Category: ESTA News

Returning passengers allows airlines like American Airlines and United Airlines to pass on higher fuel prices to ticket prices The airlines say they have reached a new stage in their recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and anticipate record turnover for the next quarter as well as a return to profits.

American Airlines announced this week that they had hit an all-time high in March. This is the first-time sales have been this high since 2019. Executives said that with these high sales, it will allow them to increase the prices to compensate for the increasingly high fuel costs, without compromising demand.

Airline executives say this momentum should continue, allowing them to raise fares to offset soaring fuel costs, without undermining demand. “In March we saw what was possible”, when the drop in infections and the relaxation of restrictions led to a strong return in demand, explained Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines during a conference call.

United Airlines also reported this week that the industry has reached an inflection point and expects record revenue for the current quarter as well as a profitable year. The company claims to have succeeded in passing on all the fuel price increases to its customers.

At the dawn of the rainy and hurricane season, international airports in the region anticipate several delays and missed connections while planes not equipped with nautical equipment will have to remain grounded waiting for the storm to pass. If an aircraft is to fly more than 50 nautical miles from land, the Federal Aviation Administration requires it to carry what it calls “nautical” equipment. This includes life rafts, flotation devices, emergency locator beacons and additional radio transmitters.

Air carriers, whose regular route flies over land, cannot circumvent bad weather conditions by going over water if they do not have the appropriate nautical equipment. This is especially difficult for flights to Florida, a state surrounded by water. These rescue items are not standard on every aircraft. They weigh a lot, are expensive and need to be replaced periodically in addition to taking up space and weight normally reserved for luggage. And the heavier the plane, the more expensive it is in fuel and the travellers pay the bill.

Now understand the reason for delays when there are storms!

An American judge has invalidated the obligation to wear a mask in public transport, the country’s airlines continuing to recommend it.

On April 18, 2022, Federal Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of Tampa, Florida cancelled the obligation extended by President Joe Biden and the CDC to wear a mask in public transport, and in airports and on planes (extended until May 3 against the Omicron BA.2 variant). Judging that it would be impossible for her to suspend the application of the rule only for the plaintiffs who opposed the federal orders, the judge explained that a partial solution “would amount to doing nothing at all”.

The federal court has “all the powers necessary to intervene even if the objectives of the CDC which seeks to fight against the virus are laudable”, specified judge Mizelle in a decision of 59 pages. “Our system does not allow agencies to act illegally, even for beneficial purposes”; the obligation to wear a mask is therefore deemed “illegal” and cancelled. And she explained that the Centres for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases (CDC) had “not provided sufficient justification to support their decision”, and that they had “not followed the procedure specific to the ‘adopting new rules’.

His judgment dealt with the motion filed in July 2021 by two plaintiffs supported by the Health Freedom defence Fund, described by the judge appointed by Donald Trump as a non-profit organization opposing “laws and rules that force individuals to receive medical treatment, undergo medical procedures, or have medical devices imposed on them against their will”. The prosecution had not yet announced at the time of writing whether it intended to appeal the decision.

American airlines immediately communicated on the subject, United Airlines for example announcing the end of the obligation (including for its employees) while specifying that those who wish to wear a mask can of course do so. The main union of PNC (Association of Flight Attendants) had chosen to remain neutral, the measure dividing the air hostesses and stewards like the rest of the country (several American states had asked for the end of this obligation).

Remember that the obligation to wear a mask creates the same problems on this side of the Atlantic: in the Netherlands, KLM or Transavia, for example, have given up enforcing it for fear of creating incidents in flight. The problem no longer arises across the Channel, where airlines and airports have “dropped the mask” following the announcement of the lifting of travel restrictions. Preceded by Jet2 in early March, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic or other easyJet (but not Ryanair) as well as London-Heathrow, among others, ended the obligation to wear a mask. While “strongly recommending” its use and recalling that the obligation remains in place on planes flying to countries where wearing a mask is still compulsory.

The recent court ruling in the United States eliminated the mandatory use of masks on domestic flights and certain international flights, and in US airports. The measure has great resonance in Argentina, which is far from removing the masks in transport and public spaces.

Argentine travellers will only be required to wear face masks when on land and in Argentina when boarding US planes, according to the government. This exposes how far behind Argentina is, which to this day continues to experience scandalous scenes in means of transport in which someone refuses to wear a mask, when the COVID rates are practically nil, no tests are carried out and no cases are reported.

The airlines of American origin that fly to and from the North American country understand that the application of the norm is complex. This is because the ruling prevents the obligation to wear face masks, but at the same time they must obey the regulations of each country, in this case Argentina.

Like practically all management during the pandemic and to this day, the measures overlap, reaching the absurdity of queuing outdoors in Ezeiza and, minutes later, in Migrations not respecting any type of distance, to name one of the many examples.

