• JetBlue has finally announced its long-awaited second destination in Europe
• American Flight Attendants Picket Throughout The United States
• Frontier Airlines unlimited all-you-can-fly pass will cost $599, details released
• Barstool Sports Founder Brags To Rite Aid Cashier About His 44 Million Amex Points
• Union To United Flight Attendants: Check Out Of Your Hotel And Settle Bill For Incidental Charges
• Dad Refuses To Trade Seats, Leaving Man Stuck Between Mom, Dad, And Baby On Airplane
• New American Airlines Amenity Kits In All Four Classes Of Service
• Woman arrested after staying in a Bullitt County hotel room for days with a deceased man
• The Other Side Of The Door: What Pilots Do At Different Stages Of A Flight
• Lessors see challenges in secondary market as recession looms
• Dogs on a Plane: Flight With More Than 50 Hounds on Board Makes Emergency Landing at Wisconsin Golf Course
• Etihad operates first transatlantic net-zero emission flight using Book and Claim system
• CRYPTO A NO-GO?

JetBlue will fly to Paris from New York and Boston starting summer 2023
The New York-based carrier will operate flights from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) starting in summer 2023, with flights from Boston to Paris following shortly after, the airline confirmed to TPG.

The airline did not share start dates or provide details regarding schedules or timing.
The announcement comes more than three years after JetBlue first announced its plans to operate transatlantic flights with service from New York and Boston to London. Flights between JFK and London began last year, while the Boston service debuted this past August after a delay caused by staffing and supply chain constraints, the airline said.

In an August interview with TPG, JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes confirmed that the airline would announce the second European destination by the end of this year, with service set to start next summer.
"It'll be announced in the next couple of months," he said. "Because you've got to give people notice to book it."
He noted at the time that the airline planned to fly to the new city from both New York and Boston, but would have to start with one before the other.

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“The teams looking at a number of different options," he said. "We'll fly both [JFK and Boston], but we have to start with one."
JetBlue has teased the pending announcement a few times but has otherwise been short on details, with delivery delays from Airbus — along with rival Boeing — continuing to stymie network planners across the airline industry.

JetBlue uses Airbus A321LR extended-range aircraft to operate its transatlantic routes, and was forced earlier this year to push its Boston-London inaugural back a month due to the aircraft delays.
"We had planned it conservatively," Hayes said in August. "And even that, as it turned out, wasn't conservatively enough."
With the latest delivery slots scheduled, however, JetBlue is in a better position to plan its transatlantic expansion.

The airline is set to end 2022 with six A321LRs, and expects to receive a total of seven across 2023 and 2024. It has an additional 13 Airbus A321XLR aircraft on order, which features a further extended range, with deliveries planned to begin in 2024.

JetBlue has previously said it was interested in penetrating deeper into Europe as its long-range, narrow-body fleet grows. In October 2021, airline President Joanna Geraghty cited the XLR as opening more options across the continent.
"That will give us greater access into central and Eastern Europe," Geraghty told us at the time.

At the time, she said that the airline planned to continue focusing on its hub cities for its European service, rather than looking to other U.S. cities within its network.
“For now, it’s New York and Boston," she said in October. "Whether that could extend to other destinations? Possibly. But when you think about the LR and the performance range, New York and Boston are sort of the sweet spots for that aircraft."

With a range of 4,000 nautical miles, the A321LR could reach several prime European destinations from New York or Boston. They include Dublin, Reykjavik, Paris, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Madrid, Brussels, Munich, Copenhagen, Oslo or possibly even Rome, although JetBlue's specific configuration of the plane determines the real-world working range. Aer Lingus and SAS already operate the A321LR on transatlantic routes.

The A321XLR offers an additional 700 nautical miles of range, meaning JetBlue could operate to the same cities from farther away in the U.S, or have routes from bases in Florida to much of South America.

Ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines, which has 18 of the A321XLRs on order with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026, also plans to use the narrow-body jets for a trans-Atlantic expansion.

”"Europe, Hawaii and South America," Frontier CEO Barry Biffle told TPG in a wide-ranging October interview when asked about the airline's plans for the XLR. "We're evaluating [them].”

"Pretty much anywhere in the northeast United States could go to Europe," Biffle added. "We're in Boston…we're in Philadelphia, we're in Islip in New York."

JetBlue's A321LRs feature the airline's top-of-the-line Mint Suites and Studios.
The 22 Mint Suites feature seats in a 1-1 herringbone layout, with seats angled slightly in towards the aisle. Each suite is fully enclosed and has a sliding door that closes all the way. Each also features a 17-inch screen, plenty of storage spaces and an integrated wireless phone charger. The two Mint Studios at the front of the cabin have a ton of extra space, two windows, a belted side seat (so a travel companion can come and chat, or so you can move around a bit) and a 22-inch screen. The Studios have a price premium over the Suite.

