Global airline trade group IATA has disclosed that not all airlines will meet the US government's 1 July deadline to retrofit some of their aircraft with radio frequency filters that reduce the risk of 5G telecommunications interference. "Many airlines have indicated that despite their best efforts they will not meet the 1 July deadline owing to supply-chain issues," Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice-president operations, safety and security, stated on 2 May. "This is only a temporary holding action. Under current scenarios, airlines will have to retrofit most of their aircraft twice in just five years. And with the standards for the second retrofit yet to be developed we could easily be facing the same supply-chain issues in 2028 that we are struggling with today." The US Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation in early 2022 expressed concerns that 5G implementation could interfere with radio altimeters on board aircraft. Under pressure from regulators, US telecommunications companies AT&T and Verizon agreed in January 2022 that their twin launch of 5G communications networks that month would temporarily bypass certain US airports amid ongoing safety concerns. US telecommunications companies subsequently agreed in June 2022 to keep their voluntary reductions of the power of 5G C-band signals near airports in place until 1 July 2023 to give the aviation industry an additional year to retrofit their airplanes with radio frequency filters. The FAA in an airworthiness directive (AD) published on 11 January 2023 proposed a rule that would set a February 2024 deadline for passenger and cargo aircraft in the USA to have 5G C-band-tolerant radio altimeters, or have installed an acceptable radio frequency filter. The proposed AD additionally requires carriers to revise their airplane flight manuals to prohibit low-visibility landings after 30 June 2023, unless the retrofits have been completed on that aircraft. IATA on 2 May noted that US telecommunications companies had recently extended until 1 January 2028 their voluntary mitigation measures for 5G C-band transmissions at 188 US airports, taking immediate pressure off airlines. The trade group adds that "while the agreement is a welcome stop-gap development, it is by no means a solution". IATA's Careen says: "Airlines did not create this situation. They are victims of poor government planning and co-ordination. Industry concerns about 5G, expressed for many years in the appropriate forums, were ignored and over-ridden."

Lufthansa Group is aiming to revamp its digital offering to enabled customised products, faster bookings and a digital offering that matches big tech, chief executive Carsten Spohr has indicated. In a speech ahead of the group's AGM, Spohr says this will ensure passengers "feel the customised expression of the premium cabin" when they enter an aircraft in any class or on any route. Likewise, he suggests that an enhanced digital offering can make the entire experience smoother and more personalised. "We want to make booking a flight even easier, like ordering from Amazon or Uber," he adds. "We want to understand even more about their travel preferences, the way Spotify understands their taste in music." To reach this goal Lufthansa has created a workgroup called Digital Hangar, bringing together 600 staff from around the company to improve its offering across bookings, payments and travel arrangements. Its website states that the goal is to create the world's "best-connected travel experience" across the group's component airlines, developing new solutions for the industry across the flight itself, including travel to and from the airport, the check-in process and arrival, plus travel inspiration, search, selection and booking. Although it is unclear what final form this would take, it appears to crystalise the airline industry's thinking that its digital product often lags far behind rival industries. Executives have been known to bemoan the lack of one-click ordering, for example, which is common in e-commerce, or the length of time it takes to process refunds. Likewise, personalised offerings to passengers are limited, and the vast quantities of data that carriers harvest from their customers is under-utilised. Lufthansa's latest push could therefore signify one of the first large-scale attempts to change this. Elsewhere in his speech, Spohr notes that the carrier will induct the Airbus A350-1000 into its fleet in 2026 but that the Boeing 777-9 will not arrive until 2025. "We have ordered a total of 20 jets of this type. Actually, we should have been operating this aircraft in service for two years already. But, unfortunately, Boeing has major delays," says Spohr.
Lufthansa Group is scheduled to release its first-quarter results on 3 May.

Flydubai carried 3.37 million passengers in the first quarter, an increase of 50% compared to the same period last year. The Middle Eastern carrier says it has expanded its network to 120 destinations across 52 countries and grown its fleet of Boeing 737s to 76 aircraft. It operated some 25,800 flights during the quarter. Since the start of the year, the airline has launched flights to St Petersburg in Russia; Pattaya and Krabi in Thailand; Al Qaisumah, Al Ula, Gizan, Nejran and Neom in Saudi Arabia; Shymkent in Kazakhstan; Ashgabat in Turkmenistan; Mogadishu in Somalia; and Bergamo in Italy. Flydubai plans to add nine new summer routes between 21 June and 30 September. Destinations include Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu in Greece; Cagliari in Italy; Tivat in Montenegro; Trabzon and Bodrum in Turkey; Dubrovnik in Croatia; and Batumi in Georgia. The carrier also plans to ramp up operations for the summer travel period between 1 July and 30 September, increasing its capacity by 20% across the network. "To support this growth trajectory, Flydubai is currently undergoing a recruitment drive to add more talented professionals to its workforce and this includes pilots, cabin crew and various positions across the business," it adds.