Along these same lines, the Ministry of Health explained that given the differences in mandates between countries, it is solved as follows: passengers will only be obliged to wear a mask on the ground, before taking off from Argentine soil and after landing at national airports.

Things to see and do on a New York holiday.

The Statue of Liberty – The statue was donated by France to America, and it was designed by the famous Gustave Eiffel. It was built in 1886 and since then it has been probably the world’s most famous symbol of freedom, but also one of the most recognizable landmarks in America. This is one of the largest statues in the world – it is 46.5 meters high (from the base to the top of the torch), and weighs about 205 tons.

You can see the statue from a greater distance – it is best seen from Battery Park, in the southern part of Manhattan. However, to see this statue well, it is best to go on a short boat tour from the island of Liberty. You can walk around the pedestal or, if you managed to book a ticket on time, and climb the statue itself

If you go on a boat tour, you can also go out to Ellis Island and go to the Immigration Museum. The exhibitions show the process, experiences and stories of people who came to America via Ellis Island.

Central park – A walk or even a carriage ride through Central Park is an unavoidable tourist activity for anyone planning a trip to New York City. This huge park is roughly 800 meters wide and about four kilometres long.

Apart from being a great place to enjoy nature, you will be able to see several attractions in Central Park – Belvedere Castle, Strawberry Fields, Zoo and Lake.

Metropolitan Museum of Art – (or just Met) is one of the US most well-known museums, it was founded in 1870. The permanent exhibition at the Met contains more than two million works of art from a period spanning as much as 5,000 years. Although the museum is located in three locations, the central part is the Met on Fifth Avenue, and most tourists will visit it. Exhibitions of the world’s most famous works of art are often held here.

A smaller location, “Klojsters” is in Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan and is another very popular New York Museum, if you have enough time during your stay in New York, you can also visit it.

Broadway – Watching a show on Broadway is something you just must do if you’re going on a trip to New York. Here you can see both new shows and classics. Broadway is a large boulevard with many theatres. If you want to go to a show, it is best to book tickets in advance.

Memorial Center and Museum – The 110-storey “Twin Towers” once dominated Manhattan’s panorama but were destroyed in the notorious terrorist attack that took place on September 11, 2001, when several thousand people lost their lives in a tragic way. There are now two fountains on the place where the “twins” stood. This place is also known as the National Memorial on September 11 and is dedicated to all the people who died in the attack that took place on September 11, 2001, as well as to the people who died in the bombing of the World Trade Center in February 1993.

Surrounded by greenery and grass, these fountains are made so that the water goes over the edges into a seemingly bottomless square.

50 years ago, four small wheels revolutionized traveling with luggage. In 1972 the American Bernard Sadow invented the trolley case. But it had its pitfalls in the beginning and was not very popular.

Bernard Sadow returned with his family from a holiday on the Caribbean Island of Aruba. Sadow was vice president of a Massachusetts suitcase and coat manufacturer.

 

While transferring at the Puerto Rico airport, he was struggling with his own overweight luggage when he saw a customs agent moving a heavy machine with a sled on wheels. In a 2010 interview with the New York Times, Sadow said he said to his wife that we need that for the suitcases.

Initially little interest in trolley cases. It was an invention whose essential ingredients had existed for thousands of years: the wheel and luggage. “I find it funny that inventions that seem simple and obvious somehow take a long time,” said Nobel Prize winner and economist Robert Shiller at a lecture at Yale University. The suitcase even made it into one of his books – as an example of how the potential of a seemingly ground-breaking idea often only becomes apparent after the fact. And when we think of it, nobody wants it. Sadow was initially rebuffed with his trolley case at the US department store group Macy’s, says Shiller. “Nobody buys that. It looks silly, wheels on the suitcase. Anyone who needs help with their luggage will find a porter at every train station and in every hotel. You don’t need a suitcase on a trolley,” says Shiller about the reservations about the invention at the time been a macho thing, Sadow, who died in 2011, once said. But with an increasing number of air travel, most passengers had to take care of their luggage themselves. Eventually Macy’s bought a few copies. In 1972 Sadow received his US patent for the first trolley case.

Sadow took a large suitcase and attached four small rollers to the bottom. And then there was a leather strap to pull however the suitcase fell to the side. 15 years later a 747 pilot Robert Plath from Northwest Airlines come up with the crucial idea of ​​pulling the suitcase behind him upright on just two wheels with an extendable handle. He called it a rollaboard. And at first, he only sold them to other pilots.

Many trolley suitcases now have four wheels again and can be pushed upright. There are suitcases that children can sit on while they are being pulled, suitcases as scooters for endless terminals and – yes, of course – even self-propelled luggage that follows you. Hopefully. The name Bernard Sadow is not well known in the US either. Maybe because everyone is a little embarrassed that it hasn’t occurred to them for so long.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 2nd that a dizzying situation occurred when a US Delta Air Lines passenger plane while in flight made an emergency landing after the windshield of the cockpit was shattered to pieces.

A Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 travelling to Washington DC from Salt Lake City, Utah was forced to perform an emergency landing on 31^st March.  The plane carrying 198 passengers made the landing at Denver Airport, Colorado.

It is still unknown what the caused the cracks and an investigation into the incident will be conducted.

Delta Air Lines stated, “there was a maintenance problem,” however they did not explain the time or supply a reason for the cracking. It was reported the plane landed as usual and provided passengers with an alternative flight promptly.

In a photo of the cockpit posted on Twitter, the windshield was attached to the windowsill, but was cracked with as many pieces as spider webs. Twitter users did not allow the media to use their photos.

One passenger said in an interview with a local media that he heard a broadcast that he would land in Denver 90 minutes after take-off, and said, “The windshield was shattered, and they said they would land in Denver within 10 minutes.”

He continued, “When I first heard that, I definitely thought I had heard it wrong, but it wasn’t,” he said.

Based on a column written by a former airline pilot in USA Today in the past, the New York Times explained that the cockpit windshield usually consists of two thick panes of glass and a plastic layer in between.

White House authorizes ICE to close thousands of pending deportation cases in immigration courts

Along with proposing the end of the Title 42 policy, which allows the expedited expulsion of immigrants who arrive at the border, now the Government of Joe Biden sent a memorandum to the prosecutors of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) where it authorizes them to dismiss cases brought against undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for a long time and do not pose a threat to public safety.

Such a plan could significantly reduce the backlog of asylum and deportation cases, as the Biden administration anticipates a large wave of immigrants crossing the border, and at the same time alleviate the collapse of the immigration courts, which accumulate 1,700,000 pending files, which that lengthens the wait for immigrants for years.

This new effort could significantly reduce the backlog of asylum and deportation cases as the Joe Biden administration anticipates a large surge of immigrants crossing the border.

The call to remove the cases from the docket is expected to draw criticism from conservatives as a form of amnesty.

Along with proposing the end of the Title 42 policy, which allows the expedited expulsion of immigrants who arrive at the border, now the Government of Joe Biden sent a memorandum to the prosecutors of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) where it authorizes them to dismiss cases brought against undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for a considerable amount of time and do not or have not posed a threat to public and national safety.

Such a plan could significantly reduce the backlog of asylum and deportation cases, as the Biden administration anticipates a large wave of immigrants crossing the border, and at the same time alleviate the collapse of the immigration courts, which accumulate 1,700,000 pending files, which that lengthens the wait for immigrants for years.

In the memorandum, according to The New York Times, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service ordered its lawyers to review the cases and try to clarify those considered low priority according to the compliance guidelines that the administration established last year. The American Immigration Lawyers Association has estimated that there are at around 500,000 to a million cases.

If it moves forward, it will translate into encouraging news for dozens of migrants, who saw their cases completely stopped amid the collapse in the courts, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic, which limited and delayed the proceedings.

As early as the end of next month, it is expected that people will be able to return to their daily life without masks even when using public transportation such as trains or buses.

In a meeting with the Long Island Association on the 24th, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) President Jeno River said, “If the Federal Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) lifts the mandatory public transit mask wearing, the MTA will work with Long Island Railroad (LIRR) and the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) as soon as possible. We are ready to implement a ‘no mask’ on the trains,” he said.

As the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the United States has stabilized, the federal government has greatly eased quarantine guidelines, such as lifting the mask requirement at schools, workplaces, and shops, but the compulsory use of masks on public transport, such as trains, buses, and airplanes, has been extended until the 18th of next month. it has been done

Experts believe that the mandatory wearing of masks on public transport may be lifted from the end of next month if the decline in COVID-19 infection continues as the current trend continues.

Meanwhile, it has been found that the number of passengers not wearing masks on New York City trains is increasing rapidly in recent years.

According to the MTA, between March 7 and 18, about 17% of train passengers did not wear a mask.

As the spread of the Omicron mutant virus enters a stable state, various measures to prevent COVID-19 are easing. The U.S. airline industry has urged the federal government to promptly withdraw the mandatory in-flight mask wear and COVID-19 testing system, and the federal government’s response in the future The LA Times (LAT) reported on the 24th that attention is being paid to.

According to LAT, major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, issued a joint letter to President Joe Biden on the 23rd, according to the federal government’s current regulations, including mandatory in-flight masks and pre-corona 19 testing for international passengers. They demanded that the COVID-19 travel quarantine rules be abolished.

On the same day, the American Tourism Association (USTA) sent a letter urging the lifting of COVID-19 testing and mandatory wearing of in-flight masks for passengers on international flights entering the United States.

Aviation unions have expressed support for such demands from the airline industry, and calls for abolishing the mandatory wearing of in-flight masks and pre-testing for COVID-19 on air travelers entering the United States are spreading.

The federal government extended the current air territorial sea quarantine measures two weeks ago until the 18th of next month, so attention is being paid to how they will respond to the demands of the aviation industry.