When asked about the topic on Monday, a senior administration official denied any relationship between the electronics ban and the feud between the American and Middle Eastern airlines.But the reasoning behind the UK's decision to exclude the Middle East's big three from its ban remains unclear, as it is believed that the UK government acted on the same intelligence as US officials.The immediate effect of the ban will most likely weaken the Persian Gulf's three mega-carriers along with Turkish Airlines, Bhaskara said. Based on the latest rankings from the respected consumer-aviation website Skytrax, Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, and Turkish Airlines represent the first-, second-, sixth-, and seventh-ranked carriers in the world.Since the US government's ban calls into question the security of their home airports, these airlines will have to contend with the resulting negative publicity and uncertainty among customers.
A new Emirates ad argues that one doesn't need a laptop to have a good time aboard its flights.But many corporate customers do not allow their employees to ship work computers in their checked luggage. This is due to concerns over theft of equipment and any sensitive information stored on the computers.As a result, they may push some clients toward carriers that are not affected by the ban.No US carriers offer nonstop flights into the Middle East. As a result, they won't benefit directly. The ban, however, will most likely drive lucrative business travelers back toward European hubs such as Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and Paris. This means US airlines will benefit through joint ventures and alliance relationships with Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France, and KLM.That said, not all US carriers will benefit. Airlines like JetBlue and Alaska have partnership agreements with Emirates. A reduction in business for Emirates cuts into the number of passengers who depend on JetBlue's and Alaska's planes to connect them to secondary and tertiary cities in the US.
According to Bhaskara, the long-term effects of the ban are unclear. The strategic decisions the affected airlines and their competitors make will be determined by how long with ban is in place.Many of these questions will be answered, however, as airlines and the flying public work through the new guidelines.A global airlines group urged governments on Wednesday to look for alternatives to extending a cabin ban on large electronics devices, saying such a move could cost passengers about $1.1 billion a year and create new safety risks.U.S. and EU officials are due to meet later on Wednesday to discuss aviation security, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security having said an extension of the ban, which currently affects flights from the Middle East and north Africa, was likely.
Airlines, airports and pilots groups have raised concerns over the possible disruption and fire risks of placing large numbers of devices with lithium-ion batteries in the hold. EU officials have also asked the United States to share its intelligence, saying they don't see evidence for restrictions.The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents 265 airlines, said that while current restrictions on laptops in cabins on flights from the Middle East and north Africa affect 350 flights a week, some 390 flights a day would be impacted if it was extended to European airports.In a letter to U.S. Homeland Security chief John Kelly and EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, IATA head Alexandre de Juniac called on governments to consider alternatives to a ban, such as methods to detect traces of explosives at airport security checkpoints, better training of staff and use of behavioral detection officers.These alternative measures would also avoid the concentration of lithium battery-powered devices in the cargo hold of passenger aircraft which is deemed to create an additional safety threat, De Juniac wrote.
Using its own data and that of the U.S Federal Aviation Administration, IATA estimated extending the ban would cost passengers $655 million a year in loss of productive time, $216 million in longer travel and $195 million in reduced wellbeing.Airports association ACI Europe said 60%-90% of passengers using European airports were estimated to carry larger electronics devices and any extension of restrictions would require a big increase in security staff at airports.Deploying extra staff would take time because they would need to be trained and get security clearance.Beyond the immediate operational impact, we are concerned about the consequences that such a ban would have on demand for transatlantic air travel – and ultimately connectivity between Europe and the United States, ACI Europe director Olivier Jankovec added in a statement.Any extension of the ban could affect U.S. and European airlines such as United, Delta, American Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France-KLM.
Transatlantic flights are among the most lucrative for airlines, because they can sell premium seats to business travelers.The European airports that have the most flights to the United States are London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt, Amsterdam Schiphol and Dublin, ACI Europe said.BERLIN, May 17 (Reuters) - A global airlines group urged governments on Wednesday to look for alternatives to extending a cabin ban on large electronics devices, saying such a move could cost passengers about $1.1 billion a year and create new safety risks.U.S. and EU officials are due to meet later on Wednesday to discuss aviation security, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security having said an extension of the ban, which currently affects flights from the Middle East and north Africa, was likely.Airlines, airports and pilots groups have raised concerns over the possible disruption and fire risks of placing large numbers of devices with lithium-ion batteries in the hold. EU officials have also asked the United States to share its intelligence, saying they don't see evidence for restrictions.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents 265 airlines, said that while current restrictions on laptops in cabins on flights from the Middle East and north Africa affect 350 flights a week, some 390 flights a day would be impacted if it was extended to European airports.In a letter to U.S. Homeland Security chief John Kelly and EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, IATA head Alexandre de Juniac called on governments to consider alternatives to a ban, such as methods to detect traces of explosives at airport security checkpoints, better training of staff and use of behavioural detection officers.These alternative measures would also avoid the concentration of lithium battery-powered devices in the cargo hold of passenger aircraft which is deemed to create an additional safety threat, De Juniac wrote.Using its own data and that of the U.S Federal Aviation Administration, IATA estimated extending the ban would cost passengers $655 million a year in loss of productive time, $216 million in longer travel and $195 million in reduced wellbeing.
Airports association ACI Europe said 60-90 percent of passengers using European airports were estimated to carry larger electronics devices and any extension of restrictions would require a big increase in security staff at airports.Deploying extra staff would take time because they would need to be trained and get security clearance.Beyond the immediate operational impact, we are concerned about the consequences that such a ban would have on demand for transatlantic air travel – and ultimately connectivity between Europe and the United States, ACI Europe director Olivier Jankovec added in a statement.Any extension of the ban could affect U.S. and European airlines such as United, Delta, American Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France-KLM.Transatlantic flights are among the most lucrative for airlines, because they can sell premium seats to business travellers.The European airports that have the most flights to the United States are London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt, Amsterdam Schiphol and Dublin, ACI Europe said. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Additional reporting by Julia Fioretti in Brussels; Editing by Mark Potter)
Batteries aren't exactly the most interesting thing to talk about, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk put into perspective the important role they will play in Tesla's future.Speaking at Vox Media's Code Conference Wednesday night, Musk said the energy density of its batteries is increasing on the order of nearly 5% per year, which ends up being a significant number when added up over a number of years.Energy density is a measure of how much energy a battery can hold. So having a higher energy density means having a longer battery run time.A lot of people think we cobbled together some laptop batteries and made a car, but it's a lot harder than that, Musk said. I f it was that easy, I think we would have quite a few competitors who did the same thing.
But Musk said energy density really isn't really an issue for Tesla. He's so confident in that he said Tesla could make a car with a 400-mile range today.
What Musk really wants to do through his massive battery plant, the Gigafactory, is decrease the cost per unit of energy of battery packs. Put more simply, decreasing the cost of Tesla's batteries will make its cars more affordable.This isn't the first time Musk said his real goal is on making more affordable electric cars. The Model 3 is Tesla's first stab at affordability with a price tag of $35,000 before federal tax exemptions. And in a recent conversation with Norway's Minister of Transport and Communications, Musk said there will be future cars that are even more affordable down the road.Tesla is putting its energy (yes, pun intended) in batteries so it can make the electric vehicle of the future: a car with a long range at an affordable cost. He likened it to cell phones, which have gone through so many design iterations and have such a large economy of scale that everyone can have a supercomputer in their pocket.