Category Archives: Airline industry

Australian airline passengers could soon receive compensation for delays and cancellations

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Advocates for a compensation scheme claim Australia lags behind the rest of the world

Australian airlines could soon be forced to pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled as the government faces mounting calls to introduce laws to rein in carriers arbitrarily changing their schedules.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, consumer advocate Choice and the Australian Lawyers Alliance have all separately raised the prospect of a compensation scheme as the government considers its aviation white paper.

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BA owner raises profit forecast as travel demand rebounds

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IAG expects to fly almost the same passenger numbers this year as before Covid pandemic

The owner of British Airways has upgraded its full-year profit expectations thanks to strong demand for holiday travel, as the airline group said it expected to fly almost the same number of passengers this year as it did before the coronavirus pandemic.

International Airlines Group (IAG) reported a first-quarter profit for the first time since 2019, before the travel industry was plunged into chaos by Covid lockdowns. It made an operating profit of €9m (£7.9m) in the first three months of the year.

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Ryanair records third busiest month in April as demand for flights soars

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Passenger numbers rose to 16 million last month amid pent-up demand for air travel

Ryanair has recorded its third busiest month for traffic, having flown 16 million passengers in April as it continued to benefit from pent-up demand for air travel.

The budget airline said the figure marked a 13% increase in passenger numbers compared with the same month a year earlier, when it carried just over 14 million people, as customers sought to jet off on spring getaways including during the Easter holidays.

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Can Vanessa Hudson win back the flying public when she takes the Qantas controls from Alan Joyce?

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The incoming CEO hints her focus will be to regain passenger trust and renew the airline’s ageing fleet

Just hours after being unveiled as the next chief executive, Vanessa Hudson was already facing questions about how she plans to repair Qantas’s reputation with the Australian public.

At Qantas’s Sydney headquarters on Tuesday morning, Hudson – who is currently the chief financial officer and has spent 28 years working across the aviation group – sat with the outgoing chief executive, Alan Joyce, as she told reporters how she would solve the issues that arose during his leadership when she takes the controls in November.

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Heathrow remains loss-making despite rise in passenger numbers

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Airport says people will be able to ‘travel as normal’ in peak period around coronation despite strike

Heathrow airport has warned that it is still loss-making, even as it continues to be Europe’s busiest airport, welcoming almost 17 million passengers in the first three months of the year.

The airport also said that passengers would be able to “travel as normal” during the peak getaway period around the coronation of King Charles III, taking place on 6 May, despite a fresh planned strike by security staff.

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Larger-bodied airline passengers forced to pay for two seats prompts calls for clearer anti-discrimination laws

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Advocates say rules for ‘guests of size’ are inconsistent across Australian aviation, generating anxiety and unfair costs for those affected

Larger-bodied passengers are being forced to buy two seats to fly on some airlines, raising discrimination concerns from advocacy groups who argue scientific understanding of obesity has evolved beyond viewing the condition as a lifestyle choice.

Budget international carrier Scoot has added a note about its policy to its website’s booking page, warning that “if you are a guest of size who requires 2 seats … fares and fees for 2 guests apply”. The note says: “Failure to do so may result in you being denied transportation.” But the airline does not state who would be considered a “guest of size”.

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UK will sign deal paying in to EU budget within 15 years, says Ryanair boss

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Michael O’Leary says Brexit is ‘unbelievably messy’ and a ‘net negative’ on the British economy

The boss of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has launched a fresh attack on Brexit, describing it as “unbelievably messy” and predicting the UK would end up signing a Norway-style deal with the EU in the next 10 to 15 years under which it would pay into the bloc’s budget.

The outspoken chief executive of the Irish budget airline said over the next three to five years, the UK’s departure from the EU would be “net negative on the UK economy, no question about it”.

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Caught short at 35,000ft: plane forced to turn back after toilets malfunction

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Five of eight toilets broke down on Austrian Airlines flight carrying 300 people from Vienna to New York

An Austrian Airlines plane had to return two hours into a flight from Vienna to New York after five of its eight toilets broke down.

About 300 people were onboard Monday’s eight-hour, Boeing 777 flight. The crew decided to turn around after finding a technical problem was preventing the toilets from flushing properly, a spokesperson for the airline told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday.

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EasyJet expects bigger profits as summer bookings soar

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Budget airline has ramped up capacity and expects to be back to about pre-Covid levels

EasyJet has lifted its profit outlook for this year after summer bookings surged and passenger numbers over Easter returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The budget airline has increased capacity, by 40% from January to March, and expects to be back to about pre-pandemic levels in the summer.

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Air France and Airbus cleared of involuntary manslaughter over 2009 crash

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Paris court clears aviation giants over disaster that killed 228 people flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris

A Paris court has cleared Air France and Airbus of involuntary manslaughter over the crash of flight 447 in 2009 that killed 228 people.

Giving its verdict on Monday, the court said if there had been faults committed, “no certain causal link” with the accident could be shown.

