Flight Safety Information - April 12, 2024 No. 075 In This Issue : Incident: Jetblue A21N over Atlantic on Apr 10th 2024, computer problem : Incident: UPS MD11 at San Antonio on Apr 10th 2024, engine fire indication : Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 17 & 18 September - London : Incident: Spicejet DH8D at Dharamshala on Apr 10th 2024, engine shut down in flight : NTSB conducting new interviews with Boeing on 737 MAX 9 door plug probe : American Airlines Flight Attendant ‘Seriously Injured’ When the Pilots Braked Hard as They Were Taxiing to the Runway : Aviation Performance Solutions at the Forefront of Pilot Safety Training at Business Aviation Safety Summit 2024 : Charter Group Calls For CVRs On All Aircraft : Qatar Airlines avoids Australian lawsuit over forced invasive examinations of women : US FAA proposes airworthiness directive for certain Boeing 747-400F airplanes, notice shows : Cargo airline sends new Boeing 767 freighters directly to storage : Frontier Airlines Will Make New Hire Pilots Pay Nearly $60,000 If They Leave the Airline Within Two Years : UK startup lifts lid on plan to turn human waste into jet fuel : Airbus CEO says 'not unlikely' it will take some Spirit Aero plants : US airlines ask the Biden administration not to approve additional flights between the US and China : PhD GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY : CALENDAR OF EVENTS Incident: Jetblue A21N over Atlantic on Apr 10th 2024, computer problem A Jetblue Airbus A321-200N, registration N4048J performing flight B6-842 from Dublin (Ireland) to New York JFK,NY (USA), was enroute at FL340 over the Atlantic Ocean about 230nm westnorthwest of Shannon (Ireland) when the crew decided to return to Dublin. The aircraft landed safely on Dublin's runway 28L about 110 minutes after departure. The airline reported the crew decided to return due to a problem with an onboard computer. The flight was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto other flights. https://avherald.com/h?article=51749e9d&opt=0 Incident: UPS MD11 at San Antonio on Apr 10th 2024, engine fire indication An UPS United Parcel Service McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter, registration N278UP performing flight 5X-9500 (scheduled dep Apr 9th, actual dep Apr 10th) from San Antonio,TX to Louisville,KY (USA) with 2 crew, was climbing out of San Antonio's runway 04 when the crew stopped the climb at about 13,000 feet reporting a right hand engine (CF6) fire indication. The crew shut the engine down, requested emergency services to check for signs of fire after landing and returned to San Antonio for a safe landing on runway 31L about 20 minutes after departure. The flight was cancelled. The aircraft is still on the ground in San Antonio about 57 hours after landing back. https://avherald.com/h?article=51749a61&opt=0 Incident: Spicejet DH8D at Dharamshala on Apr 10th 2024, engine shut down in flight A Spicejet de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration VT-SQA performing flight SQ-2940 from Dharamsala to Delhi (India), was climbing through FL130 out of Dharamsala when the right hand engine (PW150) showed oscillating oil pressure prompting the crew to level off at FL140, shut the engine down and diverted to Amritsar (India) for a safe landing on runway 34 about 25 minutes after departure. The remainder of the flight was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto other flights. The airline reported engine #2 was shut down at 14,000 feet after the oil pressure began fluctuating at 13,000 feet. The aircraft is still on the ground in Amritsar about 29 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=51749618&opt=0 NTSB conducting new interviews with Boeing on 737 MAX 9 door plug probe WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting a new round of interviews with Boeing and Federal Aviation Administration personnel this week in its probe of the January Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in-flight emergency. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy on Wednesday said investigators were back at the 737 plant in Renton, Washington, this week for more interviews. "We are looking at other instances where a door plug was opened and closed to make sure that those records are available," Homendy said at a U.S. Senate hearing, saying investigators want to make sure those other instances were documented. Boeing, whose shares fell 2% on Wednesday, declined to comment on the interviews. Last month, Boeing said it believed that required documents detailing the removal of the door plug in the Alaska Airlines plane involved in the emergency were never created. Homendy said on Wednesday that Boeing and investigators still do not know the personnel who worked on the Alaska Boeing 737 MAX 9 that suffered the emergency. "This work occurred in September. They move a lot of planes through that factory," Homendy