By Luis Felipe de Oliveira* Just as many countries around the world were beginning to loosen their border restrictions, reports of a newly detected coronavirus variant, named Omicron by the World Health Organization (WHO), sent many of those doors slamming shut again last week. While public health remains the utmost priority, we must use the experience we have gained over the last two years to move to a coordinated data-driven approach that finds alternatives to travel bans and border closures. We call upon governments to coordinate to implement pragmatic and risk-based measures based on science. Furthermore, we continue to urge countries to work closely with aviation stakeholders—including airports and airlines—prior to and during the implementation of travel measures to facilitate [...]

By Marianela Cartagena Sometime ago, I bought a bouquet of flowers from my florist and as I was in a hurry I did not talk to him as was my custom. As I started my fast walk towards my apartment, the salesman told me: “This white rose is for you! Smiling and showing all his teeth, with charming and loving eye contact.This is precisely what I call an act of tenderness. Detecting the need of people is one of the topics that are currently being worked on in the “Customer Service” workshops and this can be perfectly extrapolated to on-board service. The needs of passengers are the same as those of all human beings and among them the need to [...]

By Patrick Lucas* When we look back on the devastation caused by the pandemic, both in terms of the human toll but also the collapse of industries connected to the aviation ecosystem, many of us in the international air transport community will take solace in knowing that these industries forged solutions in a time of crisis. We are grateful for the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) leadership for bringing us together in the darkest days of the pandemic—ACI, IATA, CANSO and many other organizations contributed to the development of globally harmonized recommendations under the Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART), for example. We joined forces to think innovatively for the benefit of the wider industry and aviation ecosystem. Our quick and [...]

By Jose Ricardo Botelho Thank you very much Colombia for welcoming us with open arms and doors on the occasion of ALTA’s Annual General Meeting and the Leaders Forum. ALTA was born in Bogota 41 years ago and it is an honor to return to this land with such a rich culture and great tourism potential. Leaders of the public and private world saw an industry that grew steadily in the last 16 years and that doubled in size every decade, in a region that by 2019 had managed to connect with all the continents of the planet by air. Leaders who tackled V-shaped recovery data first, then W, then randomly; leaders who saw a future that advanced steadily became [...]

By Amelia DeLuca Our commitment to carbon neutrality is rooted in the idea that our customers shouldn’t have to choose between seeing the world and saving the world. As Climate Week ends and we look ahead to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November, I’m humbled by the collective efforts of so many to combat climate change, our greatest shared challenge. Despite the progress being made, there is a lot of work to be done, and Delta is committed to doing our part.  What a month September has been. Last year, we became the first carbon neutral airline on a global basis. We’re committed to carbon neutrality from March 2020 onward, balancing our emissions with investments to remove carbon across our global operations. Our commitment to carbon neutrality is rooted in the idea [...]

By Nicole Noack, Independent Aircraft Modifier Alliance & Lindsey Sander, Envoy Aerospace Doing modifications to their fleet is usual for operators to meet new customer expectations, enhance the aircraft capacity and efficiency or simply refurbish the cabin up to the newest standards. While there are two main ways to get a modification approved – either by using the Airframe Manufacturer or an independent Design Organization – there are several hurdles within the life cycle of the modified fleet. The Independent Aircraft Modifier now again addresses a topic being a known pain point to operators worldwide: What happens when an Original Aircraft Manufacturer (OAM) issues a Service Bulletin (SB), which interferes with an already installed modification? When an OAM issues a [...]

By Constance von Muehlen Today, I’m writing with gratitude and immense pride to tell you about some truly heroic efforts carried out by our employees and communities. This is about people coming together in a powerful way and demonstrating the very best of what Alaska is all about:Stepping up when we’re needed, serving our communities, working together as a team, and providing remarkable care for people. This really is an example of Alaska at our very best. Recently, Alaska Airlines employees answered the call to provide domestic charter assistance to the U.S. government to transport Afghan refugees fleeing their country and seeking safety in ours. Within a matter of hours of receiving our initial instructions from U.S. Transportation Command, we [...]

By Ignacio Biosca Vancells The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the world, and the air transport sector has undoubtedly been, along with tourism, one of the most affected. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Aena carried out various initiatives to, on the one hand, guarantee the development of air activity as an essential service for citizens and, on the other, to implement all those measures necessary to guarantee the safety of the facilities. In the first case, Aena has continued, during all the difficult stages of the Covid-19 crisis, carrying out its work of managing an essential infrastructure to allow the development of vital operations for society at a critical moment. In the second, an operational recovery [...]

By Jose Ricardo Botelho One of the main challenges of our time is to find answers to the impacts caused by climate change and aviation, as a global industry, plays a decisive role. The sector is responsible for only 3% of CO2 emissions and aims to reduce emissions by half by 2050, compared to 2005 level. Several industry segments have set clear targets for themselves, including reducing net carbon emissions to zero, and they are already working intensively to achieve this by implementing actions in line with the provisions of the Paris Agreement and ratified by ICAO. The adoption of SAFs (Sustainable Aviation Fuels) is an important part of this strategy. Last month, the European Union launched a package of [...]

By Marianela Cartagena I would like to write about how to achieve in-flight passenger care excellence. Crew members who work on-board know that this is not something easy to accomplish as it may sound. Without a doubt, firstly we should consider self-knowledge. If one does not know oneself it will be more difficult to know others. Crew members should interact with empathy. The passenger is in an uncommon environment so we have to be understanding. There might be some of the following behaviors: uncooperativeness, faintheartedness, annoyance, talkative, curious, and affectionate among others. To inspire confidence in passengers from the moment they get on-board is priceless. Very especially for those who are anxious or afraid of the unknown. Therefore, I will [...]