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Savannah Sets September Record as Ocean Rates Peak
The Port of Savannah handled a record number of containers in September, adding to signs that US import demand is holding up even as ocean freight rates come off their highs. The Georgia Ports Authority said Savannah moved 504,015 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month, up 3.7% from a year earlier and its busiest September on record. Loaded imports rose 5.5%. Volume for the authority's fiscal first quarter topped 1.5 million TEUs, the second-strongest start to a year
3 hours ago2 min read
Truckers Turn Away Freight as Capacity Squeeze Tightens
US trucking companies are turning down loads at the fastest pace in years. Tougher enforcement on drivers, rising costs and a shrinking fleet are pushing freight prices higher heading into the holiday season. Carriers are rejecting about 14% of the loads offered to them under contract, roughly three times the 2023 level, according to SONAR market data. Truckload volumes, by contrast, are only about 9% higher than three years ago. "Carriers are rejecting nearly four times as m
3 hours ago2 min read
Amtrak's New Airo Trains Enter Service in the Pacific Northwest
The first of 83 Siemens-built trainsets carried passengers today, the start of the biggest fleet replacement in Amtrak's history. Amtrak's long-awaited Airo trains carried their first paying passengers today on the Amtrak Cascades route, which runs between Vancouver, British Columbia, Seattle, Portland and Eugene, Oregon. Two new trainsets entered service on 30 September, covering four daily trips on the corridor. Six more are due by early 2027. A national programme The Pacif
Sep 302 min read
Fuel Shock Forces US Airlines to Trim Holiday Flying
Jet fuel prices are up 76% since February, and travellers are starting to feel it at the booking stage. America's biggest airlines are cutting flights for the busiest travel weeks of the year as a renewed jump in jet fuel prices eats into their profits. US carriers have removed about 3% of domestic seats between 25 November and 31 December, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Jet fuel reached $4.40 a gallon this week. That is up 15% in a month and 76% since the conflict w
Sep 302 min read
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Mayday for Isom? American's Pilots Seek a New Captain (and a Bigger Cut)
Pilots Turn on Isom Just as Their Contract Talks Begin The head of American Airlines’ pilot union has publicly questioned whether CEO Robert Isom is the right man to lead the carrier's turnaround, sharpening a dispute that has been building for the best part of a year. Capt. Nick Silva, president of the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American's roughly 16,000 pilots, said the pool of executives able to run an airline is small, but asked whether someone cou
Sep 253 min read
A High-Class Problem: Why America's Pilots Are Doing Just Fine
Jeff Barath retired from United Airlines last year at 65 with a problem most Americans would love to have. He has a partial pension, a brokerage account and a $3.5 million 401(k). Once his required minimum distributions kick in, his retirement income, including Social Security, will be well over $300,000 a year. That's more than he earned in most of his working years. "It's a high-class problem," according to Barath. He's right. And he's far from the only one. Four times the
Sep 223 min read
The Grey Areas of the Bargaining Table
When flight attendants at United voted on strike authorisation in August 2024, the result came back at 99.99 per cent in favour. The union announced it live from twenty informational picket lines at airports across the country, on the eve of the Labor Day travel weekend. And in the same announcement, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) reminded everyone reading that it holds a trademarked strike strategy called CHAOS, an acronym for Create Havoc Around Our System,
Sep 104 min read
American Airlines pilots didn't wait for the calendar. They tore it up.
Nearly a year before their contract was due to become amendable, the Allied Pilots Association formally opened negotiations for a new deal, invoking a rarely used clause buried in their 2023 agreement. The trigger? A blunt declaration from union president Nick Silva, in an August 7 letter to CEO Robert Isom, that the airline "cannot agree that implementation is sufficient." Translation: you didn't finish what you promised us last time, so we're coming back to the table now. T
Sep 33 min read
‘We owe it to the victims’ families and the American flying public’ | Interview with Rep. Sharice Davids on aviation safety reform after Flight 5342
Sharice Davids is the Democratic representative for Kansas’s 3rd District, covering much of the Kansas City metropolitan area. She sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and has played a leading role in Congress's response to the midair collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on 29 January 2025, in which 67 people were killed. Davids helped lead the bipartisan ALERT Act, which passed the House last month by 396 votes
May 64 min read
'MH370 disappearance shows how ruthless democracy's enemies are' | Interview with aviation journalist Jeff Wise
Jeff Wise is a journalist specializing in aviation, technology, and psychology who has written for Businessweek, Psychology Today, and...
Aug 16, 20244 min read
A High Flying Career: Flight Attendant Kara Mulder on the Evolving Landscape of Aviation
Kara Mulder, an accomplished flight attendant and the creative force behind the popular Flight Attendant Life blog, has leveraged her...
Aug 17, 20234 min read
With Summer Travel Almost Here, the FAA Remains Leaderless
In another twist in the saga of complications and chaos that has been plaguing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it has recently...
Apr 12, 20233 min read
A High-Class Problem: Why America's Pilots Are Doing Just Fine
Jeff Barath retired from United Airlines last year at 65 with a problem most Americans would love to have. He has a partial pension, a brokerage account and a $3.5 million 401(k). Once his required minimum distributions kick in, his retirement income, including Social Security, will be well over $300,000 a year. That's more than he earned in most of his working years. "It's a high-class problem," according to Barath. He's right. And he's far from the only one. Four times the
Sep 223 min read
The Grey Areas of the Bargaining Table
When flight attendants at United voted on strike authorisation in August 2024, the result came back at 99.99 per cent in favour. The union announced it live from twenty informational picket lines at airports across the country, on the eve of the Labor Day travel weekend. And in the same announcement, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) reminded everyone reading that it holds a trademarked strike strategy called CHAOS, an acronym for Create Havoc Around Our System,
Sep 104 min read
American Airlines pilots didn't wait for the calendar. They tore it up.
Nearly a year before their contract was due to become amendable, the Allied Pilots Association formally opened negotiations for a new deal, invoking a rarely used clause buried in their 2023 agreement. The trigger? A blunt declaration from union president Nick Silva, in an August 7 letter to CEO Robert Isom, that the airline "cannot agree that implementation is sufficient." Translation: you didn't finish what you promised us last time, so we're coming back to the table now. T
Sep 33 min read
Newark Airport Dispute Exposes Political Risk to US Aviation
One of America’s busiest international airports found itself at the centre of political confrontation. The Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin threatened on 28 May that the Trump administration could soon stop processing international travellers and cargo at Newark airport as local law enforcement in the Blue State of New Jersey refused to assist federal immigration officials. With fans gearing up for the FIFA World Cup this summer, questions over international
Jun 83 min read
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