said. "The biggest concern is missing records." At issue is the process not the individuals, she said. "This isn't a gotcha on anybody," Homendy said, adding the NTSB has still been unable to interview the door plug team manager, who has been on sick leave. The door plug panel blew off the Alaska Airlines flight not long after the plane took off from Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 5. Homendy said investigators are also looking at the planemaker's safety culture. She said the NTSB could conduct a safety culture survey at Boeing. Homendy said the planemaker was working well with the NTSB and providing documents sought. Boeing wants to understand what went wrong: "They want to know and they want to fix it," Homendy said. Following the incident, the FAA grounded the MAX 9 for several weeks, barred Boeing from increasing MAX production, and ordered the company to address systemic quality-control issues within 90 days after an audit found fault with the company's manufacturing processes. The NTSB said previously that four key bolts were missing from the door plug that blew out. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the emergency. Homendy in March criticized what she called Boeing's lack of cooperation and failure to disclose some documents, including on the door plug opening and closing, as well as the names of 25 workers on the door crew in Renton. After Homendy's comments, Boeing provided the 25 names, and the planemaker said it was cooperating. The NTSB plans to hold a public investigative hearing into the Alaska Airlines incident on Aug. 6-7. Homendy said the hearing would include testimony from employees at Boeing and fuselage manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems and others like Alaska Airlines. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/ntsb-conducting-interviews-boeing-737-144318728.html American Airlines Flight Attendant ‘Seriously Injured’ When the Pilots Braked Hard as They Were Taxiing to the Runway An American Airlines flight attendant has been ‘seriously’ injured and a second crew member has been left with minor injuries after the pilots of a Boeing 777 pumped on the brakes too hard as they were taxiing for takeoff at New York JFK on Tuesday night. American Airlines flight AA106, which was bound for London Heathrow, ended up departing nearly two hours late on April 9 as the aircraft had to return to the gate so that the flight attendants could be provided medical care. In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that it would be investigating the accident, although the agency wasn’t able to comment on the extent of the injuries that the two crew members suffered. “American Airlines Flight 106 returned to the terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York around 8:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, April 9, after the crew reported a medical issue in the cabin while taxiing for takeoff,” the FAA said in an emailed statement. “The Boeing 777 was headed to Heathrow Airport in London.” American Airlines Flight 106 made international headlines in January 2023 when the pilots taxied onto an active runway where a Delta Air Lines jet bound for Santo Domingo had already been cleared for departure and was hurtling down the tarmac for takeoff. The pilots of the Delta aircraft managed to stop in time to prevent a collision between the two aircraft, but following the incident, the AA pilots were allowed to depart for London. By the time the aircraft had arrived at Heathrow and an investigation was underway, the cockpit voice recorder had already been written over. At present, the cockpit voice recorder on US-registered aircraft only records for two hours, but pilots have opposed increasing the recording time to 25 hours. European airlines have been required to install 25-hour cockpit voice recorders on newly delivered jets since 2021 and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has recommended longer-length CVRs for the last two years. American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the latest incident onboard Flight 106. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2024/04/11/american-airlines-flight-attendant-seriously-injured-when-the-pilots-braked-hard-as-they-were-taxiing-to-the-runway/ Aviation Performance Solutions at the Forefront of Pilot Safety Training at Business Aviation Safety Summit 2024 Aviation Performance Solutions (APS), a pioneer in Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT), is excited to play a significant role in the 69th Business Aviation Safety Summit (BASS). At the event, APS will engage in crucial safety discussions and showcase an interactive exhibit featuring tools for risk analysis and mitigation tailored for pilots. The summit offers an invaluable opportunity for the business aviation community to focus on improving safety protocols and strategies throughout the sector. KEY BASS 2024 