Passenger Transportation Services

According to Senate records, President Donald Trump has nominated an American Airlines captain and safety official for the National Transportation Safety Board. John DeLeeuw is the managing director for safety and efficiency at American Airlines, and a Boeing 777 captain. He has been appointed to replace Alvin Brown, a former appointee from the Biden administration, who was fired by the White House last May. The NTSB is responsible for investigating all major highway, rail, marine, and aviation accidents. The NTSB determines the probable causes of accidents and provides safety recommendations. If confirmed, John will be a great addition to the...

Delta Air Lines reaffirmed Thursday its full-year earnings forecasts and current-quarter earning predictions, betting on sustained demand for travel in the U.S. The carrier has also increased the lower end its revenue forecast for the third quarter to September. It now expects growth of 2%-4% from its previous projection of 0%-4% growth. This buoyant mood is in stark contrast with earlier this year when many U.S. airlines issued gloomy predictions as President Donald Trump’s tariffs, budget cuts and other measures weighed on demand. In July, major airline executives expressed confidence that the industry would be able to increase airfares by...

JetBlue Airways announced on Wednesday that it will expand its service out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This comes as U.S. carriers rush to increase service in key markets for bankrupt discount airline Spirit Airlines. JetBlue, based in New York, is offering nine nonstop routes across the United States and Latin America as well as the Caribbean. Rivals, such United Airlines and Frontier Group are also rushing to capitalize on Spirit Airlines' second bankruptcy filing within a year. JetBlue announced that it would offer 113 flights per day during the winter peak season to maintain its status as the airline offering...

Embraer announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with Avelo Airlines, a budget airline in the United States, for 50 firm orders of the Brazilian planemaker’s E195E2 jets and 50 purchase rights. This is the first U.S. contract for this plane. The announcement coincides with an important gathering of leaders in the aerospace industry. It also comes at a time when Brazil's planemaker, which is the third largest in the world, has been lobbying for the Trump administration to eliminate 10% tariffs while highlighting U.S. Airlines' reliance on regional jets. Embraer described last week the planned announcement of...

Amazon.com's Zoox began Wednesday offering free robotaxi rides on the Las Vegas Strip and in the surrounding area, while it waited for state approval before charging fares to compete with Alphabet’s Waymo or Tesla. Waymo offers a robotaxi that transports paying passengers to many U.S. city, while Tesla has robotaxis in Austin, Texas. Zoox is a vehicle designed to look and feel like a toaster on wheels. The vehicle has no manual controls, such as a pedal or steering wheel. Its passengers are seated facing each other. Aicha Evans, Zoox's Chief Executive, said: "This is an experience so different that...

Joby Aviation, a maker of air taxis, announced on Wednesday it plans to add Blade's helicopters and seaplanes to the Uber App as early as next year. Joby purchased Blade Air Mobility's passenger service in August for $125 million and plans to launch its electric air taxi service worldwide in the future. Electric vertical takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL), or electric aircraft, is a new technology that air taxi firms are racing to commercialize to meet the demand for more efficient and sustainable urban transportation. These firms, backed by major airlines and defence contractors, aim to reduce congestion in cities that are already...

Carsten Spohr, chief executive of Lufthansa Group, told reporters in Frankfurt that the group's turnaround plan is progressing, but 2025 and 2026 are transitional years, as it attempts to stem spiraling costs. The airline group warned twice about its profit in 2024, as its core airline struggles with rising costs and labor disruptions. Meanwhile, Eurowings, the more successful airline within the group continues to grow. "It is obvious that the performance of recent years has been poor. It was therefore obvious to us that the year 2014 would be another year of transition. Spohr added, "But it's a year for...

The war of words escalated between United Airlines and Spirit Airlines' executives on Tuesday, after the Chicago-based carrier's chief questioned Spirit Airlines' business model and voiced doubts about its ability to stay in the airline industry. Spirit replied minutes later. In a blog post, the Florida-based airline said that its customers loved its low fares and premium products. The airline stated that "Maybe this is why United executives are always yapping on about us". Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, has been vocal in his criticism of no-frills carriers and their business model. He has also repeatedly questioned its...

