A UN panel recommended Wednesday that cargo shipments of rechargeable lithium batteries be banned from passenger airliners because the batteries can create fires capable of destroying planes, said aviation officials familiar with the decision. The ICAO's air navigation commission, the agency's highest technical body, also proposed that the ban be lifted if new packaging can be developed that provides an acceptable level of safety. Final approval from the ICAO top-level council is still needed. The council is scheduled to take up the matter in late February. FAA tests show a single damaged or defective battery can experience uncontrolled temperature increases that can spread throughout a shipment. It's not unusual for tens of thousands batteries to shipped in a single cargo container. <br/>
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The planned first flight of the Boeing 737 MAX Friday will be a major milestone for the company, but it also marks a transition year in which costs related to early-production aircraft are expected to impact 2016 revenue and deliveries. Boeing's 2015 revenue was US$96.11b, up 6% from 2014 and a full-year record for the company. Boeing delivered 762 commercial aircraft last year, up 5% from 2014 and also a company record. But Boeing president and CE Dennis Muilenburg warned that both figures are likely to decline in 2016, citing the 737 MAX program. This year will be a "bit of a transition because of the MAX," he said Jan 27 when discussing Boeing's 2015 earnings. "Our delivery guidance is down about 20 aircraft. The majority of that" is related to the MAX program. Boeing plans to build approximately 12 737 MAX aircraft in 2016. <br/>
US airlines are in the early stages of a pilot shortage that could boost labour costs and even constrain growth. Unless airlines find ways to work with partners to cultivate a pilot pipeline, they could face difficult, even volatile, competition for experienced pilots because the current regulatory and industry situation can only yield about two-thirds of the pilots the US will need in the next 20 years. That could mean constrained airline revenue, higher fares, or both. Leading airline executives are considering a new approach to the problem by forming partnerships with operators, training providers, and even regulators to shape the pipeline of pilots in training. Some major carriers and large regional airlines are well positioned to exploit these opportunities. <br/>
While airlines are in no rush to pass on fuel savings to passengers brought by the drop in oil prices, the Houston travel market has left them little choice. Airlines serving the US oil capital have resorted to steep discounts to lure newly budget-conscious energy executives back into the air. Crude's 70% drop in the past 19 months has made the Houston travel market a rare point of downward pressure on airline revenues. Its value, including flights, conventions and related services, was estimated at US$2.8b in 2014 in a report for the Texas governor's office. The ticket data offers more detail than carriers have disclosed about the challenges they face at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental. On average, round-trip business and first class tickets to London sold in Sept 2015 were 14% cheaper than a year earlier. <br/>
UK transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said opponents of airport expansion in southern Britain should take no comfort from December's delay in deciding the location of a new runway and that the time will be used to construct a watertight case for growth that's immune to legal challenges. Prime minister David Cameron's govt has accepted the need for an extra landing strip and will reach a verdict on whether it should be built at London's main Heathrow hub or the competing Gatwick site in time for the project to be completed on schedule by 2030, McLoughlin said Wednesday. McLoughlin also said the runway choice should be determined by which option best serves the whole of Britain, something Heathrow, which wants to expand annual passenger numbers to 135m from 75m in 2015, argues it's best-placed to do. <br/>
Airbus has signed a deal to sell Iran 118 planes worth US$27b at list prices, including a dozen A380s, after international sanctions were lifted against Tehran this month. The plane maker said the deal, signed amid a raft of others during a visit by president Hassan Rouhani, was conditional on getting US export licenses because more than 10% of Airbus airliner parts come from the US. The order for 73 wide-body and 45 narrow-body jets allows Airbus to steal a march on Boeing as Iran seeks to renovate and expand its worn-out fleet of 225 planes. The inclusion of A380s sends a commercial signal to established carriers in the Gulf, and is a boost for Airbus, which has been struggling to sell them. However, they will not be delivered before end-decade as Iran expands its airports and focuses on urgent needs. <br/>
Diplomatic tensions are causing airlines in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Bahrain to lose millions of dollars in revenue at a time when all three countries are grappling with the economic impact of lower oil prices. Flights that carry pilgrims to Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia are among the routes halted by a diplomatic spat between Iran and the two Gulf states. The significant loss of revenue is pressuring airlines that are already looking for alternative sources to fund fleet expansions as their govts face holes in finances hit by the oil slump. As airlines contend with higher costs from flying longer routes to avoid regional war zones, the additional squeeze on revenue could push them to tap debt markets or seek foreign investment. <br/>
South Korea's govt said Thursday that it has set tougher safety guidelines for budget airlines after a series of recent mishaps raised alarm bells about the rapidly growing transportation sector. The measures, which include stiff penalties for noncompliance, are designed to fundamentally overhaul the way LCCs run their operations, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. Under the plan, each carrier will be required to have 6 sets of pilots for each of its planes, as well as 12 qualified mechanics to service each jet. These companies will also be required to have a fully operational plane and crew in reserve in case mechanical problems arise on a scheduled flight. At present, each local LCC has 5.5-5.9 sets of flight crew for each plane, and 9-11 maintenance personnel. <br/>
Singapore's Changi Airport reported a new annual record for passenger traffic in 2015, with 55.4m passengers (up 2.5% on 2014) and more than 346,300 aircraft movements for the 12-month period. Changi Airport Group CE Lee Seow Hiang said 2014's dip in numbers was a result of several aircraft accidents and losses, coupled with depressed industry yields. This, he said, had led to a "relatively weak first 6 months" in 2015, but that the second half of the year saw a marked improvement in numbers. "Our efforts have yielded some positive outcomes. We have seen both full-service and low-cost carriers add capacity in recent months and this has resulted in stronger passenger growth of about 5% for the second half of the year," he said. Aircraft movements rose 1.4% overall in 2015. <br/>