Airbus chief salesman John Leahy does not expect Boeing to react quickly with a new product to counter the Airbus A321neo, but nevertheless sees a need for his competitor to act. “If you sit out there in Seattle you see a big hole (in the portfolio) and I think they need to do something,” Leahy said. However, “I don’t actually see them doing much except presentations in the next 2 years,” Leahy said. He argues that because of the success of the A321neo against the 737-9, Boeing is in a “tough situation.” Leahy said any replacement would have to be a family of aircraft that would require at least $10-12b in investment. Airbus had 1,101 orders for the A321neo at the end of January, compared with 217 for the Boeing 737-9 (at the end of Nov 2015). <br/>
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The Port Authority's extreme makeover of La Guardia Airport is coming in way over budget — The Wall Street Journal reports the redesign, estimated in 2014 to cost US$3.6b, is now coming in at $4.2b — and now the agency is looking at ways to make up the difference. One of which is packing more and longer flights into its already-choked schedule. Right now, a 1984 regulation called the “perimeter rule” means that flights to destinations more than 1,500 miles away are permitted from only JFK and Newark. Lifting the perimeter rule would allow airlines at La Guardia to get in on longer flights with higher fares and more passengers. Never mind that delays at La Guardia are the worst in the country — nearly a quarter of its flights are late. <br/>
European aviation safety regulators said Wednesday airlines could consider flying over parts of Crimea which were previously off-limits after Russia’s annexation of the area. Airlines can consider flights in the airspace around Simferopol using two designated routes, EASA said in a note to carriers. The safety agency had advised airlines to avoid the airspace over Crimea because of conflicting jurisdictional claims between Ukraine and Russia. Although Ukraine is the only recognised country with authority over the airspace, Russia has claimed responsibility for the area. Ukraine last summer argued some flights over the area should be approved, though EASA initially said it wasn’t convinced safety concerns were sufficiently addressed. <br/>
Employers of business travellers left in the lurch by delayed flights can claim compensation from airlines, the EU’s top court said in another ruling beefing up passengers’ rights. Air carriers can’t avoid paying for losses suffered by employers, the EU Court of Justice said in a binding judgment Wednesday, referring to the Montreal Convention. A group of airlines attacked the ruling. “The concept of consumer” under the convention “may include persons who are not themselves carried and are therefore not passengers,” the EU court ruled. The convention “must be interpreted as being applicable not only to the damage suffered by a passenger, but also to the damage suffered by a person in its capacity as an employer.” The case is the latest in a long line of rulings on airlines’ obligations when schedules aren’t met. <br/>