Source: US DOT U.S. airlines employed 709,554 workers in May 2021, 3,050 more than in April 2021 (706,504) and 45,541 fewer than in March 2020 (755,095). The May industry numbers consist of 598,580 full-time and 110,974 part-time workers. From the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 through May 2021, the largest passenger airlines dropped 55,920 employees: United Airlines, -22,830; Delta Air Lines, -21,647; and American Airlines, -11,443. During that time, major cargo airlines added 25,554 employees with Federal Express adding 24,540.   Regulations require airlines to report employment numbers to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics for employees who worked or received pay for any part of the pay period(s) ending nearest the 15th day of the month. Numbers include [...]

Source: US DOT The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ May Fuel Cost and Consumption numbers. Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines scheduled service: May 2020                     453 million gallons April 2021                    1.0 billion gallons May 2021                     1.1 billion gallons U.S. airlines used 9.4% more fuel in May 2021 than in April 2021 to reach the highest monthly consumption level since March 2020. The cost per gallon rose 13.1% to $1.98 per gallon in May from $1.75 in April.   Fuel cost per gallon for U.S. airlines scheduled service: May 2020        $1.03 April 2021  [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the appointment of Brendan Sullivan as IATA’s Global Head of Cargo with immediate effect. Sullivan has worked in air cargo for 20 years including spending 14 years at IATA. Since January, he has been acting Global Head of Cargo alongside his role as Head of Cargo Operations and E-Commerce. Recent achievements include leading two key IATA initiatives: The One Source platform: This provides comprehensive information on infrastructure capabilities critical to taking advantage of special cargo and e-commerce activities. The IATA FACE Campaign: This builds the next generation of air cargo leadership by attracting, developing, and retaining young talent within the air cargo industry. Over 200 cargo professionals are engaged in the [...]

Source: Hermes - Air Transport Organisation Effective leadership and cooperation among aviation stakeholders is essential to rebuilding the aviation industry from the COVID-19 pandemic. As a forum for industry thought leaders, Hermes Air Transport Organization has facilitated discussion on this topic.  Briefs from 14 industry associations were received by Hermes, contributing to a report with recommendations for promoting leadership and collaboration.  As Dr. Kostas Iatrou, Director General of Hermes states, “I am pleased that despite the challenges that commercial aviation faces we have the participation of 15 organizations. Now more than ever leadership plays a critical role for the relaunching of the industry. The recommendations will help all industry stakeholders to move forward.” The industry associations are in strong agreement [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released research on the training requirements for the aviation workforce as the industry starts to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. According to a global survey of some 800 human resources (HR) leaders in the aviation industry responsible for learning and development, right-skilling existing workers and ensuring that new hires from outside aviation can quickly acquire the necessary skills will be key to successfully building the post-pandemic workforce. To achieve this, training programs will need to be adapted, with around half the HR respondents stating that their top priority is to assess available workforce skills and map these against their organization’s competency requirements. This will form the basis for the required training curriculums. [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that both international and domestic travel demand showed marginal improvements in May 2021, compared to the prior month, but traffic remained well below pre-pandemic levels. Recovery in international traffic in particular continued to be stymied by extensive government travel restrictions. Because comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted all comparisons are to May 2019, which followed a normal demand pattern. Total demand for air travel in May 2021 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was down 62.7% compared to May 2019. That was a gain over the 65.2% decline recorded in April 2021 versus April 2019. International passenger demand [...]