SAFETY DISCUSSIONS Join Paul “BJ” Ransbury, CEO of APS and Chairman of the NBAA Safety Committee, in key conversations about enhancing safety systems and integrating best practices in flight path management. These discussions will spotlight cutting-edge strategies and solutions aimed at boosting pilot safety. FLASH TALK | Aviation Safety Insights from NBAA & Safety Committee Leadership In an invigorating FLASH TALK session, join Ransbury and NBAA’s Senior Vice President, Douglas Carr, as they answer rapid-fire questions about the latest in aviation safety. The focus will be on pioneering strategies and systems to reduce risks and improve safety for both pilots and passengers. Flight Path Management: An Ongoing Challenge for Business Aviation Explore the complexities of modern airspace and the essential role of aircraft automation in a session dedicated to flight path management. (For more details on these and other safety presentations, see the BASS 2024 Agenda.) IN-BOOTH IN-FLIGHT SAFETY RISK EVALUATION AND CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS Visit the APS booth #206 to receive guidance from experts on addressing the primary fatal threat pilots face: Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I). Pilots will assess their risk of LOC-I and employ a dynamic 30-second tool to design a tailored Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) program that effectively mitigates risks and enhances training outcomes. “We Help Pilots Bring Everyone Home Safely and are thrilled to be contributing to BASS 2024, a critical safety event that exemplifies excellence in aviation safety and continual attention to and refinement of business aviation safety practices,” said APS CEO Paul BJ Ransbury, “This year, we have made it easier than ever for pilots to evaluate their risk concerning aviation’s number one fatal threat, and to determine the ideal program to not only mitigate that risk, but to turn that risk into operational excellence across many facets of day-to-day flight operations.” https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/aviation-performance-solutions-at-the-forefront-of-pilot-safety-training-at-business-aviation-safety-summit-2024/ Charter Group Calls For CVRs On All Aircraft The Air Charter Safety Foundation is urging all aircraft manufacturers to install cockpit voice recorders on all new aircraft and is calling for an affordable alternative for legacy aircraft and those not covered by current and future regulations. In a news release, the ACSF said it would like to see manufacturers come up with a standardized CVR system so economies of scale would bring the price down. Meanwhile, for those aircraft that won’t be captured by a mandate, it’s saying off-the-shelf systems like the Appareo Vision 1000 can provide a lot of data without the huge cost of certifying a system. Certification requirements for crash survivability and underwater operation of the homing beacon make the certified systems costly, and that will deter those with older aircraft from retrofitting them. “A cost-effective solution is necessary for greater usage across many fleet types,” the organization said. “Although this solution may not be certified, many systems have demonstrated some level of existing crash survivability with options for hardened recorder options.” The NTSB has been calling for mandatory equipage of all commercial aircraft with recorders to provide speedy and comprehensive access to data in crash investigations. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/charter-group-calls-for-cvrs-on-all-aircraft/ Qatar Airlines avoids Australian lawsuit over forced invasive examinations of women Qatar Airways has avoided a lawsuit over an incident in which a number of female passengers were forced to undergo invasive medical examinations, after an Australian federal court dismissed the case Wednesday. On October 2, 2020, 13 Australian women were transiting through Doha airport in Qatar on their way to Sydney when they were taken off their Qatar Airways plane by members of the Qatari security services and subjected to physical examinations in ambulances on the airport tarmac. The search was triggered after airport authorities discovered a newborn baby abandoned in a bathroom at the airport. The women were taken off the plane by “persons in dark uniforms,” which the Qatar Ministry of Interior (MOI) said was necessary to determine whether any of them was the mother of the baby, according to a court ruling seen by CNN. Five of the women took legal action against the airline, the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA), and MATAR, a subsidiary of Qatar Airways that operates Doha airport, seeking damages for unlawful physical contact, false imprisonment and the mental health impacts of the incident. The airline argued that the “persons in dark uniforms” were members of the Qatar Ministry of Interior (MOI) police force and