Impact of coronavirus on aviation industry.

[PHXPhlyer]

Lufthansa is bringing back the A380 superjumbo

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/luft ... index.html

(CNN) — The A380 superjumbo is beloved among aviation fans, thanks to its spacious interior, mighty size and quiet inflight experience, but its days have been numbered since Airbus announced in 2019 it was ceasing production of the airliner.
Costly to run, the world's largest passenger aircraft's demise was apparently accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic travel slump, but now German airline Lufthansa -- which had been selling off its grounded A380s and was understood to be retiring the aircraft from its fleet -- has announced plans to redeploy the huge plane from summer 2023.
In a statement released on Monday, Lufthansa said the aircraft was returning "in response to the steep rise in customer demand and the delayed delivery of ordered aircraft," noting the A380 remains popular with its crew, as well as passengers.
Return of the superjumbo

Lufthansa has sold six of its A380s over the last couple of years and the airline has eight superjumbos remaining in its fleet. These aircraft are currently in "deep storage" in Spain and France.
The German flag carrier says it's still assessing how many A380s will be reactivated, and is figuring out what routes they might fly on.
Typically airlines deploy superjumbos on long-haul, popular routes. The size of the aircraft makes them costly to run, so there has to be demand to justify it.

While in recent years the A380 appeared to be on the way out, Lufthansa's decision suggests the A380's not consigned to the history books just yet. Superjumbos also remain in Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Korean Air, All Nippon Airways and British Airways' fleets.
Upon delivery of the final A380 in December 2021, Emirates president Tim Clark said it will "remain Emirates' flagship product for the coming years."
Singapore Airlines, meanwhile, acknowledged the passenger appeal of the superjumbo when announcing plans to reinstate the aircraft last year. "Some people just book the A380 specifically to fly on it," Siva Govindasamy, Singapore Airlines' global public affairs head, told CNN Travel.
Earlier this year, an Airbus A380 also completed a test flight powered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF -- a type of fuel predominantly made of used cooking oil and waste fats -- and operating on a single Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine.

PP

[Woody]

This is happening so fast that they haven’t told their staff yet

https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/06/2 ... erminal-5/

[G-CPTN]

Earlier this year, an Airbus A380 also completed a test flight powered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF -- a type of fuel predominantly made of used cooking oil and waste fats -- and operating on a single Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine.

Single-engine operation? - or only one engine running on SAF?

[Undried Plum]

How’s American Airlines doing currently?
American Airlines is operating 170,335 flights in March 2022, offering over 20.6 million seats worldwide. It is the world’s largest airline by scheduled flights, according to data provided by OAG.

There's a local lad who did extremely well in his ATPLs. In eight them he got 100% and most of the rest were in the mid to high 90s. He failed only one, getting a low 50s result. It was his own silly fault because he knew he was suffering symptoms of Covid but sat the exam anyway. Bloody irresponsible and he knows it. The woolliheadness that was one of the symptoms meant his judgement was badly clouded that day. He atoned by getting a 100% passmark when he resat the exam a month or two later. Ironically, the subject he flubbed was Human Performance.

He applied for an assessment with both BA and AA and got an invite to both. The BA assessment was the week before the AA one, but AA made him an offer the week before BA offered him a job. He immediately took the AA one, of course. A bird in the hand and all that, but he'd have preferred the BA one as he would probably have been given an Edinburgh base for the Embraer run to LCY. He's not very enamoured of the idea of being based in somewhere like Chicago or New York.

AA sorted out the conversion to FAA paperwork and sorted out a green card for him while he was doing the type rating on the 777. He's based in London, riding the jump seat mostly, but being given a couple of hours in the front seat twice on each sector while the skipper and Co-Joe take turns to have a nap. He's been told to expect to be promoted to full F/O in October or November of this year. He's looking forward to that as he hasn't actually handled the primary flight controls since training!

I was astonished that AA is taking on non-US pilots while there are unemployed American (by nationality) pilots galore. Mebbe it's a negotiating tactic with APLA or something. He's happy as most of his classmates are still stuck in the endless application cycle and at least two of them are working as baggage handlers.

[G-CPTN]

at least two of them are working as baggage handlers.

!

[PHXPhlyer]

After taking billions of government money to not furlough pilots, the airlines proceeded to give early out deals (not furloughs) in order to keep to the conditions of the gov't bailout.
Fast forward ~2 years and they are having many cancelations for lack of crew, only exacerbated by irregular ops due to bad wx.
Now the are having to throw massive amounts of money towards keeping things halfway together.

If I had only had a few more years I could be making out bigtime right now. Of course, I would have had to go through a lot to get there.
The newsletters that I still get from the Union are full of horror stories that I am glad I am not having to live through.

Edit to add:
D#1's ex-BF went from instructing as soon as he got the hours to get his ATP. Had his choice of regional carriers and spent one year at one before being hired by a major. Before he could report for ground school AA called and he went there.

