Source: US DOT U.S. Airline Total Number of Employees (both Full-Time and Part-Time) U.S. airline industry (passenger and cargo airlines combined) employment increased to 803,893 workers in July 2023, 2,058 (0.26%) more workers than in June 2023 (801,835) and 60,853 (8.19%) more than in pre-pandemic July 2019 (743,040). U.S. scheduled-service passenger airlines employed 528,175 workers in July 2023 or 66% of the industry-wide total. Passenger airlines added 2,841 employees in July 2023 for a twenty-seventh consecutive month of job growth dating back to May 2021. Southwest led scheduled passenger carriers, adding 1,188 employees; United Air Lines added 927, and Delta Airlines added 545. U.S. cargo airlines employed 270,963 workers in July 2023, 34% of the industry total. Cargo carriers lost [...]

Source: ALTA ATPG is a voluntary group of pilot training experts that contributes to the EASA vision of aviation safety The Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) announced the launching of the Latin American & Caribbean ATPG Chapter, a collaborative group composed of airlines and suppliers that will work with States, industry organizations and key stakeholders to contribute to effective, efficient and relevant flight crew training worldwide. This group works as an extension of the ALTA Pilot Training Committee, which gathers 12 airlines, and is chaired by Copa Airlines and Flybondi. For the first time, the LAC region will have this collaborative group, which will strengthen the work the ALTA committee is doing to achieve standardization and improvement [...]

Source: US DOT  The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today released its Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on airline operational data compiled for the month of May 2023 for on-time performance, mishandled baggage, and mishandled wheelchairs and scooters. The ATCR is designed to assist consumers with information on the quality of services provided by airlines. DOT remains committed to ensuring airline passengers are treated fairly and flights operate as scheduled. In May 2023, cancellations were 0.6%, which is significantly lower than the cancellation rate of 2% in May 2022. For the first five months of 2023, cancellations have stayed below 2% and are far lower than the 2.7% cancellation rate last year and in pre-pandemic 2019. DOT uses the data [...]

Source: US FAA The FAA authorized two more companies to operate drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). UPS Flight Forward with its Matternet M2 can conduct power line and pipeline inspections and uAvionix with its Rapace can use the Vantis Network to test its detect and avoid technology. On August 24 the agency authorized Phoenix Air Unmanned to operate SwissDrones SVO 50 V2 drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) for aerial work, aerial photography, survey and powerline and pipeline patrol and inspection. The FAA issued the approvals after asking for public input on four BVLOS requests. The agency is reviewing one additional request. Data collected from these operations will inform the FAA’s ongoing policy and rulemaking activities. Learn more here and here. The FAA is focused on [...]

Source: ALTA The Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), facilitated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is joining forces to strengthen civil aviation training in the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NAM/CAR) regions. In an effort to promote regional cooperation and improve air transport safety and efficiency through training, ALTA today signed a Declaration of Intent that sets the basis for a high-level technical-academic collaboration. The agreement will allow the promotion and exchange of experiences, especially for the design, planning, implementation and control of academic programs, research and innovation projects, as well as technical assistance. These initiatives will result in the standardization of competency-based training programs in a regional platform that is ALTA's Educational Hub, the [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the post-COVID recovery momentum continued in July for passenger markets. Total traffic in July 2023 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose 26.2% compared to July 2022. Globally, traffic is now at 95.6% of pre-COVID levels. Domestic traffic for July rose 21.5% versus July 2022 and was 8.3% above the July 2019 results. July RPKs are the highest ever recorded, strongly supported by surging demand in the China domestic market. International traffic climbed 29.6% compared to the same month a year ago with all markets showing robust growth. International RPKs reached 88.7% of July 2019 levels. The passenger load factor (PLF) for the industry reached 85.7% which is the [...]