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[ad_1] A Southwest Airlines plane takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California, July 25, 2024. Mario Tama | Getty Images Southwest Airlines and American Airlines raised their fourth-quarter forecasts on Thursday, citing strong demand and higher fares, sending shares in the carriers higher. Southwest said in a securities filing that fourth-quarter unit revenue will likely rise between 5.5% and 7% from last year, up from a previous forecast of an increase of no more than 5.5%. The airline said its network changes aimed at culling unprofitable flights are paying off and that demand into next year appears solid. "The Company is encouraged by recent revenue trends and forward bookings, including fourth quarter holiday travel, and currently expects strong revenue trends and tactical initiative performance to carry into 2025," Southwest said. Southwest also said it would complete its first sale-leaseback of aircraft in the first quarter. Read more CNBC air...

[ad_1] A pilot performs a walkaround before a United Airlines flight Leslie Josephs/CNBC U.S. passenger airlines have added nearly 194,000 jobs since 2021 as companies went on a hiring spree after spending months in a pandemic slump, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Now the industry is cooling its hiring. Airlines are close to their staffing needs but the slowdown is also coming in part because they're facing a slew of challenges. A glut of flights in the U.S. has pushed down fares and eaten into airlines' profits . Demand growth has moderated. Airplanes are arriving late from Boeing and Airbus , prompting airlines to rethink their expansions. Engines are in short supply . Some carriers are deferring airplane deliveries altogether. And labor costs have climbed after groups like pilots and mechanics inked new contracts with big raises, their first in years. Annual pay for a three-year first officer on midsized equipment at U.S. airlines averaged $170...

[ad_1] Passengers make their way through the terminal as they travel ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday at Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on Nov. 22, 2023. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters In air travel, minutes matter. A few moments could be the difference between making and missing a connection for passengers — and could avoid delays that ripple across the schedule for airlines. Saved time could even lead to big savings for carriers as they scramble to get a handle on costs. Major airlines are rolling out strategies that executives say could translate to lower costs and more efficient operations, even if the time savings on paper look negligible. Some of these tools will be put to the test during what's expected to be a busy holiday season , a year after a meltdown that stranded thousands of passengers at the end of 2022. Many of the improvements are being made behind the scenes. American Airlines last year started using new technology to assign flight...

[ad_1] An American Airlines 777 is loaded with cargo at Philadelphia International Airport. Leslie Josephs/CNBC Airlines' cargo revenue is slumping. That's a sign of good news for travel recovery. Delta , United and American this month each reported year-over-year declines of about 40% in their second-quarter cargo revenue. For the first half of 2023, Delta's cargo business generated $381 million, down from $561 million in the first half of 2022, while American's cargo unit brought in $420 million compared with $692 million in the first six months of last year. United brought in $760 million from cargo so far this year, down from $1.2 billion a year earlier. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Meanwhile, airlines are reporting record revenue , if not earnings , thanks to the rebound in travel demand. That means the business impact of cargo, which once helped prop up airlines' revenue during the Covid pandemic travel plunge, has faded. Cargo revenue at Unite...

[ad_1] A Jet Blue aircraft takes off from Long Beach Airport in Long Beach, CA. Tim Rue | Bloomberg | Getty Images JetBlue Airways slashed its 2023 outlook and warned of a potential loss in the current quarter as travelers opt for destinations abroad and the carrier grapples with the end of its partnership with American Airlines in the Northeast. JetBlue forecast adjusted earnings per share for the full year ranging from 5 cents to 40 cents, down from an earlier estimate for per-share earnings of as much as $1. related investing news The New York-based carrier said it could post an adjusted loss of as much as 20 cents for the third quarter with revenue down 4% to 8% from the same period last year. The airline's shares tumbled more than 8% on Tuesday after reporting second-quarter results . Here's how the company performed in the period, compared with Wall Street expectations, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates: Adjusted earnings per share: 45 cents vs. 44 cents...

[ad_1] FAA: System failure caused ground stop FAA: System outage caused a nationwide ground stop 02:52 The computer glitch that forced the temporary suspension earlier this month of U.S. domestic airline departures was caused by a contractor who mistakenly and unintentionally deleted files, the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday. Damage to a database file had already been pinpointed by the agency as a probable cause of the January 11 issue, which prompted thousands of flight cancellations and delays nationwide. During the hours-long outage, pilots couldn't access the system known as Notice to Air Missions...

[ad_1] A United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft lands at San Francisco International Airport in California on March 13, 2019. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images United Airlines said Monday that it has found loose bolts on door plugs of several Boeing 737 Max 9 planes during inspections spurred when a panel of that type blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight using that type of aircraft last week. Alaska Airlines later Monday said its initial inspections of the jets had turned up "loose hardware" and that, "No aircraft will be returned to service" until formal reviews are complete. "The safety of these aircraft is our priority and we will take the time and steps necessary to ensure their airworthiness, in close partnership with the FAA," Alaska Airlines said in a statement. The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday grounded dozens of 737 Max 9s after the panel blew out midflight on Alaska Flight 1282. Alaska has 65 of the Max 9 planes in it...

