to issues with planning, design, and track, as well as a desire to increase speeds, which has not been realized. Ted Cruz, Republican chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, stated that Amtrak lost $287m in revenue and unplanned maintenance due to the extended use of its older Acela fleet. According to the report, the Biden administration purchased Amtrak cars in order for them to run on tracks that were not yet constructed. This...

Executives from both companies said that the proposed merger?of Mexican low-cost carriers Volaris Aerobus and Viva Aerobus aims at putting the new 'airline group' in a stronger position to negotiate its most expensive costs, including acquiring & renting aircraft. Exclusively reported on Thursday, Volaris confirmed that the two airlines were close to an agreement. "Reducing aircraft ownership costs is a significant opportunity, as they are the biggest expense - even more than fuel," Viva's CEO Juan Carlos Zuazua told analysts in a conference call. He added that "major global carriers, such as Viva and Volaris, operate with up to 60%...

Sources familiar with the matter confirmed on Thursday that Volaris and Viva Aerobus were close to a'merger.' This would create a low cost champion for Mexico by combining two of the largest?airlines? in the country. The merger will be structured in a way that is fair to both parties. The sources said that both airlines would retain their brands and own 50% of the new holding company. Volaris closed Thursday at 14,89 pesos. This gives it a market cap of approximately 17,4?billion?pesos (roughly $967 million). Indigo Partners is the company's biggest shareholder. It also owns U.S. carrier?Frontier, and Chilean airline...

After another year of mixed results under Carsten Spohr, the German airline group has vowed that its ambitious turnaround plan will become a reality in 2026. The group's share price has fallen by around a third since Spohr became CEO in 2014. The stock rose in 2017 but was then hit by the Covid-19 Pandemic. It has since struggled to recover, becoming a laggard among European airlines. According to LSEG, if you had invested the day Spohr took over as CEO, you would have lost 18%, including dividends. That's 1.7% annually. LSEG data shows that although its shares have closed...

The?U.S. The?Justice Department announced late on Wednesday that the federal government is liable for the deadly collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter, and American Airlines Regional Jet which killed 67 near Reagan Washington National Airport. The government acknowledged that it had "a duty of care" to the plaintiffs which it breached -?thereby proximately leading to the tragic accident. It also admitted that the pilots on the Army helicopter as well as the regional jet failed to maintain "vigilance to avoid each other". According to the Justice Department, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)?air traffic controller also failed to comply with...

Delta Air Lines announced on Wednesday that Glen Hauenstein will retire from his position as president in February. Hauenstein is the architect of Delta's "premium focused strategy". Hauenstein, 64 years old, has been president of the Atlanta-based airline since 2016. Hauenstein, 64, joined the Atlanta-based airline?in 2005 and has served as president since 2016. He promoted high-end products, and convinced travelers to pay for seats such as first class that were previously given away as upgrades. The strategy delivered'strong results': premium products accounted 43% of Delta passenger revenue in the last quarter, up eight percentage points compared to pre-pandemic levels....

The U.S. Senate passed unanimously legislation?Wednesday that would toughen military helicopters safety rules, and rescind a clause?in the annual defense act?that critics claimed would have weakened aviation security. Republican Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz on Wednesday won unanimous consent to approve a revised version of legislation that would require aircraft operators by the end of 2031 to equip their fleets with an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast system, also known as ADS-B. The bill is co-sponsored with Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. It also increases oversight of commercial helicopter and jet traffic, as well as flight routes near airports. Cantwell stated that...

Natilus, an aviation startup in the United States, announced on Wednesday that India's SpiceJet had ordered 100 of their blended-wing-body aircraft. The company is marking its entry into India's fast-growing market with the launch of a new local subsidiary. According to the industry group IATA the Indian aviation market is the fifth largest in the world. It is a lucrative spot for global airlines and planemakers, driven by a stronger demand for travel into and out of the country following the pandemic. Natilus also considers India as a possible location for a manufacturing plant, and plans to build approximately 300...

According to a public letter published on Tuesday, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said he hadn't divested his shares in Republic Airways. However, he would continue not to be involved with any issues that might impact the airline’s finances while he worked to sell his holdings. Last week, Democratic U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell stated that Bryan Bedford, former CEO of Republic and FAA Administrator, had violated his ethics agreement because he hadn't completed the sale of shares within 90 days after his confirmation. Bedford informed Cantwell, in a Monday letter, that he was recused from any matters affecting...

Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa, said that the airline plans to expand transatlantic flights in order to take advantage of strong demand from key U.S. markets and promote its new premium seats. In an interview with Lufthansa in Frankfurt, he stated that "we have been able to shift the point of sale?to?almost 60 percent now coming from Europe and only 40 percent from the U.S. This used to be the opposite for many years." Spohr stated that the majority of U.S. growth has come from smaller cities as opposed to hubs like New York. Lufthansa will, for example, increase its...

Carsten Spohr said that the German airline group Lufthansa expects a?6% increase in supply for its passenger airlines operating on its "long-haul" routes by 2026. The CEO also stated that it expected to receive a new widebody aircraft every other week, which would help boost growth. Lufthansa wants to expand its international routes and internationalize its company as part of its broader strategy aimed at achieving a profit margin increase between 2028-2030 of 8-10%. Spohr said that the capacity growth will be limited on shorter haul routes where they are seeking efficiency. Spohr, at the offices of?Lufthansa in Frankfurt, said:...

