Articles tagged “airline weekly”

The pandemic only put off a problem that had been looming for the U.S. airline industry: The shortage of pilots. Airlines are competing for scarce talent and are cutting back schedules because they can't find enough aviators. Not helping matters is a historic run-up in fuel prices, which only adds to airlines' woes as they start to see demand for travel rise.

Boeing and Airbus have ambitious plans to deliver hundreds of airplanes to the world's airlines this year, but supply chain woes could imperil their targets. Boeing, in particular, is struggling to meet its goals, said Steve Udvar-Hazy, executive chairman of Air Lease Corp.

Russia has moved to block foreign leasing companies from repossessing their aircraft in the country. More than half of the commercial airplanes in Russia are owned by Western lessors, and the lessors have until March 28 to comply with sanctions and repossess those airplanes. But Russia's move to essentially commandeer those aircraft is a violation of international law and could cost lessors billions of dollars.

Now that airlines are no longer required to fly to all their pre-pandemic destinations per aid rules, several have begun dropping routes to smaller cities. This is the perfect time for startup airlines to fill in the void and start flying from secondary markets, Avelo's new Chief Financial Officer Hunter Keay says.

Lufthansa predicts strong summer leisure demand, even with a war happening on its doorstep. Asia flights will take two hours longer than they used to when they could overfly Siberia, but the additional fuel costs will be offset by not having to pay steep Russian overflight fees.

The fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine is spreading far and wide for airlines. Aeroflot and other Russian carriers face potentially crippling sanctions, while others from Europe to the U.S. are recalibrating to a new environment.

Airlines increasingly are feeling the effects of the U.S. pilot shortage. United Airlines is the latest to cancel routes and drop destinations because it can't find enough pilots to operate its flights. The problem could take a while to resolve, as it takes years to train a pilot to fly a commercial flight.

The backlash for Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to mount. AirBaltic has suspended flights to the country through at least May, with CEO Martin Gauss saying he doesn't "think it’s right" to serve the country for the time being.

Airlines are already beginning to feel the repercussions of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Airspace closures are only just beginning and are expected to extend as European countries ban Russian airlines. But the real loser could be Russia's Aeroflot, which depends on overflight royalties and operates a fleet of Western aircraft.

For this special guest edition of the Skift Podcast, the Airline Weekly team speaks with Accenture about the future of business travel.