Airline News

Many border security agencies aren't ready to cope with a return to pre-pandemic levels of travel if they have to track additional pieces of information like traveler health. Blame the holdup on a debate about tactics and tech, not just budgetary shortfalls.

Steven Udvar-Házy started his career in aviation out of the trunk of his 1956 Oldsmobile while working as lifeguard in Los Angeles. Today, decades later, he has a unique view of his beloved industry. His prediction for airlines: Growth will be moderate for the next 18 to 24 months but airline travel will get back to be double GDP growth. "I don’t think there’s any way to really stop that."

The end of the year is near. Thank heavens for that.

Airlines shed jobs at the fastest rate since 1990 this fall as they slashed costs to weather the coronavirus pandemic. With prospect of additional federal relief still mired in politics, very real questions remain about the industry's ability to ramp up flights once travelers — and the economy — return.

United Airlines plans to stay ahead of the pack with a new effort to go "100 percent green." But it's unclear whether the decision to invest in something called direct carbon sequestration plants is any better than the industry norm of buying offsets for the nearly billion tons of greenhouse gases planes pump into the atmosphere every year.

Gol is set to be the first global airline to resume Boeing 737 Max flights on Wednesday, returning the jet at the beginning of Brazil's busy summer travel season. But questions remain over whether travelers have confidence in the aircraft after a 20-month grounding with no less than the future of Boeing hanging in the balance.