Latam Airlines Group bottom place on Americas Airline Index

The Latam Airlines Group has been ranked the bottom of the league table for this decade on the Bloomberg Americas Airline Index, just three years after the merger between Chilean carrier LAN and Brazil’s TAM. Latam Airlines’ stocks continue to drop and post poor results, sending shares to a six-year low this month. When the merger took place Brazil’s economy was thriving, but recent statistics show that last year Brazil’s GDP was dormant and actually dropped by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to 2015’s Q1.According to Bloomsberg’s data, only 22% of analysts recommend buying Latam now, compared to 71% in June 2012.

 

Hybrid airship breakthrough

For over 20 years, US-based company Lockheed Martin Aeronautics has been developing a hybrid airship to address the difficulty of bringing heavy equipment into areas with inadequate infrastructure. Just this week, Hybrid Enterprises, announced a breakthrough on behalf of Lockheed at the Paris Air Show: it will be taking orders for this new class of aircraft for delivery as early as 2018.

These airships will be the solution to the problems presented by the delivery of cargo to the parts of the world that have no direct access to paved roads. This comprises over two-thirds of the world’s land surface and half the human population – thus a great deal stands to be gained by this invention.

The airships would enable the affordable and safe delivery of cargo and personnel anywhere, weather permitting, with little or no infrastructure. Rob Binns, CEO of Hybrid Enterprises, said of the creation: “Lockheed Martin’s Hybrid Airships will significantly reduce the cost and environmental impact of remote operations, making it possible to reach locations previously thought inaccessible.” In addition to making hard to reach areas viable destinations, the airships burn less than one-tenth the fuel of a helicopter per ton, and will therefore be much more sustainable.

Lockheed Martin’s P-791, a fully functional, manned flight demonstrator has already been used to test the technologies required for hybrid airships in flight. Orlando Carvalho, Executive VP of Lockheed Martin, said all necessary planning steps for FAA certification of a new class of aircraft are finalised, and the company is ready to start producing its first model for the commercial market. Work is already underway on the 20 ton variant at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics facility in Palmdale, US.

United leaves JFK

United Airlines has decided to do away with its operations at JFK, New York’s main airport, to focus its efforts at Newark, New Jersey, at which it has a hub.

Only 15 United aircraft fly from JFK, carrying out transcontinental routes to places such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, most often utilizing aircraft with fewer seats and more beds to appeal to its premium-class passengers. If the Wall Street Journal is to be believed, however, these routes have not made a profit since United launched them seven years ago. Poor results are likely due, at least in part, to stiff competition from the likes of JetBlue, American Airlines and Delta, which are also based at JFK.

Operating these flights out of JFK has also meant that the airline could not feed passengers into its network at Newark, from where it operates 500 flights a day, including transatlantic routes. United has sold its JFK slots to Delta Air Lines, which intends to reciprocally sell its own Newark slots to United, dependent on the go-ahead from regulators.

EPA to address aircraft GHG emissions

The Environmental Protection Agency Administrator is predicting to find that greenhouse gas emissions from certain classes of aircraft engines contribute to climate change and endanger public health and welfare, as per section 231(a) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act). At this time, the EPA is not at this time submitting aircraft engine GHG emission standards.

The EPA is also releasing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will provide details on the process for implementing an international CO₂ emissions standard for aircraft with ICAO.

Three-year drug smuggling scheme at Oakland International

A group of Southwest baggage handlers at Oakland International airport was reportedly involved in a drug smuggling conspiracy that has been going on for more than three years. The employees abused their positions of authority, using their security badges to enter secure areas of the airport carrying bags containing marijuana. After smuggling the bags past security checkpoints they were then given to waiting accomplices in the airport who had successfully cleared security. These mules then transported the drugs in carry-on bags to other cities around the country.

The handlers were amongst some 14 accused that have been charged for participating in the illicit scheme. The accused employees are no longer permitted access to the airport and are now under internal investigation.

Delta to load carry-on in advance of passenger boarding

As of the summer travel season, Delta intends to preload passenger carry-on bags into overhead bins on some flights in the hope that it will speed up the boarding process.

Airlines have long been searching for a more efficient boarding method: most simply let first-class and other elite customers board first and following this will either fill the remaining seats working from the rear rows forward or by filling window seats first and working towards the aisle. Some use a combination of the two. Other methods, like letting passengers board early if they do not have carry-on bags, have also been tried.

Passengers are well aware that boarding late means there might not be any room left in the overhead bin for their hand luggage, which leaves them anxious, and airlines, too, know that slow boarding creates delays, which can lead to missed connections, unhappy customers and incurred costs.

It has been calculated by researchers from Northern Illinois University that every extra minute an aircraft stands idle at the gate adds US$30 in costs. About one in four US flights runs at least 15 minutes behind schedule, which, multiplied by thousands of flights each day, quickly mounts up.

Delta is taking a proactive approach by launching its Early Valet service, which involves airline employees taking carry-on bags from passengers at the gate and putting them in the bins above the seats assigned to those passengers. The aim is to see if its airline workers can load the bins faster than passengers. The service, already in action, is expected to increase slowly throughout the month of June, according to Delta spokeswoman, Morgan Durrant.

Air Canada recruits Mercator to provide new software

Air Canada has signed on software provider Mercator and will implement the RAPID Cargo solution in the hope of enhancing its revenue accounting system for cargo operations.

The carrier has said that it was looking for an integrated, modern revenue accounting solution that would interface with its existing cargo system and this new application offers to tend to these concerns, helping align its processes to “industry leading practices, standards and quality”.

Air Canada wants to improve the efficiency of accounts, reduce manual processing and intervention, and enable the generation of real-time reports.

The RAPID Cargo application works by transforming the data on cargo air waybills into a flow of financial and strategic information. Bernard Donoghue, Chief Commercial Officer at Mercator, added: “Air Canada joins a growing community of more than 60 air carriers worldwide that use RAPID to manage their revenue accounting as they seek innovative ways to streamline their businesses and reduce costs in challenging economic times.”

Chris Isford, Vice President and Controller at Air Canada, said: “We reviewed and evaluated several cargo revenue accounting solutions on the market, and ultimately chose Mercator for its track record in rapidly responding to the changing financial needs of airlines by using the latest industry-tested technologies.

“We sought a modern, reliable and robust framework to handle our revenue accounting processes, and RAPID Cargo enables us to handle the most complex revenue accounting demands with speed, accuracy and profitability.”