There are also 114 “Core” economy seats, 24 of which are “Even More Space” extra legroom seats. All 114 seats feature adjustable headrests with what the airline describes as “shoulder-friendly sidewalls.” Core seats have 10.1-inch screens, USB and standard AC power ports and organized seat pockets.
David Slotnick

Flight attendants are tired of their current work conditions and contract.
Earlier today, almost 100 American Airlines flight attendants marched at Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport. Flight attendants are asking for improved working conditions and improved pay.

Informational picketing
Just one week before one of the busiest holidays of the year, a group of flight attendants at DFW took place in just one of 11 protests in the United States. Flight attendants are protesting against their employer, American Airlines, asking for raises, improved working conditions, and better schedules. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants organized the protests.
Signs carried by flight attendants read, "We are ready for rest" and "Tired of delays? We are too". Julie Hendrick, President of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said,

“In the last year, you’ve heard a lot of flight attendants asking, 'Are we going to get a great raise?' We’re tired, we’re exhausted.”

Years without a new deal
The last time American Airlines flight attendants signed a new contract was before the pandemic. Hendrick added that the airline had stated time and time again that revenue and passenger demand have never been stronger, yet salaries are not raised.

American Airlines taking off Airport
Photo: Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
According to the Union, salaries have not been raised to match the increasing cost of living.
"We're going to have to force management to stop rolling over us. It's not going to stop until we all stand up together." - Jeff Reisberg, Flight Attendant, American Airlines

Flight attendants are not paid for delays, which have increased, and in turn, increased the level of frustration of crew members.
“We don’t get paid for delays; we are just as upset about them as passengers are. We’re only paid for our flight time so when we’re out in the airport for a day, a day-and-a-half, sitting around we’re not getting paid. It’s hard on us as well, we want those flights to go out on time." - Uschi Woronin

If American does not offer its flight attendants a satisfactory contract soon, strike action may be unavoidable. American Airlines said that its staff members deserve to be compensated fairly.

“We continue to meet regularly with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants to reach an agreement that benefits both our flight attendants and operation, and we respect the right of our flight attendants to participate in informational picketing. Today’s picketing will have no impact on our operation.”

Many of the troubles are due to flight delays and scheduling changes. Both pilots and flight attendants say that better scheduling systems could fix those problems. It is hard to rework schedules during periods of high cancelations and when crews are out of their regular positions.
g.
Increased frustration
Erik Harris, treasurer of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said employee morale is very low. Flight attendants have been in talks with the airline for almost four years, and they are still likely months from even beginning to talk about raises. It might not be until sometime in Q2 2023 that American's flight attendants will sign a new contract.
LUKAS SOUZA

Fewer things get frequent flyers more excited than the prospect of an all-you-can-fly pass.
It’s like an indulgent buffet of dreams in the sky for travelers. You can fly to as many places as you want and theoretically pay the same fixed price. In fact, one of the most iconic moments in modern-day era travel deals was in 2010 when JetBlue offered an unlimited Jet Pass for 30 days of flying.

A few weeks ago, Frontier Airlines announced an upcoming all-you-can-fly pass for 2023. Now we have the price and additional details on how this flight pass will work.
Frontier Airlines all-you-can-fly pass to cost $599 the first year
Frontier's GoWild! Pass is on sale now to those who joined the advance notice list for $599 for the first year. A very important detail to note is that the pass will auto-renew at $1,999 the second year unless you cancel in time.

I opted into their notification list when the pass was first announced, so I received an email and purchase link from that registration, though it appears the purchase link can be used by anyone who is ready to plunk the cash.

Once you pay for the pass itself, it'll cost just $0.01 for the airfare as you use it -- "plus applicable taxes, fees and other charges at the time of booking". A Frontier spokesperson has told TPG that in addition to the one cent in the base fare, you'll have to pay a combination of taxes and fees that start at approximately $14.60 per person, per flight.

However, Frontier states that you will not have to pay an additional "carrier interface charge" the way you do with some of their fares. You will be charged if you need any full-sized carry-on, checked bags or advance seat assignments, just as on all of Frontier's flights.

Where you can fly with the Frontier GoWild! Pass
While Frontier's first hints of information about the pass said that it would be able to access all the destinations that Frontier flies to, it seems that has changed.
The terms and conditions state that you will be able to fly as much as you want on Frontier between any of the U.S. destinations, including Puerto Rico. Presumably, that means Frontier's service to countries such as Mexico, Jamaica and the Bahamas is off the menu.

Frontier GoWild! blackout dates
We knew that there would be blackout dates for this all-you-can-fly pass and now we have that list of at approximately 56 blackout dates in the first year. The pass will be eligible for use beginning on May 2, 2023, other than on these dates:

May 25, 26, 29
June 29 - 30
July 1-5, 8, 9
August 31
September 1, 4
October 5, 6, 9
November 18, 22, 24-27
December 16, 17, 22-24, 26-31
January 1, 15
February 15, 16, 19
March 3, 10, 15-17, 22-24, 29-31
April 5 -7, 12-14
Blackout dates for May 2024 and beyond are not yet available.