[ad_1] Artificial intelligence could be used to prevent planes from creating planet-warming condensation trails, or contrails, according to a new study . Exactly how much impact contrails have on global warming is still being studied, but one recent study found the feathery streaks in the sky can trap enough heat to account for about 35% of the aviation industry's climate impact.   "A contrail could form and then just dissipate, but the contrails that persist can be very warming," Jill Blickstein, vice president of sustainability at American Airlines, said.  The airline recently joined a study led by Google and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which is a Bill Gates-created organization that helps fund technology to reduce emissions. The study found pilots could use contrail forecast maps developed by AI to make slight altitude adjustments during trips. That could decrease contrail creation by more than 50%  How the study worked  C...

[ad_1] People walk in Central Park as smoke from wildfires in Canada cause hazy conditions in New York City on June 7, 2023.  Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images Smoke from Canada wildfires is set to disrupt flights again Thursday after hundreds were delayed a day earlier due to decreased visibility, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The FAA said it will "likely need to take steps to manage the flow of traffic safely into New York City, DC, Philadelphia and Charlotte due to reduced visibility from wildfire smoke." Traffic to Philadelphia International Airport was paused until 9:15 a.m., the FAA said. Hundreds of flights at LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed on Wednesday due to the heavy smoke. The FAA had briefly paused traffic altogether into LaGuardia during the day. As of about 9 a.m. ET on Thursday, there were nearly 800 flights delayed across the U.S., according to flight-tracker FlightAware . This story is developing...

[ad_1] Travelers at LaGuardia Airport in New York on June 30, 2022. Leslie Josephs | CNBC Airfare fell 6.4% in January from a year earlier, the Labor Department said in its monthly consumer price index report on Tuesday. It might not last too long. January is typically a slower month for travel as customers take fewer trips following the New Year's holiday. Domestic travel usually picks up during school breaks and spring holidays. The drop comes even though carriers are facing capacity constraints this year, in part because of an engine recall from Pratt & Whitney , congested airspace and delayed aircraft deliveries. Meanwhile, airline executives have forecast robust demand this year, even in the domestic market, which has faced more competition from international destinations that opened up in the wake of the pandemic. Those trends could help lift fares. "The capacity decline is related to artificial constraints due to aircraft delivery delays and GTF engine issues...

[ad_1] Passenger planes sit on the tarmac at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Nov. 4, 2022, before China ended Covid-related restrictions on travel. Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images BEIJING — China announced late Monday that travelers will no longer need to quarantine upon arrival on the mainland starting Jan. 8. The forthcoming shift follows an abrupt relaxation this month in domestic Covid controls. The changes end the bulk of the most restrictive measures that China had imposed for nearly three years under its zero-Covid policy. Since March 2020, travelers to the mainland have had to quarantine , typically at a designated hotel and for 14 days. That isolation period subsequently began to increase to 21 days or more for some travelers, before China began cutting quarantine times this summer. Current policy requires five days of quarantine at a centralized facility, followed by three days at home. China's National Health Commission also said th...

[ad_1] Travelers walk at a terminal hall in Beijing Capital International Airport, China. Tingshu Wang | Reuters The United States is planning to lift a  Covid testing requirement  for travelers from China put in place earlier this year, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News on Tuesday. The plan,  first  reported by the Washington Post, would nix the China-specific requirements that were implemented in early January. The U.S. began requiring a pre-departure negative Covid test for travelers ages 2 and up flying from China on Jan. 5. The policy followed a  surge  in coronavirus cases in China after it ended its strict Covid-zero policy. [ad_2] Source link https://worldnews2023.com/health/u-s-plans-to-lift-covid-testing-requirements-for-travelers-from-china/?feed_id=221405&_unique_id=658e53bea387a

[ad_1] CNN  —  Schools across Auckland, New Zealand, will close Monday as the island nation’s largest city braces for the arrival of Cyclone Gabrielle, CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand reported Sunday. More than 36 schools and universities will shut their doors despite no formal order from the Ministry of Education, RNZ said, while the InterCity bus network will also reduce its services. According to the New Zealand MetService, gale force winds have already been recorded over the North Island on Sunday, with some reaching as high as 140 kph (87 mph). “I can’t remember a time when the whole of the North Island was on a wind warning,” said Lisa Murray, head of Weather Communications for the MetService. “This is a huge sprawling weather system affecting the country. Extreme rain and wind are expected for many North Island regions, accompanied by phenomenal seas along n...