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has issued a safety warning to airlines on Tuesday, citing an alarming number of incidents involving lithium batteries. The FAA has recommended that airlines implement risk mitigation strategies. This includes clear messaging about potential fire risks associated with lithium batteries carried by crew and passengers, and reviewing firefighting training and procedures. The FAA reported that 50 incidents of lithium-ion batteries causing extreme heat, smoke or fire have occurred in the U.S. this year. Some of these have caused accidents or injuries. A cell phone that was being used by a passenger on an American Airlines flight...

Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, said that on Tuesday the situation with completed airframes awaiting delayed engine deliveries had improved. However the European planemaker still needs more engines to meet its delivery target. Faury stated in July that the number of gliders, as they are called by the industry, had risen from 60 to a total of 60. He also said that Pratt & Whitney was now responsible for the delays on top of the earlier problems with CFM. Faury, a reporter at the Global Aerospace Summit of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, said: "We are still...

The U.S. Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it had dismissed a lawsuit filed against Norfolk Southern, after the company agreed to give Amtrak passenger train "highest priority" in comparison to freight trains. In a press release, the Department of Transportation said that the settlement reached with Norfolk Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Company resolved allegations that the transport firm delayed passenger trains along Amtrak’s Crescent Route from New York City to New Orleans in violation federal law. Norfolk Southern, which controls 1,140-miles of rail on the Crescent Route, dispatches all trains, including those it operates, along this segment....

New York officials announced on Tuesday that since January when the city implemented its first-in -the-nation program for congestion pricing, 17.6 million vehicles have been removed from congested Manhattan. This is a 12% decrease. In an effort to reduce congestion and raise money for mass transit, the program charges a $9 toll on most passenger cars during peak hours to enter Manhattan south from 60th Street. A judge has put a stop to the Trump administration's efforts to end the program. He also blocked the federal government in its attempts at withholding funding or approval for New York-based projects. New...

The net profit of the Portuguese flag carrier TAP in its second quarter fell by 42.5% compared to a year earlier, as costs increased much faster than revenues due to fierce competition on its main markets, and airport congestion at home. TAP, which has been partially privatised, posted a profit of 43.9 million dollars between April and June. This period included this year's busy Easter Week. TAP suffered a first-half loss of 70.7 millions euros, which is almost three times higher than the same period in last year. The airline's quarterly revenues grew 1.7%, to 1.13 billion Euros. Passengers carried...

On Wednesday, a French technology startup announced plans to work with JetZero, a clean-aircraft venture to explore the possibility of a hydrogen-powered version of its futuristic design. The SHZ Advanced Technologies' move is likely to reignite a debate about the possibility of zero-emission flights, six months after Europe’s Airbus halted plans to develop the first hydrogen-powered aircraft in the world. JetZero, a California-based company, aims to compete with the duopoly that is Airbus and Boeing. It has developed a blended wing-body plane which claims to be able reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by half. JetZero, SHZ and NASA are...

Turkish Airlines still has a strong interest in purchasing a stake in Spanish carrier Air Europa, and is preparing a legally binding offer. A company executive stated this during a earnings call held on Wednesday. "We will be presenting a binding proposal very soon." We are not yet at that stage. "We will make public the decision and approval of the board as soon as it is made," said the executive. Turkish Airlines' investor relations and financial executives answered questions during the earnings call. The executive stated that the primary reason for interest in the Spanish carrier was that it...

A spokesperson for the German Group announced on Tuesday that Lufthansa had abandoned its plans to bid for an interest in the Spanish airline Air Europa. This comes only one week after Air France KLM also announced that it would be pulling out of the bidding process. Turkish Airlines is the only bidder known to exist. British Airways' owner IAG has a 20% stake but after years of discussions, failed to gain regulatory approval for the full takeover. After thorough analyses and intensive negotiations, at this point we have decided to refrain from further engagement in a capital contributions and...