How to use the Frontier flight pass
After you purchase the pass, you'll search and book your flights on Frontier's website. Unfortunately, there's a pretty hefty catch. You won't be able to use the Frontier GoWild! pass until the day before travel, which is when you can book and confirm your next flight. The terms continue to say that flights are subject to availability and that "last seat availability is not guaranteed".

While flights on the pass will qualify as activity in your Frontier frequent flyer account for the purposes of extending the life of your miles, the flights on the pass will not earn miles or count towards earning Frontier elite status.

Is Frontier’s GoWild flight a good deal?
The idea of an all-you-can-fly pass is borderline intoxicating for travelers.

Ignoring — for now — the $1,999 renewal price, getting to fly around the country all year for $599 could be a good deal. But could is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

That's assuming not only that you won't regularly spend a lot on bags and seat assignments but also that you'll be OK to not have confirmed flight plans until just one day before travel. Perhaps even more importantly, the value of this pass may come down to the exact amount of taxes and fees you owe.

Frontier pretty frequently has sales that tip to $19 or $29 each way which could make more sense for many rather than paying $14+ for taxes and fees for each use, plus ponying up $599 in advance without the ability to confirm plans ahead of time.

Bottom line
There's an undeniable allure to knowing you can fly as much as you want for an entire year at a fixed price and I love the ingenuity put into this pass.

In an era where hybrid and remote work is still more common than it used to be, Frontier's FlyWild! pass could be a great match for someone who has the freedom to go where the wind — and seat availability — takes them.

But there are catches — a lot of catches — and still some unknowns about exactly how much this pass will cost to use. But I'm certainly intrigued and can't wait to see stories of just how many Frontier flights someone can take in a year with this new all-you-care-to-fly pass.
Summer Hull

by Gary Leff on November 16, 2022

The founder of Barstool Sports, David Portnoy, flexed on social media showing himself buying a pack of gum with a Black Card for $1.59 – and the terminal displays his available Membership Rewards balance of 44,403,931 points.

Sure, you can use Amex points at Rite Aid. It’s a poor value, but it’s an opportunity to show the balance in an ironic setting. The employee comments “you probably could go on a trip” and Portnoy boasts “I’ve gotta be a league leader with points.”

The top person in the U.S. Membership Rewards program at one point had over 120 million points. A decade ago the President of the American AAdvantage program shared several people were nearing 100 million points in her program. And many people have heard about 2 billion Membership Rewards points in the Hong Kong program but while that’s a large number it’s not actually as big as it sounds (given inflated earning and redemption rates).

So in a sense 44 million points makes the person in the video a piker, especially if they’re earning them with an Amex Black Card, generally at a single point per dollar spent. While Dave Portnoy calls himself ‘master of points’ simply by virtue of having a lot, he’s hardly maximizing his earn.

A short memo caught my eye to United Airlines flight attendants from its union. Apparently, some flight attendants are not checking out of layover hotels and some may even be running up charges for incidental purchases and not settling them. It’s an important reminder that we all should check out of hotels rather than just depart.

A November 15, 2022 memo to flight attendants lays out the issue:
Section 5.B.4. of our Contract establishes our responsibility to check into and out of our layover hotels. Given the, at times, shorter layovers, or last-minute reassignments, overlooking check out is something that can happen unintentionally. Nevertheless, this is something that we must all collectively make a priority as part of maintaining United’s relationship with these hotels. Based on this check-out requirement, Flight Attendants are not required to provide a credit card for room service or in-room telephone calls at check-in.

When checking out, settle all charges incurred during your stay, including telephone calls or room service charges and request a receipt. This is an excellent way to ensure that erroneous charges have not been applied, in error, to your room folio during the course of your stay.

From this, it is not a stretch to say that some flight attendants were likely abusing the contractually-negotiated privilege of not having to provide a credit card at check-in. I’ve stayed at hotels like this before (all outside the USA): you check in under a prepaid rate, are told that any incidentals will be charged at checkout, and then essentially can order room service, dine in the hotel restaurant, or use other hotel amenities just by signing for them.

If you leave without checking out, there is a problem because (in the flight attendant case) your employer has only agreed to pay for the room and therefore the hotel faces a quandary: try to charge the airline, go after the flight attendant, or write it off. The increasing answer is that hotels are not even allowing for such arrangements any longer.

This story resonated with me not because I have the ability to effectively dine and dodge, but because I have to admit, I’ve neglected to check out lately on several recent stays. Typically, if I am at a Hyatt and leave ahead of the 4:00 pm checkout deadline, I will leave open my option to return just in case of an unforeseen delay. Then I forget to actually check out.

