Australia’s biggest independent regional airline, Regional Express (Rex),  has accused bigger rivals Qantas and Virgin Blue of “rapacious plundering” of its pilot pool as it struggles to cope with increased global demand for aircrew.

Australia has been affected by a global shortage of pilots at a time robust growth in worldwide air travel has put pressure on training organizations to keep up.

Qantas regional offshoot QantasLink and smaller operators such as AirNorth and Australia’s iconic Royal Flying Doctor Service have all been hit by increased competition for pilots.

The shortage also prompted Qantas Domestic to recently announce a temporary return of Boeing 747s to transcontinental services.

In an open letter to regional communities, Rex chief operating officer Neville Howell said the airline no longer had enough pilots to roster its usual contingent of stand-by pilots.

He warned that any last-minute sick leave may result in flights being canceled or combined and promised the airline would redouble its efforts in pursuing all pilot recruitment options, including overseas flight crew.

“We will also be reviewing our network with a view to trimming our schedule where possible to conserve resources,’’ Howell said.

Pilot shortages are not new to Australia and regional operators are usually the first affected as pilots move on to bigger airlines to boost their pay packets and further their careers.

Rex responded to a round of strong pilot demand a decade ago by starting its own pilot academy, the Australian Airline Pilot Academy, in which it has invested $A35 million.

Howell said the academy had since trained 220 cadets who make up 71 percent of the airline’s first officers and 29 percent of its captains.

“Whilst Rex’s initiative is successful in responding to natural attrition rates, it is not enough to stave off Qantas and Virgin Australia’s rapacious plundering of Rex’s pilot pool instead of using their not inconsiderable resources to train their own pilots,’’ he said.

“In the past two years, these two airlines collectively have poached 17 percent and 56 percent of Rex’s first officer and captain establishment respectively.

“These two airlines are causing widespread chaos and disruptions to regional air travel by their selfish and irresponsible actions.”

Howell said Rex was acutely aware of the effect flight disruptions had on business and leisure travel plans.

“Rex apologizes for all past and potential future disruption to services throughout the network as a result of the industry-wide global pilot shortage,’’ he said.

Both major airline groups are already involved in pilot training and there is the prospect of further relief in 2019 when Qantas starts up its own training academy with a capacity of up to 500 pilots year.

READ: Qantas names shortlist for pilot academy.

The Flying Kangaroo has selected nine Australian towns as potential sites for the academy from more than 60 applications and plans to make a decision in the third quarter of this year.

The academy’s primary function is to provide a long-term source of flight crew for Qantas but the airline group has also flagged the potential for training overseas pilots.

Forecasts suggest the global airline industry needs about 640,000 more pilots over the next 20 years – 40 percent of them in the Asia-Pacific region.

A summit of Australian general aviation groups also this week called for changes to the Civil Aviation Act to reduce red tape and help promote areas such as pilot training.

Premium passengers have borne the brunt of fuel-driven increases in global base fares while competition is keeping prices lower in price-sensitive economy cabins.

But what economy passengers are gaining on the swings, they may be losing on the roundabouts with surcharges and ancillary charges helping to push up the cost of tickets.

The latest financial analysis by the International Air Transport Association shows the global average passenger yield, the average fare per kilometre or mile flown, has moved broadly sideways in seasonally adjusted terms since early 2017.

IATA said this largely mirrored developments in the economy class cabin.

“Yields in the premium-class cabin have trended upwards since mid-2017,’’ the report covering  May-June said. “However, premium-class demand is less price sensitive than its economy counterpart, which has allowed airlines to pass through higher fuel costs onto premium passengers to a greater extent than in economy.”

However, the airline lobby group noted its passenger yield data focused on base fares and excluded revenue from surcharges or ancillary services.

“These additional sources of passenger revenue are helping to support the robust financial performance of the industry,’’ it said.

Airline bosses have been warning for months that fares will need to rise to cover the cost of escalating fuel prices.

READ: Fares to rise as fuel increases hit profits, IATA chief warns.

Delta Air Lines said on Thursday it would boost fares and add fewer flights than planned as it grappled with a $US578 million jump in its second-quarter fuel bill. The US carrier plans to trim capacity on underperforming routes once the summer peak ends.

Jet fuel prices actually fell in June but IATA said they remained 55 percent higher than a year ago.

“Global oil prices have trended upwards since early2017, driven by a combination of a gradual reduction in oil inventories amid robust demand and tighter supply conditions, as well as geopolitical developments,’’ the report said.

“The price of jet fuel breached $US90 per barrel in May for the first time since November, 2014, but fell back in mid-June as major oil producers agreed to increase crude output. Nonetheless, jet fuel climbed again towards the end of the month and remains around 55 percent higher than it was a year ago.

“The oil futures curve has shifted up in recent months, but it is still consistent with a moderate decline in oil prices over the coming years.”

Despite the threat of higher fares, passenger traffic continues to rise with revenue passenger kilometres up 6.1 percent in May and remaining robust as airlines move through the peak northern summer demand period.

Passenger load factors are also up and breached 80 percent in May for the first time on record.

Delta said that June saw it fly more passengers than any other month in the company’s history with almost 17.7 million people flying on mainline and Delta Connection flights globally.

One measure of airline health that isn’t increasing is the global airline share price index.

That fell 6.4 percent in June to record the fifth consecutive month of decline.

IATA said the index continued to underperform broader market measures  “reflecting investor concerns about the impact of higher fuel prices on profitability”.