therefore not its employees, and nor was the nurse in the ambulance. And Justice John Halley of the Federal Court in Sydney, New South Wales ruled that the airline should not face trial over the incident. “The proposition that Qatar Airways was able to exert any relevant control over the officers of the MOI conducting the police operation or the nurse in the ambulance can fairly be characterised as ‘fanciful, trifling, implausible, improbable, tenuous or one that is contradicted by all the available documents or other materials,’” he said in the ruling. Halley also ruled that the women should pay the airline’s legal costs. However, the judge also ruled that the women could file a revised complaint against MATAR, the Qatar Airways subsidiary. Damian Sturzaker, a lawyer representing the women with Sydney-based Marque Lawyers, told CNN in an email that his clients were “pleased” with the judge’s decision to allow claims against the airport operator to continue. “The decision to allow QATAR Airways and the Civil Aviation Authority out of the proceedings is being carefully reviewed and if there is a proper basis an appeal will be quickly filed,” Sturzaker said in a statement. “Our clients have demonstrated their resolve in standing up to the State of Qatar for some years and that resolve remains undiminished.” Halley scheduled a case management hearing for May 10, the latest stage in a case that has become a diplomatic headache. The examinations caused outrage in Australia and around the world, with the actions likened to sexual assault. At the time, the then-Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, denounced the incident as “appalling” and “unacceptable.” And the government of Qatar issued a statement in 2020 apologizing for “any distress or infringement on the personal freedom of any traveler” as a result of the incident. https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/11/travel/qatar-airlines-avoids-lawsuit-intl-scli/index.html US FAA proposes airworthiness directive for certain Boeing 747-400F airplanes, notice shows WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has proposed an airworthiness directive for certain Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab 747-400F series airplanes that would require applying cap seals to certain fastener collars inside the fuel tanks, according to a federal government notice. The proposed directive was prompted by a report that cap seals were not applied to certain fasteners in the fuel tanks during production and is meant to address unsafe condition on the planes, the FAA said in a Federal Register notice published on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-faa-proposes-airworthiness-directive-certain-boeing-747-400f-airplanes-notice-2024-04-11/ Cargo airline sends new Boeing 767 freighters directly to storage The company behind Northern Air Cargo has taken delivery of two widebody freighter aircraft this year and immediately placed them in storage because there isn’t enough business to operate them profitably despite the improved outlook for the global airfreight market, FreightWaves has learned. The decision represents the latest case of an all-cargo airline throttling back on fleet expansion plans made during the COVID crisis when a shortfall in shipping capacity sent rates through the roof and made freighters valuable assets. Northern Air Cargo, which serves communities in Alaska from its base in Anchorage, lost $12 million in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, according to data on airline performance metrics compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The idled cargo jets wear the brands of sister companies Aloha Air Cargo and Miami-based StratAir. Northern Air Cargo operates planes on behalf of both businesses. The three companies are part of privately held Saltchuk Resources, a diversified freight transportation, logistics and energy distribution conglomerate based in Seattle. In 2021 and 2022, Saltchuk’s leasing subsidiary bought seven used Boeing 767-300 passenger jets and has been sending them to a Boeing partner site in Singapore to modify into main-deck freighters for the cargo airlines. NAS Aircraft Leasing Co. LLC (NALC) received two 767-300 converted freighters from Boeing in January and April and moved them to a storage facility until market conditions improve, Saltchuk Aviation spokeswoman April Spurlock said in an email message. Aircraft tracking site Flightradar24 shows the planes are being stored in the desert at Roswell Air Center in New Mexico. “Throughout 2023 and 2024, the global air cargo market has experienced elevated costs and shifting market dynamics which has led to depressed pricing and cargo yields. Due to this softening of the cargo market, Northern Air Cargo has taken steps to reduce its overhead costs and increase its revenues,” Spurlock explained. The two new cargo jets will eventually replace aircraft