When you skip checkout as a regular consumer, your credit card is simply charged for any remainder on the hotel bill at some point after checkout. That’s where you can create a headache for yourself. In my case, a hotel I recently stayed at failed to remove breakfast (a Globalist benefit). That then took time out of my day to call the hotel and to get the charge reserved (it actually took two calls).

So I now make it a point to always check out and review my bill in-person when not available on a hotel app. You should too.

CONCLUSION
Flight attendants at United have been reminded, by their union no less, to ensure they check out of a hotel when leaving and settle any charges. But this is an important reminder for all of us: sometimes long lines may seem like a deterrent, but that time spent will be less than correcting a mistake after the fact.
MATTHEW KLINT

I don’t fault anyone for pre-reserving an aisle and window seat in hopes that the middle seat will stay empty, but I do wonder whether it is appropriate to keep that arrangement when a stranger is later assigned to the middle seat.

Sam Neve was traveling from London and found, upon arriving at his seat, that a mother and her baby were seated in the window and the father was in the aisle seat. He asked the dad if he wanted to sit next to his wife and child
Nope.
When I am traveling with my wife and we are in economy class, I do the same thing in terms of pre-reserving a window and aisle seat, but if the flight fills up, I will trade my aisle seat for a middle seat (as I did on an 11-hour flight from San Francisco to Zurich last summer).

I’m not calling anyone a jerk here (though I do question what was going on in dad’s head), but this arrangement only works if the baby is not being passed from one parent to the other. It seems on this flight the father just tuned out during the flight (and binged on candy…):
That’s far better than trying to care for the baby together with a poor stranger between you.

Thus, my rule is that if you need to communicate during the flight, you should sit next to each other. Otherwise, a stranger in the middle seat may be less burdensome than a middle seat itself…

Interestingly, airline technology is cracking down on this practice. United Airlines has a system in place that will now re-assign one passenger to the middle seat if a party of two tries this. Again, I do not see the harm in trying to maximize your chance of an open middle seat nor do I necessarily see the harm in couples being separated during a flight, especially if one or both are pre-occupied. But if you are speaking to your partner, it’s pretty rude to the middle seat passenger.

CONCLUSION
These seat assignments stories are humorous to a degree, but anyone who flies somewhat regularly has experienced these sorts of dilemmas. As for me, I’ll certainly try to keep the middle seat between us open, but if if the flight ends up being full I’m going to take the middle seat and sit next to my wife.

American Airlines will be introducing new amenity kits and bedding when they roll out their new business class suite in 2024. However they have a new set of amenity kits that are beginning to be used now, too, as first revealed by airline watchdog JonNYC.

You’ll see both old and new amenity kits until they deplete current stock. The new bags are Shinola items, just like the new ones they introduced last year.
The first class Shinola pebble grain bags begin rolling out November 17 including

DS & Durga Rose Atlantic scented cleansing towel; Bombay scented face cream; Radio Bombay scented hand and body lotion; Rose Atlantic scented lip balm
Dental kit: toothbrush and Miradent toothpaste
Eye mask
Shinola socks
Earplugs
Paper roll pen
Shinola and DS & Durga discount codes (think of these kits as a merchant-funded offer)
These new bags, and their contents, don’t yet reflect American’s priorities of sustainability, diversity criteria in their suppliers, or local flavor. As JonNYC points out, so far they appear just to have a “foldable toothbrush sourced from eco-friendly wheat straw” which sounds like exactly what I want to put in my mouth.

Nicole McFall, 45, is charged with abuse of a corpse after she was found living in a hotel room with the body of a man which police say was in a state of advanced decomposition.(Source: Bullitt County Detention Center)
Hillview Police have a mystery on their hands after they discovered the decomposed body of a man in a local hotel room on Wednesday. They want to know why the woman sharing his hotel room, stayed in the room for days without calling police.

“It doesn’t appear that a normal person would stay in a room with a deceased person for several days,” said Det. Scott Barrow of the Hillview Police Department. “There doesn’t appear to be any reasons for her doing that. So again, her mental status could come into play later on, but she didn’t appear to be suffering from any kind of mental illnesses.”

Police arrested Nicole McFall, 45, he man’s apparent companion. McFall allegedly told police she knew the man died but continued to stay in the room for 5 or 6 days. She said she did not call for help because she did not know what to do.

McFall burned candles trying to mask the odor.
Barrow said the couple had been staying at the Quality Inn in Brooks for weeks. When a mysterious smell began permeating the second floor of the northern Bullitt County hotel, staff thought it might be coming from a storage room. When they didn’t find anything, the call went out to Hillview Police.

“When the officers entered the room, they noticed a male laying on the bed that was covered up with a sheet,” Barrow said. “They also noticed that that male had advanced stages of decomposition.”