Triple Pay and Better Benefits: How Airlines Are Curbing Summer Travel Turmoil

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/430397

With a chaotic summer travel season underway, airlines are trying to figure out how to combat the staffing shortages that contributed to over 700 canceled flights on Monday alone.

American Airlines and United Airlines are among those major carriers trying to retain their in-demand pilots, CNBC reports, with increased pay and benefits.

American Airlines regional carrier Envoy Air will give pilots triple pay if they fly open trips from July 2-31. "This will only be offered if there are open trips available, and currently Envoy is fully covered with its flight schedule this summer," the carrier said.

Additionally, earlier this month, American Airlines' regional subsidiaries — Envoy, Piedmont, and PSA — agreed to a temporary 50% pay bump for pilots through August 2024.

Related: American Airlines Desperately Asks Employees to Volunteer to Help Keep Up With Busy Summer Travel Season

Last Friday, the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents roughly 14,000 United Airlines pilots, secured a 14.5% pay increase for pilots within 18 months, marking the first time a major U.S. carrier reached such an agreement since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The two-year contract also includes eight weeks of paid maternity leave.

The United Airlines agreement sets a powerful precedent for other major U.S. carriers, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines, as unions fight to improve their quality of life after more than two grueling years of the pandemic.

"Our team will be paid well and be paid competitively," American Airlines CEO Robert Isom promised following United's milestone agreement. "You are not going to fall behind network peers."

PP

[Undried Plum]

I guess it means that they've got an airside security clearance which seems to take months nowadays.

I guess it also shows a work ethic which sets them apart from the type who might prefer to sit at home on the dole. I'm sure that any interviewer is going ask a candidate what they've done since completing the ATPL and other studies. Given a choice between two candidates, one of whom had worked his arse off shifting heavy bags or someone who's been loafing in the pub all day, the selection of the hard worker is a no-brainer.

[Woody]

I’ve known several people who’ve worked on the ramp whilst studying for CPL etc

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Same old, same old.
25 years ago, the US baby pilots used to work as cabin crew whilst awaiting their F/O slots. I knew several.
One was approaching Honolulu when a Japanese guy in a window seat decided to pretend-machine gun the US fleet in Pearl Harbor.
He tapped him on the shoulder, and when the guy looked round he shaped a mushroom cloud with his hands, and said in a stage-whisper "BOOM!!".

[Wodrick]

I’ve known several people who’ve worked on the ramp whilst studying for CPL etc

Me too, and a long time before all this happened, 15 to 20 years ago.

[llondel]

It sort of seems a good idea that before becoming a pilot you get some insight into everything else that happens to get the aircraft in the air. Working on the ramp lets you see what's going on around the aircraft so you know who to blame when there's a foul-up and you're in the LH seat.

[Woody]

Heathrow telling airlines to cancel flights as they can’t cope with the pax numbers

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... urope.html

[Woody]

Don’t Panic, the Government is getting involved

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-governme ... passengers

Only a matter of time before Dido Harding is put in charge.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Seems like a complete unwillingness to admit or face the real reasons for the problem, and a belief that a PR campaign and more foreign workers will solve everything.

Same as the last 15 years in every industry, then

Remind me of the definition of insanity....

[Pontius Navigator]

Heathrow...

.. that's Woody's task.


Well, my friends and family are making a point of only using Heathrow this year, and nothing's been lost yet, so he and his oppos must be doing something right.

We had a talk at the club last year. Haven't got the faintest what she talked about but she had worked initially in airport security, worked up the tree and I think head of something at Heathrow.
Now retired, she became a vicar. Maybe you need to be a Saint to work at Heathrow.

[Woody]

Maybe you need to be a Saint to work at Heathrow.

You certainly need the patience of one

[Woody]

Well the new Cloggie boss is going to have work for his money

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62070451

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

People are adapting to the problems.
Sis #1 just made it across the Pond from LHR. She reports that the a/c was supposed to be delayed, but it looks like almost everyone was traveling with cabin bags only, the boarding of the 737 MAX took only 10 minutes, and the Captain went for it. They were airborne before the delay notification reached them. The announcement that the gate was closing came less than a minute after the announcement that boarding was commencing, as every pax was there and organised. Every seat occupied.

[Woody]

Looks like BA will have to find someone else to blame for the wheels falling off

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... offer.html

[Woody]

Just one more shift to survive in the World’s worst airport, HAL may have to register that as a trademark

I’ve got a whole shift off and with rest days I won’t be back until the 25th and I’m going to miss the latest attempt to make the Operation work, which basically involves shifting all the flights that were moved from T5 to T3 back to T5 again , this might shorten the famous T3 security queue, but not much else.

Anyway family Woody are off to Dorset for a week, sleeping in a safari tent , weather looks set fair, wonder if we’ll see OM15