the company will return in the near future when their lease ends. NALC currently leases three 767s from Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ: ATSG), according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. A decision on when to place the new 767s into service will depend on several factors, including market conditions in the Caribbean and in Central and South America, where StratAir operates, she added. StratAir is an airfreight logistics provider that charters airlift from NAC. It currently utilizes four 767 freighters operated by NAC. Northern Air Cargo and Aloha Air Cargo operate a total of 16 aircraft: nine Boeing 737-300/400 Classics, a newer 737-800 and six 767-300 medium widebodies. Saltchuk Aviation swaps aircraft among carriers as needed. One of the 767s flying for StratAir out of Miami to places such as San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Lima, Peru, for example, is borrowed from Aloha Air Cargo. Aloha Air Cargo, which had a profit of $30 million in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, operates inter-island routes in Hawaii and to Seattle and Los Angeles. On a combined basis, Aloha and NAC posted $18 million in net income for fiscal 2023. NALC has taken delivery of six converted freighters so far. It has not started work on the seventh Boeing conversion yet, and there is no firm date to do so, said Spurlock. There are costs to keep an airline dormant, such as storage, regular maintenance to ensure electrical and hydraulic systems don’t deteriorate, and special maintenance service when a plane is reactivated. But industry professionals say it is cheaper to ground an aircraft than operate it if load factors are low. NAC also laid off three administrative personnel as part of its effort to reduce costs, said Spurlock. The airfreight market has been steadily recovering since a 16-month downturn hit bottom late last summer. During the first quarter, cargo volumes increased about 12% year over year, based on the average metric from various data providers. Industry analysts expect annual growth of about 3.5% over 2023 levels. But cargo growth varies by region, with major trade lanes out of Asia boosting the global average. North America, for example, had the weakest growth in February of any region, according to the International Air Transport Association. Also, Northern Air Cargo, Aloha Air Cargo and StratAir play in specialized markets that are subject to their own unique dynamics. Saltchuk Aviation and Northern Air Cargo aren’t alone in feeling the consequences of the freight recession in 2022-2023. Miami-based Amerijet, which competes with StratAir, recently went through a restructuring with new ownership and returned six Boeing 757 converted freighters to lessors less than two years after acquiring them. FedEx Express is parking a portion of its fleet because of soft parcel demand. Canada’s Cargojet abandoned plans to acquire eight Boeing 777s and convert them for cargo. Air Canada backed out of a deal with Boeing for two 777 factory freighters. GlobalX, a startup charter operation in Miami, is concentrating fleet expansion on the passenger side of the business, rather than cargo. And Air Transport Services Group has sharply cut back on capital expenditures and postponed sending some aircraft to conversion sites. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cargo-airline-sends-boeing-767-182947508.html Frontier Airlines Will Make New Hire Pilots Pay Nearly $60,000 If They Leave the Airline Within Two Years Frontier Airlines has told prospective new-hire pilots that they will be made to pay the carrier nearly $60,000 if they quit within the first two years of being hired. The new ‘Training Cost Repayment Agreement’ will come into effect from May 1, 2024, and, as the name suggests, is designed to offset the cost that is borne by Frontier to train a new pilot. The Denver-based budget carrier currently estimates that the cost to train a new pilot is $59,190, and crew who end up leaving the airline within the first two years will have to pay back a pro-rated amount of that training cost. In a memo sent to interested pilots, the airline said: “As you can imagine, the time/cost invested in each of our new pilots is significant and it is our goal for our pilots to stay at Frontier for the long term”. “To help retain our new hire pilots and leverage our investment in them, we will be asking for a 2-year commitment by means of a Training Cost Repayment Agreement”. “Pilots who voluntarily separate their employment before two-years from their date of hire will be expected to repay a pro-rated portion of the training costs invested in them, currently calculated at $59,100”. Frontier Airlines has recently embarked on a new business strategy that primarily relies on an out-and-back model, whereby airplanes and their crew return to their home base each night. The airline says this model, long popular amongst European low-cost carriers, provides more efficient flying schedules and gives crew more days off resulting in a “better quality of life”. “It also allows for greater operational reliability, especially during IRROPS (irregular operations),” the memo continued. The flight attendant at Frontier has, however, rejected the out-and-back model, arguing that it is having a detrimental effect on how much crew members earn and that flight attendants end up spending more of their own money on hotel accommodation and commuting costs. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) says that the vast majority of Frontier’s crew members don’t actually live close to their home base, and many commute more than 90 miles, either by air or car. This means that many flight attendants actually rely on multi-day trips, which they spend each night in a different city at Frontier’s expense. The union has demanded Frontier enter into negotiations to rewrite the flight attendant contract based on the fact that the existing agreement simply isn’t designed for Frontier’s new business model. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2024/04/11/frontier-airlines-will-make-new-hire-pilots-pay-nearly-60000-if-they-leave-the-airline-within-two-years/ UK startup lifts lid on plan to turn human waste into jet fuel • Low-cost airline Wizz Air puts in 525,000-tonne order for product of Firefly’s proposed refinery in Essex Aircraft could one day take off on fuel made from human waste under plans revealed by Wizz Air and the British sustainable aviation company Firefly to build a commercial refinery in Essex. Firefly, based in Bristol, said it had developed a process to convert treated sewage into sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF. The low-cost airline Wizz said it was investing by placing an order – potentially worth hundreds of millions of pounds – for up to 525,000 tonnes of Firefly’s waste-based fuel over the next 15 years. Firefly has now signed agreements with industrial partners for a pilot refinery in Harwich that would take “biosolids” from Anglian Water and turn it into aircraft fuel. Airlines will have to ensure that a minimum proportion of fuel burned is certified sustainable in the coming decade, with the EU mandating at least 20% SAF by 2035, and the UK expected soon to announce a mandatory 10% by 2030. There are various ways of making SAF but most are much more expensive than normal kerosene jet fuel, with a limited supply of waste feedstocks such as used cooking oil. Firefly’s chief operations officer, Paul Hilditch, said converted sewage should be cheaper and more abundant, providing up to 5% of airlines’ fuel needs in the UK. The process uses biosolids, the water industry term for the final product in the treatment process. “It’s crumbly – like compost or wet chocolate cake,” he said. “There’s millions of tonnes of the stuff. And it has no intrinsic value.” The company has produced small test quantities of SAF that he said were “chemically indistinguishable” from jet fuel, with a residue that can be used as a soil enhancer. The fuel is still in a regulatory testing process, and Firefly is still to secure the investment it needs to build a full-scale factory. However, its chief executive, James Hygate, said it was confident it could be delivering commercial supplies of SAF by 2028-29. He said the first facility in Harwich would serve London airports and there was potential for two more in the UK. “We’re turning sewage into jet fuel and I can’t think of many things that are cooler than that,” he commented. Wizz Air’s corporate and ESG officer, Yvonne Moynihan, said: “Alongside fleet renewal and operational efficiency, SAF plays a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions from aviation.” She said Wizz’s investment in Firefly was a “perfect pair-up for a low-cost airline” and the carrier aspired to use 10% SAF across its entire operation by 2030, although it would need “a significant ramp-up of production and deployment”. The UK government has said it expects five commercial plants to produce SAF in the UK to be under construction by 2025. However, campaigners have said even using human waste for aviation was not truly sustainable. Matt Finch, of the thinktank Transport & Environment UK, said sewage could also be used to make biomethane and there was direct competition for its use: “What’s the best use of this biomass hasn’t been clarified … It’s another conundrum.” About 87% of UK water companies’ biosolids are currently spread on farmland. Cait Hewitt, of the Aviation Environment Foundation, said: “It’s not to be sniffed at, given that this is truly unavoidable waste, but not great either given it’s already in use as fertiliser.” She said any test for the carbon credentials of alternative fuels should ask: “Has the producer done something to draw down additional CO2 from the atmosphere? Otherwise it’s nothing near