Source: US DOT The U.S. Department of Transportation today released its August 2021 Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on airline operational data compiled for the month of June and for the second quarter of 2021. The ATCR is designed to assist consumers with information on the quality of services provided by airlines. The ATCR and other aviation consumer matters of interest to the public can be found at http://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.   The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in significant changes to airline schedules and operations in June 2021 although airlines scheduled and operated more flights in June 2021 than any month since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.   The total number of flights operated in June 2021 has [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged governments to abide by international agreements and treaty obligations to enable airlines to repatriate close to nearly $1 billion in blocked funds from the sale of tickets, cargo space, and other activities. “Governments are preventing nearly $1 billion of airline revenues from being repatriated. This contravenes international conventions and could slow the recovery of travel and tourism in affected markets as the airline industry struggles to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Airlines will not be able to provide reliable connectivity if they cannot rely on local revenues to support operations. That is why it is critical for all governments to prioritize ensuring that funds can be repatriated efficiently. Now is not [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that the EU Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) and UK NHS COVID Pass can now be uploaded into IATA Travel Pass as verified proof of vaccination for travel. Travelers holding an EU DCC or UK NHS COVID Pass can now access accurate COVID-19 travel information for their journey, create an electronic version of their passport and import their vaccination certificate in one place. This information can be shared with airlines and border control authorities who can have the assurance that the certificate presented to them is genuine and belongs to the person presenting it. “COVID-19 vaccination certificates are becoming a widespread requirement for international travel. Handling the European and UK certificates [...]

Source: ALTA The Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) is pleased to establish a new partnership with IAMA, the Independent Aircraft Modifier Alliance, a non-profit association founded by Eclipse Technics, Envoy Aerospace, Etihad Airways Engineering, and Lufthansa Technik. IAMA aims to encourage aircraft owners and operators to modify and modernize their fleets through implementation of retrofit programs that apply IAMA standards, irrespective of which IAMA members provide the engineering services. The alliance addresses customer concerns with regard to documentation, data availability, and a worldwide customer support network across different regulatory systems with various national authorities. The main objectives of the Independent Aircraft Modifier Alliance are to agree to common standards for the documentation and quality of Supplemental Type [...]

Source: IATA IATA latest business confidence survey of airlines CFOs and heads of cargo. Key points: Our July 2021 survey of airline CFOs and Heads of Cargo showed that Q2 2021 brought some relief to airlines’ financials as air travel demand started to slowly recover in some markets. Respondents have also become more optimistic about the future air travel volumes and profitability. The majority of the sample reported that passenger yields stayed at low levels in Q2. However, they are expected to improve in the next twelve months as demand improves. Similarly, cargo yields are expected to remain elevated, supporting airline revenues. 55% of the respondents reported a reduction in their workforce in Q2 as airlines continued restructuring. On the other hand, expectations for [...]

Source: AFA Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson, representing nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants at 17 airlines, released the following statement on TSA's expected extension of the mask mandate: "Masks are the most effective tool to stop the spread of COVID-19. While vaccination has been key to the increased air travel demand, the lagging vaccination rates and rise of the Delta variant has caused cases to skyrocket again - threatening lives, continued virus mutation, and recovery from this pandemic. "We have a responsibility in aviation to keep everyone safe and do our part to end the pandemic, rather than aid the continuation of it. Air travel is one of the most controlled indoor spaces with layers of safety protocols that [...]

Source: FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) went live with the second phase of new air traffic routes and procedures that improve the safety and efficiency of airspace in South-Central Florida. The project, often referred to as the South-Central Florida Metroplex initiative, will optimize aircraft arrival and departure procedures to and from 21 airports. New routes include changes in aircraft flight paths and altitudes in certain areas, but would not increase the number of aircraft operations at any of the airports. It is one of 11 Metroplex projects nationwide to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion in major metropolitan areas across the country. Community involvement was a critical part of the project. The FAA conducted extensive outreach to the public [...]

Source: US DOT   U.S. airlines carried 304% more scheduled service passengers in June 2021 than in June 2020 (preliminary), according to data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by 21 airlines that carry more than 90% of passengers.   The 21 airlines carried 66.4 million passengers in June 2021 (preliminary), compared to 16.4 million passengers in June 2020 and the low of 3.0 million in April 2020, which was the lowest monthly total in BTS records dating back to 1974.  Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous low was 14.6 million passengers in February 1975.   In June 2021, the airlines carried 21% fewer total passengers, 17% fewer domestic passengers and 45% fewer international passengers than in pre-pandemic [...]

Source: US DOT U.S. Scheduled Passenger Airlines employed 1.3K more employees in June 2021 than in May 2021     The 24 U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 0.3% more full-time equivalents (FTEs) in June 2021 than in May 2021: June’s total number of FTEs (394,298) was up 1,314 from May (392,984) and down 62,962 from the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 (457,260), a 13.8% drop. May 2021 was the lowest FTE total for the month of May since 2015 (396,973). The increase from May resulted largely from American Airlines adding 1,039 FTEs and United Airlines adding 296 FTEs. Only three reporting airlines reduced FTEs (Southwest, Skywest, and Horizon) from May to June. In June 2021, scheduled passenger airlines [...]