- Details
- Category: Industry News
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently released data for May 2024 (the latest data available) for global demand for air travel, which showed a solid month across all markets. Globally, demand was up 10.7 percent compared to May 2023. Leading the pack were Asia-Pacific airlines, which saw a 27 percent year-on-year increase in demand. The association represents 330 airlines comprising 80+ percent of global air traffic.
“Strong demand for travel continues with airlines posting a 10.7 percent year-on-year increase in travel for May. Airlines filled 83.4 percent of their seats, a record for the month. With May ticket sales for early peak-season travel up nearly 6 percent, the growth trend shows no signs of abating,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh.
IATA Director General Willie Walsh
The trend is likely to continue. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported that it screened more than 3 million passengers on the Sunday after the July 4th holiday weekend, a record. In fact, nine of its 10 top busiest days ever have occured this year alone.
While demand remains robust, airlines are sounding the alarm that it isn’t necessarily leading to profit. According to a recent report from CNN, most airlines are seeing record demand and revenue—including added voluntary fees from upgrades and luggage—but labor and fuel costs are cutting deeply into profits. IATA notes that fuel prices are up about 4 percent in June over last month. Additional problems plaguing the airlines are hiring issues and the delay of newer jets from Airbus and the beleaguered Boeing.
“Airlines are doing everything they can to ensure smooth journeys for all travelers over the peak northern summer period. But our expectations of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) are already being tested. With 5.2 million minutes of air traffic control delays racked up in Europe even before the peak season begins, it is clear that Europe’s ANSPs have unresolved challenges. And the 32,000 flight delays over the Memorial Day weekend in May show that challenges persist in the US too. Airlines are accountable to their customers; ANSPs must be as well. ANSP performance matters to their airline customers and to millions of travelers. We all need them to do their job efficiently,” adds Walsh.
The full report can be found here.
[07.09.24]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
Have a 2024 event that you’d like to share? Let us know! Send an email to susan@chauffeurdriven.com or rob@chauffeurdriven.com and we’ll add your meeting/conference to our list of events in the monthly magazine, in our weekly newsletter, and on our website.
JULY
7/9
CLA Summer Conference (Denver)
cololimo.org
7/16
ILLBA Coffee With ILLBA (online)
illba.org
7/17
PRLA Summer Meeting (King of Prussia)
prlainc.org
7/22-7/24
GBTA Convention (Atlanta)
convention.gbta.org
7/30
NELA Topgolf Networking Event (Canton, Mass.)
nelivery.org
AUGUST
8/19
GALA Golf Tournament (Roswell)
galalimo.org
8/20
MLA General Meeting (Baltimore)
mdlimoassoc.org
8/27
VLA Fishing Trip (Virginia Beach)
virginialimousineassociation.org
[07.02.24]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
A newly released study conducted by the J.J. Keller Center for Market Insights found that fleet managers struggle to keep up with the rapidly changing regulatory environment, which is also having an impact down the line with training drivers and staying in compliance.
The study, The State of Fleet Management: Insights on Priorities for Today’s Fleet Managers, is based on a survey fielded in February 2024. Download the study here.
The report highlights trending concerns from 2021 to 2024, and takes a close look into fleet managers’ current challenges:
- Struggling with hours-of-service (HOS) limits and use exemptions jumped 13 percent from 2023 to 2024.
- Finding and retaining high-quality drivers remained a top item from prior years and grew 12 percent from 2023.
- Understanding how the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations specifically apply to them stayed on the list of top concerns, increasing 9 percent year-over-year.
“Despite widespread use of electronic logs, hours-of-service compliance remains a key issue, with HOS violations making up over 40 percent of all roadside violations and nearly 1 in 5 violations found during audits in 2023. Toss in a variety of exceptions, and it’s no wonder that drivers struggle with HOS compliance,” says J.J. Keller Senior Industry Advisor Daren Hansen.
Additional Findings of the Study:
Accurate & Well-Organized Recordkeeping Remains a Challenge: For two years in a row, the most important aspects of FMCSA compliance remain unchanged. Forty-seven percent of fleet managers said that “Having accurate and well-organized Driver Qualification files” was the most important aspect of FMCSA compliance. This was up 5 percent from 2023.
Improving the Knowledge & Skills of Drivers Is an Ongoing Focus: Sixty-five percent agree that continuous learning is “mostly” or “completely” emphasized by their company. When it comes to driver training, respondents believe it’s most important that their training is specific to the unique needs of their drivers, operations, vehicles, or industry (47 percent) and that drivers apply what they learn in training (45 percent).
Training: Respondents stated a strong desire for drivers to access training whenever and wherever it’s needed with minimal disruption to daily tasks. Other training issues cited were having accurate and well-organized training records (30 percent); having engaging and interesting training (28 percent); and being able to prove, if needed, that a driver understood the training content (25 percent).
Recommendations From the Study
The most important aspect of overall safety that fleet managers want to see is leadership consistently showing that safety is important (51 percent). A close second is employees knowing that they are valued, and that is why fleet managers want them to be safe (46 percent).
A proactive approach, including training, to building a safe and compliant fleet, can minimize the impact of litigation by helping carriers uphold their “duty to act”—a primary consideration for a jury. A “duty to act” means that you should have been aware of and corrected any safety issues before they resulted in incidents.
“The most successful carriers leverage dash cams, electronic logging devices, and telematics data to find and fix compliance and performance issues leading to prevention of crashes, citations, and unnecessary turnover,” says Senior Editor Mark Schedler.
As the risk of “nuclear verdicts” and FMCSA audits continues to increase, fleet managers are likely to continue to prioritize staying up to date with regulatory requirements and improving driver knowledge and skills.
“Driver safety and regulatory compliance were top trends in both the 2024 data and our findings from previous years of research,” says Head of Corporate Communications Susan Baranczyk. “Our purpose at J. J. Keller is to protect people and the businesses they run. We understand that ensuring safety for drivers and the public is a critical challenge for fleet managers, and we applaud the focus and efforts of our survey respondents to keep their teams and others safe.”
Visit jjkeller.com for more information.
[07.02.24]