The Bullitt County coroner has identified the victim as Charles Scheitlin, Jr., 57, of Indiana. The cause of death was not released.

“At this point that’s still under investigation, awaiting autopsy reports from the medical examiner,” Barrow said. “There did not appear to be any signs of immediate trauma that we could see on scene. So right now we’re waiting for medical examiner reports, toxicology reports and things of that nature to come back.”cFall is charged with abuse of a corpse, failing to report the death of a person, theft of services and tampering with physical evidence. She is being held at the Bullitt County Detention Center on a $5,000 cash bond and will be in court for a preliminary hearing today.
By David Mattingly

A breakdown of the six main phases of flight and what your flight crew is doing during each of them
Every flight is a sequence of phases. Pilots have corresponding responsibilities during each phase that depend on whether they are the pilot monitoring or the pilot flying. Let's take a look at the six main phases of a flight and some of the duties and considerations pilots have during each of them.

Taxi
At most airlines, the captain is responsible for taxiing the aircraft on the ground. The captain has the primary legal responsibility for the safe operation of the aircraft, so it stands to reason that they control the plane on the ground. A lesser-known reality is that most aircraft are equipped with a single "tiller" used for steering on the ground, and it is installed on the captain's side of the flight deck. Some aircraft, including the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350, have tillers for both pilots, but it is up to the airline whether the first officer is allowed to taxi the aircraft if this option is available.

The pilot not taxiing the aircraft is the "pilot monitoring." They are responsible for such things as communicating with ground controllers and updating weather or takeoff performance numbers if conditions at the airport change. Both pilots are responsible for determining that their route of taxi is safe, will accommodate their aircraft, and is the route they were cleared for by ATC. Taxiing the aircraft can be one of the more challenging phases of flight because of the proximity to other aircraft, as well as the complexity of many large airports that might be unfamiliar if the crew has limited experience operating there.


Takeoff
If the pilot who has taxied the plane to the runway is not designated to fly, they will line the aircraft up on the runway centerline and initiate a positive, three-way exchange of controls. Takeoffs are performed differently depending on the airline's policy, but at most companies, the captain has control of the throttles up to the "V1" callout. At Vr, the monitoring pilot announces "rotate," and after a positive rate of climb is established, the flying pilot will call for the "gear up."

Climb
At a predetermined altitude - usually 1,000 feet above the airport elevation - the flying pilot lowers the pitch attitude of the aircraft to begin further accelerating. As the plane begins gaining speed, the pilot flying will request flaps to be moved progressively until fully retracted. This is a careful choreography done to ensure that flap operating speeds are not exceeded.

Autopilot engagement policy is dictated by the airline as well. Most airliners' autopilots can be engaged just a few hundred feet above the ground. Some airlines require that pilots operate with the highest level of automation engaged whenever possible, while others encourage hand flying. Whether your flight is being hand flown or with the autopilot engaged shortly after takeoff is determined by this.

Cruise
People are usually referring to the cruise phase of flight when they ask what pilots do. In almost every circumstance, pilots are not hand flying once the plane reaches its cruising altitude. By nature, humans are good at managing automation but poor at performing low-workload, static tasks over long periods of time. Unless the plane has an inoperative autopilot (which happens from time to time), the plane cruises in autopilot.

In most of the world, the airspace between 29,000 and 41,000 feet requires aircraft operating within it to be equipped with two altitude measuring systems and at least one autopilot capable of holding the aircraft level within a 65-foot tolerance. Airlines require the autopilot to be engaged when in this altitude range as a condition of their operating certificate from regulatory agencies. This ensures adequate separation is maintained between aircraft which might be operating as close as 1,000 feet vertically from each other in this airspace.

Pilots have separate tasks to accomplish while the autopilot manages the flight path and altitude in cruise. The pilot monitoring continues to maintain radio communication with ATC. Pilots need to check in with a new controller every 15 minutes or so in cruise as they pass between multiple zones of control. Both pilots keep a close watch on aircraft parameters such as fuel remaining, hydraulics, electrics, pressurization, and engine performance. Exterior considerations include the nearest suitable diversion airports, the highest terrain in their vicinity should an emergency descent be required, weather in front of their flight path, and much more.

Pilots are able to have conversations with each other in cruise flight as well. The "sterile" flight deck rule, which most airlines have adopted, applies below 10,000 feet and, in some cases, within close proximity of any level-offs. This allows for pilots to enjoy conversations not directly related to the operation of the flight at cruise since the workload is considerably less during this phase of flight. And yes, pilots are allowed to eat during cruise as well.

Descent
Approach briefings are usually completed prior to beginning descent, but if not, the pilot flying will give a detailed explanation of how they plan on descending into and approaching the airport they are landing at. The pilots obtain the weather at their destination and calculate their landing performance based on the wind, temperature, and other atmospheric conditions. If there are any special considerations, such as non-standard missed approaches or difficult taxi operations, the crew will discuss this.

