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For some airlines, the net-zero target was nothing new. But for all carriers, the important task is working out how to get there – and then implementing that plan.
The IATA AGM marked by a shift away from the harmonious front seen in parts of the commercial air transport industry at the height of the pandemic.
Airline leaders left IATA’s World Air Transport Summit this week in a buoyant mood, sensing the industry’s worst days are behind it, and that normalcy is months, not years, away. They also left having made firm commitments to reduce carbon output, saying the industry is emerging from the pandemic-driven aviation downturn with invigorated dedication to environmental stewardship. Exactly how airlines will significantly cut carbon, however, remains unclear.
The transition will continue a period during which the role has been taken by the chief executive of an airline outside the group of network carriers that are traditionally the high-profile core of IATA’s membership.
Even though the final Airbus A380 has rolled off the production line in Toulouse, Emirates Airline – and president Tim Clark – are still madly in love with the superjumbo, as the carrier looks forward to welcoming the last three of the type into the fleet later this year.
An IATA survey has revealed significant frustration with Covid-19 travel restrictions, and that air travellers believe the freedom of travel should be restored.
Developing new aircraft powered by novel technologies such as un-ducted fans and hydrogen-burning engines remains essentially unfeasible without billions and billions of dollars in direct government aid.
A senior airline executive warns that a further casualty of the coronavirus crisis - in addition to at least two years of financial pain - will likely be innovation and new products.
Ambitious carbon-reduction goals have led airframers to pursue longer-term, more-revolutionary technologies rather than bringing incremental efficiency improvements to market faster, according to a top Airbus executive.
The upcoming reopening of transatlantic air travel can serve as an example of how other travel markets can be restarted – which is why the aviation industry has so much riding on the process going smoothly.
Ahead of this year’s IATA AGM in Boston, FlightGlobal spoke to the airline association’s director general Willie Walsh about his aims for the gathering – and his views on the challenges and opportunities ahead for the airline industry
Rick Leach, chief executive of GoJet Airlines, sees a rare opportunity in front of the St Louis-based regional carrier created by slackening demand for pilots among its major US counterparts.
Three years have passed since US start-up Avelo Airlines first took off from Burbank, California with an aggressive plan to carve a niche among established ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs).
US start-up carrier New Pacific Airlines is pivoting to focus mostly on charter flights after struggling to catch on with its scheduled passenger service out of Southern California.
The recent arrival in Honolulu of a GEnx-1B-powered Boeing 787-9 adorned with Hawaiian’s floral livery – the first of 12 now expected through 2027 – is a long-awaited and horizon-expanding addition to the carrier’s long-haul fleet.
While regional carrier Airlink has long been an established player in the market, it has under founding chief executive Rodger Foster taken the chance created by rivals’ troubles in South Africa to expand into new markets in its own right
Cathay Pacific’s sustainability chief is hopeful of “more ambition” in targets set for sustainable aviation fuels, amid wider discussion over the sector can boost its sustainability credentials.
Phoenix-based regional carrier Mesa Airlines has been manoeuvring to reduce debt and improve profitability, largely through new agreements with partner United Airlines.
The recent launch of Global Crossing Airlines Group’s new subsidiary UrbanX is part of a long-term plan to develop an electric aviation ecosystem in South Florida that will build off the expanding cargo and charter operations of GlobalX and its fleet of Airbus A320s.
As the dust settles on arguably the biggest surprise announcement of the year for US commercial aviation, Hawaiian Airlines’ chief executive Peter Ingram says there is probably no better match for Hawaiian than Alaska Airlines.
SkyTeam chief executive Patrick Roux believes alliances are proving their worth to members, providing ways to accelerate co-operation among partner carriers and to develop seamless travel options for customers.
SunExpress’ introduction of larger Boeing 737-10s as part of its new long-term follow-on order for Max jets underlines chief executive Max Kownatzki’s confidence the leisure carrier can continue to ride the Turkish boom which has seen it perform so strongly since the Covid pandemic.
Icelandic budget carrier Play turned its first profit in the third quarter after a bright summer, but two and half years into the project, chief executive Birgir Jonsson is making sure the airline does not drift away from the basics
