American Airlines' chief executive Doug Parker has called for "aggressive, criminal prosecution" of passengers who commit violent acts in airports or aboard aircraft, adding that 2021's uptick in unruly behaviour "will not just end" with travel bans. Parker discussed the wave of unruly behaviour in a video posted on Instagram on 28 October, a day after a passenger had attacked a flight attendant during an American flight from New York JFK to John Wayne airport in Orange County, California. "On Wednesday evening we had one of the worst displays of unruly behaviour we've ever witnessed, when a passenger violently, physically assaulted an American Airlines flight attendant." CBS News reported that a passenger on the 27 October American flight left his seat, approached the aircraft's galley and punched a flight attendant in the face at least twice, breaking bones in her nose and face. Afterward, the aircraft was diverted to Denver. American immediately engaged local law enforcement and the FBI, and the individual was arrested soon after landing, Parker says. "As to this individual, I can guarantee you he will never be allowed to fly American Airlines again," Parker says. "But that is not enough. This type of behaviour has to stop… We're doing everything we can to ensure he is prosecuted to the fullest extent possible." The Fort Worth-based carrier is "working with" the US Federal Aviation Administration, which has the authority to levy fines of more than $50,000 to disruptive passengers, to find ways to stem the tide of unruly behaviour. There have been nearly 5,000 unruly behaviour incidents recorded by the FAA during 2021. The FAA has so far in 2021 initiated 923 investigations of unruly-passenger incidents, up from 146 similar investigations in pre-pandemic 2019. During the previous 15 years, the highest number of official investigations into unruly passenger behaviour was 183 in 2012, according to the federal agency's own data. Parker in the Instagram video cites a "very disturbing downside" to the revival of domestic travel demand in the USA amid a pandemic lengthened in part by entrenched vaccine refusal among a segment of the population. "We've all seen the reports of unruly behaviour," he says. "People showing extreme disrespect, anger and impatience toward each other. This is happening far too often." While grateful to the crew aboard the 27 October flight for its quick, calm reaction to the assault, Parker expresses awareness that US carriers' crewmembers and gate agents are working in an increasingly violent environment. "I am very sorry that was needed of them," he says of the crew on the Orange County flight. "This should not be part of their job."

Airbus on 28 October completed a test flight of an A319neo aircraft using unblended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). During the flight test conducted over the Toulouse region in France, one CFM International LEAP-1A engine of the aircraft operated on 100% SAF, the European airframer says. The test flight is part of an in-flight study of a single-aisle aircraft running on unblended SAF. The project has been launched in partnership with Dassault Aviation, ONERA, the French Ministry of Transports and Safran. The unblended SAF provided by Total Energies is made from hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids, which primarily consists of used cooking oil, as well as other waste fats. Approximately 57 tonnes of SAF will be used for the entire test campaign. Initial results from the ground and flight tests are expected in 2022. Under this project, Airbus, in collaboration with German Aerospace Center DLR, is responsible for characterising and analysing the impact of 100% SAF on ground and in-flight emissions. Safran focuses on compatibility studies related to the fuel system and engine adaptation for commercial and helicopter aircraft. ONERA is supporting Airbus and Safran in analysing the compatibility of the fuel with aircraft systems and will be in charge of preparing, analysing and interpreting test results for the impact of SAF on emissions and contrail formation. Dassault Aviation will contribute to the material and equipment compatibility studies and verify SAF biocontamination susceptibility.

Airbus is striving to restore aircraft delivery rates following a dip in the last couple of months, but believes supply-chain hitches are temporary and its broader ramp-up of aircraft production is under control. The airframer’s monthly delivery figure slipped back to 40 aircraft in August and September, its lowest level since February. Airbus chief Guillaume Faury, speaking during a third-quarter briefing on 28 October, described the situation as “disappointing” and admits September proved to be a “difficult” month – with October likely to be similar. He attributes the “gap” between production and delivery partly to having aircraft ready, but yet to be taken by customers, while other aircraft have had to be sent for “outstanding work” following assembly as a result of external supply-chain issues. “They’ve been through the assembly line but need to be fully finished,” he says. He says the airframer plans to deliver the “vast majority” of backlogged aircraft by the end of the year. Faury says there is no “significant” change regarding the number of suppliers “on watch”, although there has been “some change in the mix of suppliers”. “We all observe tension in the supply chain after 15 months of stable rates,” he says. “We’re now in a ramp-up – we see all the difficulties to go from ‘hibernation’ back to business.” He says the airframer is “managing individual cases of supplier difficulties”, but declines to identify any particular entities. “I don’t want to single out suppliers,” he says. “It wouldn’t be appropriate to finger-point at some suppliers or sectors.” He stresses that the situation affects only a “small number of suppliers” and that the airframer is “on top of it”. Faury believes the problem is “temporary” and the company is maintaining its delivery target of 600 commercial aircraft for 2021. “I think we’re going to manage, moving forward,” he says, adding that the current delays to deliveries will not have an impact on the longer-term ramp-up schedule. While Faury has outlined plans to take A320-family monthly production rates to 65 aircraft within two years, he is coy on the current output level. Airbus had previously indicated that it would raise the A320 rate to 45 by the end of this year. Faury says the airframer felt there was a need to give “very detailed” updates on production rates during the depths of the crisis, because it was “important to be specific and precise” in order to guide suppliers. But he wants to revert to “more generic” figures as the recovery accelerates. Faury insists the ramp-up trajectory remains the same “in substance”, adding that demand “more than supports” the planned hikes in production. “We’ve been very granular on production rates,” he says, and the company is “progressively coming back to previous practices” – meaning it will be “less specific”. Airbus has asked suppliers to “protect capacity” for increasing the A320 monthly rate to 70 aircraft, but Faury says the company has yet to conclude an assessment on a potential further rise to 75. “There are lots of views on this,” he says. “We have our own views that the demand supports this.”