Airlines to test new tracking system to locate lost flights

Alan Gomez | USA TODAY

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Airlines are set to begin testing a tracking system that would ping flights every 15 minutes, a technology that could have helped locate two flights last year that went missing in hard-to-track regions of the world, the head of an international trade group said Thursday.

Tony Tyler, CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that represents 250 airlines worldwide, said the tests will be conducted somewhere in the Asia-Pacific region and should be completed by the fall. The lessons learned from those tests would lead to a uniform set of rules they could propose to governments and transportation industries around the world.

"The plan is that there will be some sort of 15-minute reporting," he said. "How it will work will be very much influenced by this implementation initiative that's going on."

Tyler spoke before the opening of the IATA's annual conference in Miami Beach. The event will bring together more than 1,000 representatives from the airline industry in the ever-growing transportation hub of South Florida. The conference will feature presentations from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and the CEOs of American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and several foreign carriers.

Tyler said they wanted to host the event in Miami this year because of the city's role as the transportation hub to Latin America and elsewhere. The conference comes at a critical time in Miami, as businesses and airlines here prepare for a rush to Cuba following President Obama's decision to reestablish diplomatic relations with the island 90 miles to the south.

Tyler said the current rules for flying to Cuba are overly-complicated and inefficient. Because of the economic embargo the U.S. maintains on Cuba, each American traveler must get a special license from the U.S. Department of Treasury. And even though flights fly daily from Miami and other American cities, each flight is operated on a charter basis, making it difficult for travelers to book their flights.

Part of the new negotiations with Cuba have involved crafting a new civil aviation agreement that would allow American carriers to transition to regular commercial and cargo flights. If implemented, that would result in Americans just hopping on a travel web site and booking their flight, no licenses or phone calls needed.

"As far as the industry is concerned, it's not difficult at all," Tyler said of the transition to commercial flights and online booking. "It's up to governments to decide how fast and when and how to make those changes. The industry sees this as a tremendous opportunity."

Among other industry issues, Tyler discussed:

- Air passenger traffic is faring better within the U.S. than on the international market. Domestic demand grew by 7.2% in April, compared to a 5.2% increase globally.

Tyler said regions like the Middle East and Asia-Pacific are performing the best, while European and Latin American carriers were underperforming, reflecting the economic conditions of each of those regions.

- Tyler said air cargo has suffered significantly in recent months, with slowing growth in China mostly to blame. The volume of shipments has gone up 4.3% in the first four months of 2015 compared to the same timeframe in 2014, but April's shipments only increased 3.3%.

Unlike air passenger traffic that can be increased by discounts and promotions, Tyler said there's little they can do to stimulate cargo shipments if companies simply aren't moving as many products. Add the increased cargo capacity of newer, wide-bodied passenger planes – "accidental capacity" as he calls it - and Tyler said it's important for governments to understand that trend and not do anything to further slow that growth.

"That should be sending some warning bells to governments who are pursuing protectionist policies," he said.