An important part of every descent is ensuring that the altimeters are set properly. When cleared to descend below 18,000 feet, controllers will issue pilots the altimeter reading for their destinations. This is done to ensure that the air data computers are measuring atmospheric pressure accurately, so the pilots know their exact altitude when approaching the runway. It's crucial that everyone operating in congested airspace is using the same altimeter setting for proper traffic separation as well.


Landing
Landing is arguably the most work-intensive part of flying. The plane is low and descending, has a slow airspeed, and is operating around lots of other aircraft. The pilot flying is primarily scanning the flight instruments to ensure proper speed is maintained and precise altitudes are flown during the approach. The pilot monitoring keeps an eye on these parameters as well, while continuing to correspond with approach and tower controllers. Either pilot may call for a go-around if they feel that the approach is unstable or deem there is any threat to the safety of the flight. There is a razor-thin margin for error.

Upon landing, both pilots check that speed breaks and thrust reversers have deployed normally and ensure normal deceleration of the aircraft. If the pilot flying will not be taxiing the plane to the gate, there will be another positive exchange of controls somewhere around 60 knots before turning off the runway. The crew taxis to the gate, which they hope just as much as the passengers do, is unoccupied.

Speaking on a panel at ISTAT Asia in Singapore on 14 October, Deucalion Aviation’s head of Asia, Lewis Sutherland sees headwinds in the secondary market relating to debt and interest rates.

“Most of our business comes from mid-life stage [aircraft], and even these leases in the six, eight and 10 years old [category] are still written in a very benign interest rate environment. So, whilst we have the ability to purchase them in the prevailing market rates, it’s not really a buyer’s market if the sellers are not really able to sell at a significant loss,” he says.

For sellers, there is liquidity in debt markets especially from the Asian banks. For Asian airlines, liquidity remains available, but it becomes now very expensive.
Lewis Sutherland
He does, however, note some opportunities in the sale or refinancing of aircraft in the prevailing market.

ST Engineering executive vice-president and head of aviation asset management Yip Hin Meng states: “Trying to find the right asset at the right price is not an easy task in today’s interest rate environment. Leases that are traded on the secondary market have been placed years ago in a very different interest rate environment.”

Genesis head of commercial Pat Madigan echoes some of the sentiments but has had “a little bit more success recently in acquiring aircraft”, more through bilateral trades.

Our focus now is on the five to 10-year-old assets, and we’ve worked on a few deals for [Airbus] A321s. I think there are little pockets but for the large part it’s getting harder to do.

Pat Madigan
“We see tremendous value in some of the mid- to end of life, 10 to 12-year-plus aircraft that are available on the market on short leases or AOG [aircraft on ground] [although those] are harder to acquire right now as the lenders are not trying to sell,” he says.

Madigan says the lessor has been “very focused” on narrowbodies across the lifecycle from brand-new to end of life.

SKY Leasing chief commercial officer John Duffy thinks it is a buyer’s market for those with captive debt.

You put a warehouse in place, and in time you might get a bank to raise long-term floating money at cheap rates. It’s a seller’s market if you’ve got the right kit and bought it at the right price.

John Duffy
“The search for value is probably not in brand-new sale-and-leasebacks. In some of the RFPs we’ve seen, there’s a lag between interest rates rising, it’s 5% in the last four years or whatever, and a much more tepid rise in lease rate factors. It’s nowhere near keeping up,” Duffy adds.

The current recession headwinds, unlike the Covid-19 pandemic, could spell difficulty for smaller lessors with significant refinancing due.

I feel like Covid was an airline crisis, and the recession has the potential to be a lessor crisis because of the war on refinancing and potentially the outcome of that is going to be big enough.

Lewis Sutherland
He foresees “there are going to be non-investment grade, smaller lessors with very significant refinancing” and that “existing lenders [can] refinance those deals, but the equity is seriously at risk”.

“I think certainly the start of next year we’re going to start to see some of these guys that had larger warehouses rolling over, where the capital markets remain close, and that refinancing is due, creating some opportunity,” Sutherland adds.

Duffy recalls the schadenfreude at the beginning of the pandemic: “At the start of Covid, we looked at some lessors and said they weren’t going to make it. We’ll wait for them to fall over and then we’ll buy these planes off them. None of that happened, almost no one went bust.”
By Naomi Neoh,

A plane with three people and 56 dogs on board made an emergency landing Tuesday morning at a golf course in a suburb of Milwaukee.

A plane with three people and 56 dogs on board made an emergency landing Tuesday morning at a golf course in a suburb of Milwaukee.
The incident occurred around 9 a.m. at the Western Lakes Golf Club in Pewaukee, according to the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department.