a net zero solution.” Hilditch said the use of biosolids for muckspreading on farms was of low value, and the residue from the sewage-to-fuel process would still be available to improve soil. Many other countries simply incinerated human waste, meaning that converting it to jet fuel could also have other benefits in terms of efficient disposal, he added. “It’s not just the UK of course. Anywhere in the world where there are people, there’s poo.” https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/11/uk-aviation-supplier-lifts-lid-turn-human-waste-fuel-wizz-air Airbus CEO says 'not unlikely' it will take some Spirit Aero plants AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The head of Airbus told Reuters it is "not unlikely" that the European planemaker takes control of two U.S. and UK plants run by Spirit Aerosystems if Boeing goes ahead with plans to buy one of the industry's key suppliers. But Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said it was up to Boeing to fine-tune its intentions - having changed the status quo with a surprise plan to buy back its former unit - and Airbus would have a "word to say" about where the two factories ended up. The fate of the plants and their combined 4,000 workers - in Kinston in North Carolina and Belfast, Northern Ireland - has been swept up in the latest crisis at Boeing, which aims to buy its supplier to ease the fallout from a 737 MAX panel blowout. "There are not many companies in the world that could be good owners for these activities," Faury said in an interview, when asked whether Airbus expected to have to acquire them. "We make our wings so we could be a very legitimate owner of the activities in Belfast. And we do sections, so we could also be a very legitimate owner of the Kinston plant," he said. "So that's part of the possibilities, and not an unlikely possibility. It's a not unlikely outcome, but it's not the only one." Reuters reported last week that Boeing, Spirit and Airbus were working directly or indirectly towards a potential "framework" that could lead to Spirit's break-up, with each planemaker taking some operations, but valuations were a hurdle. The 500,000-square foot, robot-equipped Kinston composites plant makes panels for an upper fuselage section and a carbon-fibre spar, or beam, for each wing of the long-haul A350. In Belfast, Spirit builds composite wings for the A220 in a plant previously owned by the plane's original designer, Canada's Bombardier. It relies on modern but costly technology that reduces the use of energy-guzzling pressurised ovens. But the two state-of the-art Airbus-focused plants both lose money, raising questions how much if anything Airbus might be forced to pay to untangle Spirit for the sake of its arch-rival, industry sources say. Airbus bought the rest of the loss-making A220 programme from Bombardier in 2018 for a token U.S. dollar. Faury did not discuss financial details or specific owners, but hinted Airbus was in no hurry to complete a deal. "They (Boeing) are in control," he said when asked about the timing of any agreement, adding that the current situation had arisen at Boeing's initiative. "So we need to create a condition for having the discussion with Spirit ... because our relationship is with Spirit." Airbus is not without leverage, he noted, including a traditional change-of-control clause. Airbus had to give approval when Spirit bought the Belfast plant from Bombardier in 2020. "We have a word to say, and on top (of this) there are anti-trust laws. So we have room to discuss and that that's what will take place." 'NEW PARADIGM' In remarks shedding new light on the speed at which the Jan. 5 blowout rippled through the industry, Faury suggested Airbus had been taken by surprise by Boeing's March 1 announcement that it would enter talks to reverse a 2005 spin-off. "A few months earlier, maybe a few weeks earlier, my perception ... was that they were not interested in buying back Spirit," he said. "That's a change of paradigm and we have to respond, but we need to know more about their intentions, the speed, how they want to do this," he said. About a fifth of Spirit's revenues come from Airbus, with the vast majority of the rest coming from Boeing. Airbus has avoided being drawn publicly into Boeing's crisis, with Faury telling shareholders on Wednesday that it remains a tough competitor. But it is monitoring the impact of the turmoil, including a curb on 737 output that is vital to Spirit. "Everything that happened to Boeing has indeed had an impact on Spirit and not necessarily a positive one, and therefore that's not good news for us because it's an important supplier." Although aerospace firms occasionally supply each other, people familiar with the matter say Airbus is reluctant to see manufacturing of structural parts run by Boeing since it would give its rival an insight into production plans and pricing. Data on the A350 "section 15" at Kinston is also considered so important that it triggered a row over whether it could be disclosed in an unrelated UK court dispute between Airbus and Qatar Airways last year, according to filings at the time. Nor is crisis-ridden Boeing seen as interested in being distracted by the loss-making Airbus plants and likely future arguments over which programmes get resources, the people said. Boeing had no immediate comment. Led by Boeing, aerospace firms have long experimented with outsourcing structural components to save costs. But the latest Boeing crisis has accelerated a rethink as planemakers prepare future designs and consider the risks of a globalised economy. "It's core and it's single-sourced," Faury said when asked why aerostructures businesses like the two biggest Airbus-related plants at Spirit had fallen under the Airbus microscope. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/exclusive-airbus-ceo-says-not-133222742.html US airlines ask the Biden administration not to approve additional flights between the US and China WASHINGTON (AP) — Large U.S. airlines and some of their unions are asking the Biden administration to stop approving any more flights between the United States and China because of what they call “anti-competitive” policies that China imposes on U.S. carriers. The airlines and unions said Thursday that China closed its market to U.S. carriers at the outbreak of the pandemic and imposed rules that still affect American operations and airline crews. “These actions demonstrated the clear need for the U.S. government to establish a policy that protects U.S. aviation workers, industry and air travelers,” they said in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The letter was signed by the CEO of the Airlines for America trade group and the presidents of the Air Line Pilots Association, the Allied Pilots Association, which represents crews at American Airlines, and the Association of Flight Attendants. The number of flights between China and the U.S. has been rising, although it remains far below pre-pandemic levels. The Biden administration increased the number of round trips that Chinese airlines can make from 35 to 50 per week, starting March 31, after China's aviation authority promised to seek an increase in flights by U.S. carriers. The U.S. airlines said Chinese airlines get an advantage by flying shorter routes through Russian airspace, which has been off-limits to U.S. carriers since Russia invaded Ukraine more than two years ago. They said Chinese airlines also get “certain protections” from China's government because they are state-owned. The U.S. industry groups said in their letter that without equal access to China's aviation market, American carriers will lose flights to Chinese airlines. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/us-airlines-ask-biden-administration-232031104.html PhD GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY My name is Michail Karyotakis. I am a Research student at Cranfield University in the UK. Currently, I am working on my Research project, which is focused on Developing a Dynamic Safety Management Framework for Advanced Air Mobility Operations. The following Questionnaires serve the main purpose of data collection since data on the Research field is limited. The surveys are not affiliated with any airline, training organisation, or any other. Participation in the surveys is voluntary and anonymous (if desired by the participant). Each survey will take about 10 minutes to be completed. Thank you in advance for your time and patience. Your participation is highly appreciated. Please click the link below to enter the survey: https://cranfielduniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1M8LnQdhnjnu0Jg (1) https://cranfielduniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dmoQJRGyrp9PUEK (2) Student email: michail.k.karyotakis@cranfield.ac.uk CALENDAR OF EVENTS • Blazetech - Aircraft Fire Hazards, Protection, and Investigation Course June 4 - 7, 2024 • (APTSC) Asia and Pacific Turboprop Safety Conference - June 26 - 27, 2024 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia • Airborne Public Safety Association, Inc. (APSCON 2024) - July 29 - August 3; Houston TX • Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium - APATS 2024, 0-11 September, 2024, Singapore • Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference - 17 & 18 September - London • 2024 Ground Handling Safety Symposium (GHSS) - September 17-18, 2024 - Fort Worth, TX • 2024 ISASI - Lisbon, Portugal - September 30 to October 4, 2024 • International Congress of Aerospace Medicine ICAM 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal, 3 - 5 October 2024 • Aviation Health Conference back on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th October 2024 • 2024 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition - Oct. 22-24 (Vegas) Curt Lewis