The European Safety Authorities issued preliminary instructions to airlines on Wednesday, requiring them to inspect the fuselage panels of dozens of A320 family jets. This was after Airbus slowed deliveries due to a production issue at a Spanish supplier. According to a proposed directive by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, airlines are required to inspect the thicknesses of certain panels at the front of aircraft within six months. This can be done sooner if these panels have already been repaired. The inspection order covers 177 aircraft in service, plus another 451 planes that are still in various stages of...

Airbus delivered 30 aircraft during the first half of December. This is a lower-than-average rate of delivery for a month, as airlines await details on a fix to a recent problem with fuselages, according to industry sources and analysts. Airbus delivered 657 jets from January to November, so more than 100?jets are still needed to meet the revised?target for 2025 of 790 - a new target. "If they have to deliver another 104 planes to reach the restated guidance around?790 at this point in the month, that seems to be a very steep task," said analyst Rob Morris, noting Cirium...

The 'International -Air Transport Association' said that the global airline industry will likely?miss their targets for using green jet fuel in the next few years. They blamed fuel producers and regulators. Sustainable aviation fuel, made from used or waste cooking oil and waste cooking oil, is a fuel that can reduce emissions significantly when compared to traditional jet fuel. It is still two to five time more expensive than conventional jet fuel. IATA anticipates that 2.4 million metric tonnes of SAF will be available by 2026. This represents just 0.8% the total fuel consumption. The wider aviation sector committed to...

CMA CGM, the shipping group, is looking to raise approximately?325 millions euros ($378.3million) through a three-year bond that it can re-pay with its shares in Air France-KLM. CMA CGM can also repay the bond with cash or a combination of cash and Air France KLM shares. CMA CGM now holds 8.8% of Air France KLM's capital. It became a shareholder when it formed an air freight partnership in 2022. The cargo partnership was scrapped by the companies in early 2024, and CMA CGM’s share of that partnership expired in February. Ramon Fernandez, CMA CGM Chief Financial Officer, said that the...

Airbus said that it delivered 72 planes to bring the total number of planes this year up to 657. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury cited the figure as a sign of a poor November following an industrial glitch. The world's biggest planemaker will have to deliver a record-breaking 133 planes to reach a revised 790 goal for 2025. The November tally is down from 78 the month before and 84 last November, according to a report released this week. The company's lower delivery data comes after a difficult week, in which it announced that there was a quality problem with some...

Tigerair, Taiwan's low-cost carrier, announced on Wednesday that it had approved the purchase and lease of eleven new A321neo planes from Airbus for T$40billion ($1.28billion) in order to expand its network. Tigerair, which is majority owned by Taiwan Airlines, also has an option to purchase four additional A321neos, according to a statement posted on the airline's website. It added that the 11 A321neo aircraft being leased are expected to arrive by 2031. The four aircraft purchased after 2031 will be deployed in full by 2035. Tigerair flies to Japan, one of the most popular destinations for Taiwanese tourists and businessmen....

Airbus engineers found more defects in the A320 fuselage panel set as they prepared to inspect hundreds jets. The chief executive of Airbus said that this flaw is affecting deliveries. The presentation made to airlines by revealed that 628 planes, including 168 in service already, need inspections due to recently discovered quality issues on metal panels at some planes' fronts. According to the presentation, this figure includes 245 assembly lines. Industry sources estimate that about 100 of these are scheduled for delivery in 2018. Another 215 are at an earlier stage called Major Component Assembly. The presentation also showed that...

India's aviation regulator announced on Tuesday that it is investigating Air India for operating an Airbus A320 aircraft without a valid certificate of airworthiness, which ensures compliance with safety regulations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that it also had grounded the aircraft, and de-rostered 'concerned staff. The DGCA didn't specify the type and manufacturer of the aircraft, but a source with direct knowledge said it was a single-aisle Airbus jet. The regulator had previously warned the airline about various issues, including fatigue management and crew training. Air India's spokesperson issued a statement saying that the incident in which...

The Dutch parliament approved on Thursday a plan for a tax increase on private jet travel starting in 2030. The rules will be applicable to aircraft that have 19 seats or less. Passengers on flights up to 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), will be charged 420 euros (486 dollars). The fee for those travelling between 2,000 km and 5,500km is 1,015 euro, while journeys over that distance are charged 2,100 euros. Private jets will be taxed based on distance in 2027, when all aviation taxes will move to a weight-based system. Between 2027 and 2030 the taxation of private jets will...

British Airways' owner IAG submitted a formal statement of interest to buy a minority stake (up to 5%) in Portugal's flag airline TAP. However, it said that some issues needed to be resolved before the company would consider investing. IAG has become the third airline in Europe to express interest in privatising TAP. It joins Air France-KLM, and Germany's Lufthansa. A spokesperson for IAG confirmed on Friday that the airline had submitted a declaration of interest to the state-owned holding Parpublica "in accordance with the process of the government for the partial privatisation of TAP". The spokesperson said that "However,...