Airbus plans to cut production of its A380 superjumbo from 2017 as it struggles to revive sales of the jet, two industry sources said. It has told its suppliers to slow production to support an assembly rate of 1.7 aircraft per month from next year, compared with production of just over 2 a month now, the sources said. The exact month in which the slowdown would be felt in the Toulouse assembly plant was not immediately clear. The company does not publish production figures for its biggest model, but only targets deliveries. Sales of large 4-engine airliners like the 544-seat A380 have been hit by improvements in the range and efficiency of smaller 2-engined models, which can be easier to fill. Airbus says the double-decker is becoming more attractive due to lower oil prices and also helps to solve airport congestion. <br/>
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FAA is calling for more than 10,000 Zodiac Aerospace seats to be removed from service, citing design flaws that could cause injury if a passenger was thrown forward during a high-impact incident. Affected airlines include US carriers Delta Air Lines, Envoy Air, Island Air, Republic Airlines, SkyWest Airlines and United Airlines. “The impact of the [passenger’s] head onto a typical transport passenger seat back during seat qualification testing normally results in an initial contact, followed by an unimpeded sliding motion down the back of the seat,” the NPRM states. The issue came to light after the Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil (ANAC), the FAA’s Brazilian counterpart, requested the US agency’s “review and input on test data submitted for seats to be installed in the Embraer ERJ models”. <br/>
Recaro Aircraft Seating has showcased a concept seat, which is capable of reporting live operational and maintenance data. The seat, which was exhibited ties in with the Internet of Things by transmitting operational status data to a handheld tablet computer. This includes whether the seat is in the correct take-off and landing position, for cabin crew use. However, it also carries information about how many times each individual tray table and seat cushion has been used. This means that, rather than routinely maintaining and replacing these items based on generic aircraft cycles, they can be replaced based on actual tray cycles or hours of cushion use, cutting costs. The intelligent seat, which is a modified version of a Recaro seat that is already in production, also senses changes, such as passenger recline, and adjusts its mood lighting levels accordingly. <br/>
More US flights are arriving on time and airlines are losing fewer bags, yet more consumers are complaining about air travel. Traveller complaints jumped 34% last year, to the highest level since 2000. The top frustration is problem flights including cancelations and delays, which is unchanged in 16 years. "Everything is getting better, but they are still unhappy about the same things," says Dean Headley, co-author of an annual report on airline quality. He thinks passengers resent the growth in extra fees for things like checked baggage and changing or cancelling a reservation, and that makes them quicker to complain when something goes wrong with their trip. It was the fifth increase in complaints in 6 years. Still, more than 670m people flew on US carriers last year, so only a tiny slice bothered to complain to the govt. <br/>
A key committee in Mexico's Senate Thursday ratified a deal with the US that would boost competition in air transportation, a Senate spokesman said, paving the way for expansion of the world's second largest cross-border market. The deal, which both govts have already signed and modifies a 1960 agreement, would open up new routes for airlines to fly between the countries and allow for an unlimited number of flights. Mexico's full Senate must still ratify the agreement for it to take effect, which is likely to happen in the coming days. While some analysts have welcomed the deal, saying it would lower airfares by boosting traffic, Mexican airline workers have complained it would put the country's airlines at a disadvantage. <br/>