The fall in June had been led by the Asia-Pacific, which was down by 7.6 percent, followed by Europe, which saw a 5.2 percent fall.

“The North America index posted the smallest decline over the month (-4.9 percent) but the index has fallen the most since the start of 2018 and relative to a year ago,’’ IATA said. “This reflects ongoing investor concerns of the impact of rising capacity growth in the region.”

Cathay Pacific has joined forces with Brussels Airlines to expand its reach in Europe.

A new codeshare agreement means Cathay customers traveling vis Brussels can hop on the Belgian carrier to seven European destinations from July 26.

These are: Berlin (Berlin-Tegel), Hamburg, Lyon (Lyon-Saint Exupery), Marseilles, Toulouse, Oslo and Prague.

READ:  Cathay passengers see new menus, seats in restructure

The deal gives Cathay customers traveling on the Brussels Airlines codeshare flights the convenience of checked-through baggage service the ability to earn Asia Miles.

However, they must be booked in conjunction with one of four weekly Cathay A350-900 services between Hong Kong and Brussels.

The Hong Kong carrier has been beefing up its network in Europe, the US and China.

Its new European routes follow the airline’s move in 2017 to start new services to Tel Aviv (five times weekly) and Christchurch (three times weekly).  It also started a seasonal service to Barcelona.

The 2018 roster includes the four-times-weekly flights to Brussels and a move to ramp up Barcelona to four-times weekly flights using the  A350-900.

It also flies to Dublin four times a week and three-times weekly flights to Copenhagen.

In the US, new direct flights using its A350-1000 to Washington, DC  will start September 15.

The service to Dulles International Airport will be the longest in the Cathay network at 7,085 nautical miles (8,153 miles or 13,122kms) and is again part of a strategy for next-generation aircraft.

The jet is currently being checked out on shorter regional routes such as Tapei.

The new Washington route will complement existing routes to the East Coast, including Boston and New York’s two main international airports – John F Kennedy and Newark Liberty.

It brings the airline’s North American destinations to eight, including two in Canada and the airline’s renowned trans-polar flight between Hong Kong and New York.

Also in train for November 13 is Cathay’s first service to Cape Town. The seasonal service to the airline’s second destination in South Africa will complement daily flights to Johannesburg.

Australian Federal Police are investigating the potential hacking of a company contracted to produce aviation security cards but authorities have moved to allay fears about the potential for terrorists or criminals to use the information to access airports.

An e-mail obtained by the ABC from Aviation ID Australia, which produces Aviation Security Identity Cards (ASIC) for regional and rural airports, says the company’s website was “intentionally accessed by an unauthorized entity”.

“Unfortunately, we cannot confirm exactly what information has been accessed, however, personal information that may have been breached includes name, street address, birth certificate number, drivers licence number, Medicare card number and ASIC number,” the email said.

There were questions about whether the stolen information could be used to make false ASIC cards and get access to airports.

But the Department of Home Affairs downplayed both suggestions.

“The Aviation ID Australia cyber incident would not enable someone to fraudulently produce another ASIC or MSIC,’’ a spokesperson told AirlineRatings. “The cards are protected by a proprietary security feature and are produced under secure conditions.

“It is important to note that an ASIC or MSIC is not an access card.  An ASIC or MSIC only indicates that the holder has had a background check.

“Airport and seaport owners and operators maintain responsibility, at all times, for access control to secure areas.”

READ:  New X-Ray machines and body scanners in $A300m security upgrade

The AFP confirmed it was investigating a  “potential breach of the Aviation ID Australia website”.

“While the investigation remains ongoing, it is not appropriate to provide further details,’’ a spokeswoman said.

One question that remained unanswered was the time between the suspected intrusion and the email alerting customers to the possible loss of their information.

AirlineRatings understands it could have been several months.

New data breach notification laws were introduced in Australia on February 22 this year that require businesses with a turnover of more than $A3 million to alert the Australian Information Commissioner if they get hacked.

Plastic straws are out and bamboo is in at American Airlines.

The US giant will phase out plastic straws from its flights and lounges and replace them with environmentally friendly alternatives.

The move begins in lounges this month when it will serve drinks with a biodegradable straw and a wood stir stick.

The airline will also begin moving towards eco-friendly flatware in its lounges.

The changes hit flights in November when the plastic straw/stir stick usually offered in onboard beverages moves to a stir stick made out “sustainable and environmentally friendly bamboo”

READ: American to simplify fleet with $US12 billion Boeing 787 order.

The airline says the changes will eliminate more than 71,000 pounds (32,205 kilos)  of plastic per year.

The American decision comes as plastic straws are under fire globally because of the damage plastic is doing to the environment.

The US uses more than 500 million plastic straws a day and ocean life is particularly vulnerable to the impact of what has become a ubiquitous part of modern life.

The small size of straws size makes them difficult to recycle and they often find their way to the ocean where they contribute to an increasing problem with microplastics.

Strawlessocean.org estimates that a failure to act now will mean there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050.

It points to research by Australia’s CSIRO that shows 71 percent of seabirds and 30percent of turtles have been found with plastics in their stomach.

Plastic straws are also among the top 10 items found during beach clean-ups.

“We’re cognizant of our impact on the environment and we remain committed to doing our part to sustain the planet for future generations of travelers,” American’s vice president flight services Jill Surdek said.

American also recycles aluminum and moved away from plastic cups to paper versions in 2015.