22 May 2017

USA Aviation Industry Newsletter 22 May

Alaska wins US DOT approval for Mexico City routes Seattle-based Alaska Airlines has won approval by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for services to Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport from Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, California. American Airlines changing concourses at Cleveland Hopkins American Airlines is to start moving operations from Concourse A to Concourse C at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The new gates they will be using are C2, C3, C4, C5, C8, C10 and C14, according to a news release from the airport. In the short term, American remain at gates A1 and A3 during the transition. AA made the decision to move to Concourse C to consolidate operations which were spread out on Concourse A due to their merger with the former US Airways, according to Cleveland Hopkins. Branson Hints at New U.S. Airline Venture After Alaska Spat Billionaire Richard Branson signaled he may jump back into the U.S. airline business after tussling with Alaska Air Group Inc. over how long the carrier must pay royalties on his Virgin America brand. Alaska has to keep paying “unless we decide to start another airline. So, we’ll see what happens,” Branson said in an interview Thursday with Bloomberg TV. When asked if he would create a new carrier, he said, “watch this space.” Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway boosts American, Southwest holdings Berkshire Hathaway bought more shares of American Airlines and Southwest Airlines in the 2017 first quarter. According to a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, during the first quarter Berkshire raised its stake in Dallas-based Southwest by 10% to 47.7 million shares and in Dallas/Fort Worth-based American by 8.2% to 49.3 million shares. Delta to test self-service baggage drop at MSP Customers of Delta Air Lines will soon be able to check in bags by scanning their faces at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The Atlanta-based carrier is spending $600,000 to test a new self-service bag drop system at MSP this summer. If all goes well, the airline plans to roll it out nationwide. The biometric scan will only work if a customer has a valid U.S. passport, according to Transportation Security Administration requirements. Record-breaking 234 Million Passengers Set to Fly on US Airlines This Summer New statistics predict that American carriers are expected to carry a record number of passengers in 2017, with an estimated 234 million fliers set to take to the skies on US airlines this summer alone. Thanks to a steadily improving economy, historically low airfares and increasing household incomes, this summer will see more than 2.54 million passengers take flight on a US airline per day -- a growth of four percent over last year, says Airlines for America. Acumen Aviation © 22 May All Rights Reserved.