Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced an expected strengthening of airline industry profitability in an upgrade of its outlook for 2023. Highlights include: Airline industry net profits are expected to reach $9.8 billion in 2023 (1.2% net profit margin) which is more than double the previous forecast of $4.7 billion (December 2022). Airline industry operating profits are expected to reach $22.4 billion in 2023, much improved over the December forecast of a $3.2 billion operating profit. It is also more than double the $10.1 billion operating profit estimated for 2022. Some 4.35 billion people are expected to travel in 2023, which is closing in on the 4.54 billion who flew in 2019. Cargo volumes are expected to [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released a new analysis showing that reported unruly passenger incidents increased in 2022 compared to 2021. IATA called for more states to take the necessary authority to prosecute passengers under Montreal Protocol 2014 (MP14). Latest figures show that there was one unruly incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one per 835 flights in 2021. The most common categorizations of incidents in 2022 were non-compliance, verbal abuse and intoxication. Physical abuse incidents remain very rare, but these had an alarming increase of 61% over 2021, occurring once every 17,200 flights. "The increasing trend of unruly passenger incidents is worrying. Passengers and crew are entitled to a safe and hassle-free [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA), announced that leaders of the global aviation industry are gathering in Istanbul, Türkiye, for the 79th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit, with Pegasus Airlines as the host airline. The event (4-6 June) attracts the industry’s most senior leaders from among IATA’s more than 300 member airlines, as well as senior government officials, strategic partners, equipment suppliers, and media. “In a few days, Istanbul will become the aviation capital of the world. Airlines will meet to review the industry’s recovery from COVID-19, to plan the way forward to a more sustainable future, to discuss the opportunities for technology to drive efficiencies from modern retailing to improved facilitation, and to [...]

Source: US DOT The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ April 2023 fuel cost and consumption numbers indicating U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.484 billion gallons of fuel, 3.9% less fuel than in March 2023 (1.545 billion gallons) and 0.1% less than in pre-pandemic April 2019. The cost per gallon of fuel in April 2023 ($2.66) was down 26 cents (8.8%) from March 2023 ($2.91) and up $0.60 (29.3%) from April 2019. Total April 2023 fuel expenditure ($3.94B) was down 12.4% from March 2023 ($4.50B) and up 29.1% from pre-pandemic April 2019. Year-over-year changes in fuel consumption and cost for April 2023 include 6.8% increase in domestic fuel consumption, 20.6% decrease in domestic fuel [...]

Source: CANSO The partnership, signed during Airspace World 2023, sees CANSO and Infina agree to deliver cost-effective technical and management micro-learning and mixed media courses, virtually to the global aviation community. In a key development in the programme, the first courses are now available through the CANSO/Infina ANSP Learning Portal. The courses are available to ANSPs and their employees via an annual membership subscription which gives full access to all the microlearning courses via a unique key name. Quarterly launches of new courses are scheduled for deployment to add to the ever-growing current catalogue of courses. Sue Meeks, President, Infina, said: “This new partnership provides cost-effective, computer-based learning that supports global ANSPs in achieving local and regional aviation safety requirements. “Our [...]

Source: ICAO ICAO and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) entered a new landmark collaboration agreement today aimed at advancing civil aviation safety, efficiency, and sustainability in humanitarian operations. This strategic partnership, forged under the auspices of the ICAO Global Implementation Support Symposium currently taking place in Seoul, Republic of Korea, will focus on key areas of cooperation to ensure safer and more sustainable aviation operations, particularly in the context of humanitarian air services. “By combining our expertise and resources, ICAO and the WFP aim to create a safer, more efficient, and environmentally responsible aviation industry,” remarked ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar, after signing the Memorandum of Understanding. “This partnership underscores our shared commitment to addressing the unique [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced continued strong passenger traffic demand in April. Total traffic in April 2023 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose 45.8% compared to April 2022. Globally, traffic is now at 90.5% of pre-Covid levels. At 81.3%, industry load factor was only 1.8 percentage points below pre-pandemic level. Domestic traffic for April rose 42.6% compared to the year-ago period and has now fully recovered, posting a 2.9% increase over the April 2019 results. International traffic climbed 48.0% versus April 2022 with all markets recording healthy growth, with carriers in the Asia-Pacific region continuing to lead the recovery. International RPKs reached 83.6% of April 2019 levels. “April continued the strong traffic trend we saw in the [...]

Source: US DOT Secretary of Transportation of the United States of America, Pete Buttigieg and European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, met on May 22, 2023, to discuss EU-U.S. support to Ukraine, ongoing cooperation in aviation and maritime transport, as well as issues of common interest in transportation, such as international collaboration to fight climate change and decarbonize transport. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: “From supply chain disruptions caused by Putin’s war in Ukraine, to the impacts of global climate change, to the challenges our vital transportation workforce members face on a daily basis, the transportation systems on which the world economy depends are being tested. The EU and the U.S. share a strong commitment to working [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for April 2023 global air cargo markets, showing a continued, but slower, decline against the previous year's demand performance. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), fell 6.6% compared to April 2022 (-7.0% for international operations). This decline was an improvement over the previous month's performance (-7.6%). Capacity (measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers, ACTK) was up 13.4% compared to April 2022. It was also up 3.2% compared to April 2019, marking the first time in three years that the capacity has surpassed pre-COVID levels. The strong uptick is primarily driven by belly capacity as demand in the passenger business recovers. Adjusting for this, freighter capacity declined 2.3%. Preighter operations ceased [...]

Source: International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (ASA) Quality standards organization Cargo iQ has forged a partnership with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the Airport Services Association (ASA) to set shared goals for enhanced standard practices across the air cargo supply chain. The objective of the alliance is to strengthen collaboration between forwarder, ground handler, and airline communities, working on a global basis to achieve common standards and enhanced quality. The decision was made at Cargo iQ’s most recent board meeting that FIATA’s Director General, Stéphane Graber, and ASA’s Director General, Fabio Gamba, will attend all Cargo iQ board meetings as observers and work together with the board members, with a view to intensifying the co-operation [...]