Fuel prices, high taxes wallop airlines.

While the Chinese city Hefei has a big new airport that it would like to keep busy, aircraft maker Avic has a turboprop airliner plant that is not busy enough. Each of these state entities is making a small contribution to solving the other's problem.

The price of EU Allowances (EUA) under the European Union Emissions Trading System crashed to a new low for the December 2013 contract in January after an EU committee rejected a proposal to adjust auction timings to prop up prices. EUAs for delivery in December 2013 collapsed to €3.97 per metric ton ($5.38) at the close on Jan. 29—an all-time low for the contract. That compares with a price as high as €7.40 in December and €9.45 in November.

Testing waived for “extremely remote” failures

Large U.S. carriers see positive signs in mergers, capacity restraint

As if Indian airlines did not have enough problems already, now they seem to have organized themselves into a circular firing squad. Bleeding red ink, India's private carriers are engaged with debt-ridden Air India in a fierce price war.

The U.S. will be facing yet another fire season with a dwindling number of aging airtankers.

Rebounding quickly from the 2008-09 recession, passenger travel fed a big appetite for new aircraft. By 2010 suppliers were seeing good times ahead as Boeing planned four years of steadily increasing production rates.