The three people on board the twin-engine plane were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The canine crew, which was being flown from a shelter in New Orleans and bound for multiple Wisconsin shelters, were also being checked for injuries. They were expected to fully recover.
The Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County said the dogs will be put up for adoption after they are medically cleared.

The landing tore off the wings of the aircraft and caused a large fuel spill, which the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources was called to clean up.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
By David Matthews

Etihad Airways has operated the first net-zero transatlantic flight that was powered completely by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) using Book & Claim system and direct emission reductions in partnership with World Energy. SAF can be blended with conventional jet fuel only up to 50%, to address the remaining 50% as well as any residual emissions the only option today is through a Book & Claim system.

Etihad claims that the flight from Washington Dulles to Abu Dhabi reduced CO2 emissions by 250 metric tonnes by displacing approximately 26,000 gallons of petroleum-based jet fuel using net-zero equivalent gallons of World Energy's SAF at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Mariam Alqubaisi, Head of Sustainability & Business Excellence, Etihad Airways, said: "This flight has proved Book & Claim is the only feasible path to net-zero commercial aviation using current technology and is the transition framework required until the supply of sustainable aviation fuel reaches its maturity and availability. We are committed to making good our commitment to sustainable aviation, and our Greenliner and Sustainable50 partnership programs continue to test and refine our roadmap to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and halving net emission levels by 2035. Our latest flight further validates our commitment, but equally shines a light on how much further we all need to go."

Gene Gebolys, CEO of World Energy, said: "We are making long-term commitments with leaders to decarbonize transport. Our work with Etihad is strategic and rooted in purpose. It will drive innovation and accountability so we can scale sustainable fuels and make a real and impactful reduction toward effectively decarbonizing aviation."

Laia Barbarà, Lead, of Aviation Decarbonization, World Economic Forum, said: "The Etihad and World Energy net-zero flight is an exciting example of industry action applying concepts from the Clean Skies for Tomorrow coalition, like the SAF certificate (SAFc) program. SAF makes net-zero aviation possible today, flying on sustainable aviation fuels."

In addition, the flight used contrail-reducing technology supplied by UK-based green aerospace company SATAVIA. Aircraft contrails cause surface warming responsible for up to 60% of aviation's overall climate footprint.

The flight achieved Etihad and World Energy's objective to demonstrate that net-zero aviation is possible using SAF Book & Claim and government subsidies as well as other financial offsets, as a stopgap solution until the supply, cost, and global infrastructure for SAF delivery is available

A small number of suppliers and TMCs accept cryptocurrencies as payment but widespread adoption could be a distant prospect

As the business travel industry starts to return to some sort of normality after the Covid pandemic, companies in the sector are on the lookout for potential new markets and income streams.
The spectacular growth of the market in cryptocurrencies – even if the growth in their value has not necessarily gone in the same direction as the overall market – means that many companies are now starting to get interested in accepting payments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Travel companies may now have to get used to dealing in currencies such as Ethereum, Tether and even Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency which started out as a “joke” but of which there are now more than 130 million in circulation.

One of the companies making it possible for travel companies to work with cryptocurrencies is BitPay. Its vice president of marketing Merrick Theobald says accepting crypto is attractive for merchants in the sector.

“The benefits of cryptocurrency are outstanding; there is nothing faster, better or cheaper than digital transactions on the blockchain,” he says. “It can be done in minutes, locally or cross-border, and there are a lot of protections for the merchant. It is a push payment, so there are no fraud chargebacks. That in itself would convince me that if I were a merchant I would offer crypto immediately.”

It is not just merchants that crypto payments appeal to.

“Cryptocurrency has taken off with younger demographics – millennials and Gen Z-ers; they are always on technology and cryptocurrency, being a digital payment, is ideal for them.”

In the business travel sector, there have only been a few forays into crypto, despite the potential for the market.

Corporate Traveller entered into a partnership with BitPay in April 2019 to “spearhead cryptocurrency payments in the business travel sector”, becoming the first TMC to accept them.

“The reason we started offering this method of payment was twofold: we saw a gap in the market and in response to a client request,” says Nicola McShane, VP global PR & communications at parent company Flight Centre Group.

Since the company started offering crypto as a payment option, it has generated further expressions of interest from clients.

“My colleague who manages this area said that he’s personally had four clients use this option of payment – one that uses it regularly, each month, and others that also use it occasionally,” she says.

The TMC does not speculate in cryptocurrency though. “Once we raise the invoice in GBP it is processed swiftly (within a matter of days) to ensure there’s no fluctuation risk,” says McShane.

In July this year, Kuoni Business Travel announced it would start accepting crypto payments with the company’s Andreas Schneider saying that clients were “becoming increasingly modern and innovative”.

The Business Travel Association’s chief executive Clive Wratten says that despite Corporate Traveller’s first mover status and Kuoni’s recent announcement, there is currently little or no appetite for payments using cryptocurrencies in business travel.