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British Airways cancels 300 flights during Heathrow staff’s Easter strikes

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Airport security staff due to hold 10 days of strikes over pay, forcing airline to axe 5% of its schedule

British Airways is to cancel more than 300 flights to and from Heathrow over the Easter holiday period due to strikes by airport security staff.

The airline is axing about 5% of its schedule, with 16 return short-haul flights cancelled daily. It said the majority of affected customers would be booked on to alternative flights within 24 hours, or could be fully refunded.

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Etihad accused of misleading customers with greenwashing in ‘net zero’ ads

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Complaint made to ACCC says airline’s claims of net zero by 2050 are not feasible and company intends to increase absolute CO2 emissions

Etihad has been accused of misleading customers through advertising that spruiked its emissions reductions plans, with Australia’s consumer watchdog now considering action against the airline amid its crackdown on greenwashing.

Aviation emissions advocacy group Flight Free Australia alleged in the complaint that two Etihad advertisements that appeared on digital advertising banners during an A-League football match between Melbourne City and Adelaide United at Melbourne’s AAMI Park on 15 February last year were false or misleading.

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Electric air taxis being developed for Paris Olympics in 2024

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Aircraft will take off and land vertically, and carry a single passenger between transport hubs, says capital’s airports operator

Athletes are getting in shape for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, and so is the world’s first electric air taxi network.

“We are going to make it happen,” Solène Le Bris of Paris airports operator Groupe ADP told an industry audience at Amsterdam Drone Week. “We are trying to launch the first e-VTOL [vertical takeoff and landing] pre-commercial service in the world: that’s our ambition.”

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Aviation chiefs rejected measures to curb climate impact of jet vapours

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Airline industry claimed science not ‘robust’ enough to implement new controls to combat climate warming caused by vapour trails

Airlines and airports opposed measures to combat global warming caused by jet vapour trails that evidence suggests account for more than half of the aviation industry’s climate impact, new documents reveal.

The industry argued in government submissions that the science was not “robust” enough to justify reduction targets for these non-CO2 emissions. Scientists say the climate impact of vapour trails, or contrails, has been known for more than two decades, with one accusing the industry of a “typical climate denialist strategy”.

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Qantas criticised for ‘unfair’ Covid credit scheme despite 12-month extension

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Choice says flight credits should work like gift cards with customers able to split them over a number of transactions

Qantas and Jetstar are being criticised for an “unfair” Covid credit scheme, despite extending the deadline for customers to use the credits by 12 months.

The airlines announced on Thursday they were giving customers an additional 12 months to use their Covid credits, carry-overs from the extensive cancellations and border closures that came during the pandemic.

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Heathrow told to cut passenger charges in move that could lower fares

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Decision by Civil Aviation Authority comes despite airport having argued for higher fees

Heathrow airport has been ordered to cut average passenger charges by about 20% next year, in a move that could translate to lower ticket prices for travellers.

The decision by the UK regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) comes despite Heathrow having argued for higher fees, which are charged to airlines and are used to fund baggage handling, security and other costs across the airport’s terminals.

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Man arrested in Pennsylvania after explosive allegedly found in check-in bag

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Security discovered device during screening and suspect was apprehended after he left Lehigh Valley airport

A man was arrested after an explosive was found in a bag checked on to a Florida-bound flight at an eastern Pennsylvania airport, federal authorities said.

Marc Muffley, 40, is charged with possessing an explosive in an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft, according to a criminal complaint.

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JetBlue pilot’s ‘evasive action’ averts crash at Boston’s Logan airport

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A Learjet on Monday was directed to wait for passenger plane to land but began to take off, forcing JetBlue craft to ‘climb out’

US aviation authorities are investigating a near miss at Boston’s Logan international airport after a JetBlue pilot had to take “evasive action” while landing when another aircraft crossed an intersecting runway.

The close call occurred at about 7pm on Monday when the pilot of a Learjet 60 took off without clearance as a JetBlue flight was preparing to land on an intersecting runway, according to a preliminary review from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

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Lufthansa’s ‘green’ adverts banned in UK for misleading consumers

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Airline claim that it was protecting the world’s future is latest ad to fall foul of ASA rules

An ad campaign by Lufthansa claiming that its green initiatives were protecting the world has been banned by the UK advertising watchdog, which ruled it was misleading consumers over the environmental impact of flying.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation into the campaign – which featured a plane with an image of the Earth on its underside and the strapline: “Connecting the world. Protecting its future” – over concerns the German airline was giving consumers a “misleading impression of its environmental impact”.

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UK Border Force urged to ‘deprioritise’ gun and drugs searches to ease queues

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Exclusive: Leaked emails show airport staff were guided to ease passenger waits during school holidays

Airport managers have asked Border Force officers to “deprioritise” customs work such as searching for guns and drugs in order to stop passport queues frustrating travellers.

Leaked emails show that staff at Manchester airport were told this month that customs work should be carried out only if “there is no likelihood of an excessive queue time”.

Any staff who are contingency trained should be prioritised to the PCP [Primary Control Point] when required to prevent excessive queues.

Customs work is deprioritised and will only be carried out when you are satisfied there is no likelihood of an excessive queue time or in the event of a cat A target,” he wrote.

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