Category Archives: Airline industry

Why Australians are paying 50% more for air fares than pre-pandemic even as jet fuel costs drop

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New data reveals the average return economy airfare to the most popular overseas destinations is now $1,827, compared with $1,213 in 2019

Australian international air fares have surged by more than 50% above pre-pandemic levels, new data shows, even as the cost of jet fuel plunges, creating a tailwind for airline profits and source of frustration for travellers.

Analysts link the apparent discrepancy between high fares and falling costs to profit maximisation, with airlines including Australia’s national carrier Qantas, in no hurry to give up the extra income.

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Balearic authorities call meeting with Ryanair in pastry carry-on

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Airline said to have demanded two passengers pay €45 each to take ensaïmada onboard with hand luggage

The government of the Balearic Islands has called an urgent meeting with Ryanair and the local pastry-makers’ association after the airline tried to charge passengers to bring cakes onboard, claiming it exceeded their cabin baggage limit.

The row erupted after two passengers at Palma de Mallorca airport tried to each carry an ensaïmada, a traditional Mallorcan pastry, along with their hand baggage. The airline demanded an additional €45 (£39) each to bring the pastries onboard, at which point the passengers abandoned them rather than paying.

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Busy roads and airports expected over late-May UK bank holiday weekend

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More than 3,000 planes scheduled to take off on Friday, with road traffic peaking as leisure trips coincide with commuting

The start of the May half-term holiday for many schools will see “hectic” roads and the most flights departing the UK since before the pandemic, according to industry estimates.

About 19m leisure journeys by car are expected on Britain’s roads over the next four days, and more than 3,000 planes are scheduled to take off on Friday.

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Australian airlines push back on calls to compensate passengers for delays and cancellations

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Exclusive: Companies say a compensation scheme like the EU’s would drive up air fares in Australia

Australian airlines are pushing back against calls for new laws that would force them to pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled, with claims it would force carriers to preemptively raise air fares to fund payouts.

The resistance follows the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, consumer advocate Choice and the Australian Lawyers Alliance all separately raising the prospect of a compensation scheme to rein in airlines arbitrarily changing their schedules, as the government considers its aviation white paper.

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Birmingham airport had longest delays in UK last year

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Passengers faced average 30-minute wait, slightly worse than Manchester during 2022’s travel chaos

Passengers flying from Birmingham airport experienced the longest delays in the UK last year, official figures show.

Flight departures from Birmingham were on average half an hour behind schedule in 2022, marginally worse than Manchester, in a year marked by chaos for travellers.

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Qantas accused of wasting ‘eye-watering’ amounts of money defending ‘illegal sackings’

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Transport Workers’ Union says Qantas’s actions constitute ‘the largest case of illegal sackings in Australian history’

Qantas has been condemned for wasting “eye-watering amounts” on “legal warfare” to defend what unions describe as the “largest case of illegal sackings in Australian history”.

The high court on Tuesday began hearing an appeal by Qantas against rulings in the federal court that its decision to outsource the jobs of 1,700 ground handlers in 2020 was unlawful.

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US proposes rules requiring airlines to compensate passengers for flight delays

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Airlines would have to offer cash compensation and accommodation vouchers for cancellations and delays

Ahead of what promises to be a busy summer for the travel industry, the US Department of Transportation is proposing new rules that would require airlines to compensate passengers for cancellations and disruptions caused by the airlines.

Airlines for now are required to issue refunds to passengers if flights are canceled or significantly delayed due to factors within an airline’s control, including staffing shortages and maintenance issues. But the proposed rules, if approved, would require airlines to offer cash compensation and accommodation vouchers in addition to those refunds.

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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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