Airbus Group will open itself up to financing from an unlikely source when the first jet is delivered Monday from its new factory in Alabama: the US Export-Import Bank. The govt-owned bank’s guarantees have helped finance hundreds of Boeing jets over the years. Airbus has used similar European agencies to help its sales, but now building aircraft in the US will allow some of the Airbus’ customers to tap Ex-Im for the first time. The first aircraft delivered from the new Airbus plant in Mobile are destined for JetBlue Airways and American Airlines, which like other US carriers are barred from receiving European export-credit support because of global trade rules. But Airbus hasn’t ruled out using the factory to build planes for export, and those sales would be eligible for US help. <br/>
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Bombardier has discussed prospects for a new airline in Iran as companies look to get a share of the country’s largely untapped aviation market after economic sanctions were lifted 3 months ago. Officials from the country’s Qeshm Free Zone held talks with Pierre Beaudoin, executive chairman of Bombardier’s board, on a project to set up an airline for the southern Qeshm island, according to a spokesman for the free zone. The island, located in the Persian Gulf, needs to invest in air transportation as part of plans to boost revenue from tourism, the person said. Qeshm Free Zone officials have held talks with several companies though they are keen to reach an agreement with Bombardier within the next 2 months, said the spokesman. Bombardier has estimated Iran will need about 300 planes over the next decade. <br/>
The US FAA has ordered an urgent fix for GE engines on up to 150 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, a step to avoid engine failure in icy conditions. The FAA said it was requiring modifications to prevent fan blades from rubbing against the engine casing, which can cause "damage and a possible in-flight non-restartable power loss of one or both engines." The measure was prompted by a report in January that such rubbing caused vibrations, leading the pilot to shut down the engine, a GE spokesman said. Ice that entered the engine during flight caused the fan blades to move forward slightly where they contacted the casing he said. Boeing and GE issued advice on fixing the problem in April and about 40 engines have been repaired so far, the companies said. The modification takes about 16 hours. <br/>
Flight delays and cancellations are expected at several German airports, including the main hub Frankfurt, next Wednesday due to ground personnel strikes announced by a services union. The union Verdi said Friday its strike action would also impact the Munich, Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Dortmund and Hanover airports. It would include personnel in air safety control, ground services, at check-in counters and in mechanical workshops. The industrial action aims to raise the pressure in a battle the union is fighting over public sector wages with local and federal govts. The strike next Wednesday follows industrial action which Verdi has recently organised in other institutions, including hospitals, town halls and child care centres. <br/>
Germany is one of Europe’s worst enforcers of air safety rules, trailing only Greece in failing to comply with basic requirements to protect passengers, according to a confidential EASA report. German regulators failed to uphold or enforce EU air safety rules in more than 15 sensitive areas, according to the report, dated March 7. The country had 18 unresolved safety lapses, more than smaller and far less wealthy countries. Recent audits of Germany’s LBA, the country’s equivalent of the US FAA, found the agency faced “a chronic shortage of staff” to monitor aviation activities. EU officials have criticised German aviation oversight a number of times over the past decade. But the EASA report makes clear that many findings of German shortcomings have remained unresolved through successive audits in recent years. <br/>