“I think there is too much else going on at the moment and there is a complete lack of understanding around it. Until it becomes mainstream and customers are saying 'this is where we are going to go', then TMCs are not going to give the option to pay using cryptocurrencies,” says Wratten.

Alternative ambitions
Online travel agent Alternative Airlines began accepting crypto payments in 2018. Sam Argyle, the company’s managing director, says, “Alternative Airlines has always offered a range of payment options at checkout and it felt natural to move into cryptocurrency. We work with three payment partners: Lisbon-based Utrust, owned by Elrond; crypto,com [which is Hong Kong-based and known for its huge spending on Formula 1 advertising]; and CoinGate from Lithuania which specialises in accepting niche coins.”

The company says crypto payments currently account for three per cent of its total order volume and this is growing fast.

“We have some ambitious goals,” says Argyle. “We expect that figure to be close to 30 per cent by 2025. The last few months have been more restrained given the market but we do think long term this is going to grow rapidly as cryptocurrencies become more mainstream and understandable.”

One of the biggest attractions of cryptocurrency business for the company is that purchases are typically three times the value of transactions made using other payment methods, says Argyle.

“It tends to be affluent, sophisticated consumers and typically they are buying long-haul, high-yield premium products: business and first class. We also see retention rates that are four times what they are in the rest of the business. This says to us that they are happy with the experience and also that there is a gap in the marketplace for people offering cryptocurrency payments for flights.”

For B2B payments, Argyle thinks it will take longer. “As a business, if we were to hold cryptocurrency to pay other businesses you would need to ask ‘How do we hold it , account for it and transfer it?’. Longer term there will be growing B2B use.”

Suppliers lead the way
Although the TMC take-up has been limited, a growing number of suppliers are joining the crypto party.

Air Baltic became the first airline in the world to accept bitcoin back in 2014. At the end of 2021, the airline said that the number of bookings made using crypto had increased 44 per cent year on year and that more than 1,000 customers had used them as a method of payment.

LOT Polish Airlines started accepting crypto a year later but there hasn’t been a flood of airlines rushing to offer the same payment option. This may be about to change.

In September 2021, BitPay inked a deal with UATP, the global network for air, rail and travel agency payments.

At the time, UATP’s CEO Ralph Kaiser said, “Crypto payment stands to be a market changer in the industry; this partnership creates the opportunity for the airlines to attract new customers and to be a first-mover in this very exciting space.”

BitPay's Theobald said: “We are seeing more and more airlines jumping onboard through the UATP relationship.”

One of the next carriers to join the party through the UATP partnership will be Vueling, which will become the first low-cost airline in Europe to accept cryptocurrencies.

Some private air charter companies have been accepting cryptocurrencies for years, according to Theobald.

“A few of them only accept cryptocurrency if it is after hours or on weekends. They won’t fly you somewhere if they are still waiting for a wire payment to confirm and that could take days.

“We are also seeing luxury hotels starting to accept cryptocurrencies. We have done exceptionally well with luxury products in general,” says Theobald.

The hotel groups that are doing so are generally high-end leisure properties, such as Pavilion Hotels & Resorts, Soneva and the Kessler Collection. Dubai’s FIVE Hotels started accepting crypto payments when it opened its first property outside the UAE, in Zurich, earlier this year. Others seem certain to follow as the potential for the market is recognised.

Widespread investment
Some reports suggest there are 300 million people holding currency in cryptowallets around the world. There is also an increasing number of companies operating in the sector.

“There are more and more companies getting into cryptocurrency,” says BitPay’s Theobald. “There are hundreds of thousands of them around the world right now and many prefer to pay with cryptocurrency to support the work they are doing.”

Cryptocurrency seems unlikely to replace other forms of payment any time soon, not least since existing methods such as corporate cards and lodge cards are so well established in the sector. Theobald is confident things will change though.

“I don’t see Bitcoin or paying with cryptocurrency replacing credit cards in my lifetime but will it take a hold of the travel industry – absolutely. Cheques are still around even though we thought they would be replaced. It is the same thing with credit cards,” he says.

Others are less optimistic about the prospects in business travel.

Matthew Chapman, co-founder and CTO of travel booking technology provider Vibe told BTN Europe, “Whilst there are perhaps nowadays more consumers wanting to pay for things using crypto currencies, when it comes to business travellers that doesn’t seem to have yet taken hold. Why? Probably because a great many of them simply use the company credit card.

“But even those who have to pay for things themselves and then get reimbursed would almost certainly find that their employer won’t refund them if the payment was made in crypto. This could change of course, but would require additional changes in traditional expense software platforms and so on, which is something I suspect most corporates would be unwilling to fund.”

Yet with companies in the business travel sector keen to grow as the horrors of the pandemic fade, it would be a brave company to ignore cryptocurrencies totally.
By Mark Frary