Dutch postal company PostNL announced a surprise operating income for the second quarter on Monday and confirmed its full year guidance, citing progress made in strategic initiatives as well as benefits from targeted yield-measures. PostNL, a company that delivers letters and parcels across the Netherlands and Belgium, reported a normalised operating loss of 11 million euros (12.74 million dollars) for the third quarter. This is down from 18 million euros a year ago. Five analysts polled by the company had predicted a loss on average of 3 million euro. In a press release, CEO Pim Berendsen stated that "other measures...

In the past six months, European airline shares have surged despite geopolitical uncertainty and economic instability. Meanwhile, U.S. airline stocks have fallen amid a decline in travel spending. Since the beginning of this year, there has been a lot of volatility in the stock market as President Donald Trump’s trade war has shaken business and consumer confidence. Travel spending is a major discretionary expense for consumers and businesses. The prospects of a weak economy in the U.S. coupled with high inflation has impacted shares of Delta, United, and American Airlines. The two main European flag carriers, Lufthansa & Air France-KLM,...

IAG, the owner of British Airways, reported earnings for the second quarter that were better than expected on Friday. This was due to strong demand from transatlantic travelers despite concerns about possible knock-on effects caused by President Donald Trump’s tariff war. Air France-KLM, Lufthansa and other European airlines have largely avoided the turmoil caused by tariffs. Both companies reported strong second quarters this week and confirmed their annual forecasts. IAG posted an operating profit for the third quarter of 1,68 billion euro ($1.92 billion), compared to the average analyst forecast of 1.4 million euros, according to an LSEG survey. This...

A spokesperson for the Franco Dutch airline group announced on Thursday that Air France-KLM had pulled out of the deal to purchase a stake in the privately owned Spanish airline Air Europa. The spokesperson for Air France-KLM said that Globalia, the company that controls Air Europa and is controlled by Air France, could not come to an agreement. Globalia's spokesperson did not respond immediately to a comment request. German Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and IAG-owned British Airways have made bids to Globalia for a 20% stake in Spanish airline IAG. Air Europa, a Spanish airline that connects Madrid to large Spanish...

Air India's Airbus A320 veered off of the runway during a landing at Mumbai International Airport in heavy rain on Monday. The runway was briefly closed and one engine's underside was damaged. Air India has confirmed that all passengers and crew have disembarked. However, it did not mention if anyone had been injured. Air India flight AI2744 flew from Kochi, in southern Kerala to Mumbai. Mumbai airport issued a statement saying that "minor damage" had been reported on the primary runway due to a "runway deviation". A secondary runway was activated in order to maintain operational continuity. Air India confirmed...

Industry officials say that poor infrastructure, regional conflict, and Israeli airstrikes have prevented more airlines from returning. This is hampering efforts to rebuild Syria's economy, which has been ravaged by 14 years of civil warfare. At least 11 foreign airlines will fly to Syria this month. This is up from only three a year earlier, as sanctions have been rolled back since the overthrow in December 2024 of Bashar al Assad, Syria's longtime leader. The world's largest airline, Emirates of Dubai, as well as the first two European Union airlines to fly into Syria in 2011 are Romania's Dan Air,...

Luis Montenegro, the Prime Minister of Portugal, said that Portugal expects to attract large airlines from both within the European Union as well as outside the bloc due to its untapped potential. Portugal has relaunched its long-delayed TAP privatisation on Thursday. The aim is to sell a stake of 44.9% to a company that can bring scale and global competitiveness to the airline, while also offering an additional 5% for TAP staff. In the last year, three major European airlines, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM as well as British Airways owner IAG have met with the government to discuss TAP. Air...

Norwegian Air, a budget airline, announced Friday that it had exceeded market expectations in the second quarter and would be paying a dividend. Norwegian reported an operating profit (EBIT), of 1.25 billion Norwegian Crowns ($123.84 millions) for the third quarter. This was higher than the company's consensus estimate of 1.04 billion Norwegian crowns. The airline said that it would also pay a dividend to shareholders of 0.90 crowns each for the first ever time. In a statement, CEO Geir Carlsen stated that "the operating profit and margin were the second highest ever in this quarter and the passenger number and...