Airplanes have gone through many design changes over the years to keep passengers happy and now Bombardier is testing one more innovation: urinals. Replacing at least 1 bathroom with a set of 2 urinals is under active consideration by Bombardier and other airplane makers. Aircraft designers say installing urinals would save space and reduce waiting times for bathrooms. “About 65% of travellers are male so there’s the option to put 2 smaller lavatories in the back, one that is for both sexes, if you like, and the other would be dedicated to males,” said a Bombardier VP. “I think it’s a good idea because you save weight and you actually reduce waiting times for the lavatory,” he added. “We have built mock ups and studied it as well. And so we are discussing that with our customers to see their interest.” <br/>
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Chicago's O'Hare will get more gates and a new central terminal under a plan unveiled by city and airline officials. The bulk of the multi-billion dollar plan involves the redevelopment of one of the airport's domestic terminals into a central terminal, which would feature expanded passenger screening and concessions. An initial step in the plan calls for additional gates at O'Hare's international terminal at an estimated cost of US$300m. Money for this project would be raised through the sale of bonds backed by passenger facility charges, according to a spokeswoman for Chicago's finance department. Senior executives at United Airlines and American Airlines, the two biggest carriers at O'Hare, voiced support for improving the airport. <br/>
Canada’s Toronto Pearson International is set to re-open its renovated US preclearance facility July 19. The airport’s operating company, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) worked with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) , the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority and air carriers that utilise the airport over the past 2 years to redevelop GTAA’s “security in advance” process supporting preclearance to the US. The project is intended to improve passenger flow and allow 95% of all passengers to use automated passenger control kiosks instead of queuing for CBP agents. Toronto Pearson is one of 7 Canadian airports with CBP US preclearance facilities. According to GTAA, the airport is the fourth largest air entry point into the US with 5.6m passengers flying to the US each year. <br/>
Canada has insisted it plays by international trade rules after Brazil warned it may challenge govt funding to Bombardier, a move that would revive a 2-decades-old dispute between the countries. Bombardier is locked in competition with Embraer for narrow-body jet sales. Brazil has said that govt financing gives Bombardier an unfair advantage. Brazil’s foreign minister said it could move against Canada at the WTO over US$1b in funding that Bombardier received from the Canadian province of Quebec for its CSeries aircraft. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau brushed off the suggestion, telling reporters "there is no country in the world that doesn't heavily subsidise its aerospace sector." Embraer estimates that Bombardier received a total of $3.5b in state support. <br/>
EU leaders are moving to expand their air-safety authority over national regulators, despite turmoil stemming from the Brexit vote and widespread public dissatisfaction with top-down mandates from Brussels. Changes proposed months before June’s referendum in which British voters opted to leave the EU would update and modestly enhance EASA’s oversight role. The agency stands to gain additional powers to police small unmanned aircraft and regulate a few other air-safety functions now typically handled primarily by national authorities. The moves weren’t seen as controversial when they were unveiled, but rather as the natural evolution of the 14-year old pan-European safety organisation. From its creation by EU members, the idea was to shift air-safety authority to EASA from individual countries. <br/>
Gatwick’s campaign to win approval for a second runway has been boosted as the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, joined executives at the airport calling on the new prime minister to back expansion at Heathrow’s rival. The event came as Gatwick announced a further GBP200m to improve its terminal facilities, and a day after Theresa May’s new cabinet promoted several figures who oppose Heathrow’s third runway. Khan said Gatwick had “put together a formidable plan that is a fantastic display of their confidence in London”. While Khan had already made his support for Gatwick known, the event marks the first time since the Airports Commission was established in 2012 that a key political figure has shared a stage with executives at the contending airports to declare their partisan support. <br/>
At last week’s Farnborough Air Show, an Indian carrier placed a US$7.7b order while an additional $72b of contracts are in the offing. The next challenge: Finding landing and parking slots for these planes. As air travel heats up in the world’s fastest-growing major aviation market, infrastructure has failed to keep pace with traffic growth fuelled by rising incomes and affordable fares. The average time an aircraft spends circling before it can land in Mumbai during peak hours is about 45 minutes to an hour, versus 25 minutes for Singapore and zero for Qatar. India plans to invest $5b to improve airport infrastructure, which is "inadequate" compared with China’s proposal for $130b in 15 years, a June research paper by KPMG and the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India said. <br/>
Iran has expanded its search for aircraft and is looking to order dozens more jets while it continues to try to overcome hurdles to deals worth some US$50b with Airbus and Boeing, Iranian officials and Western industry sources said. Iranian airline executives attended the Farnborough Airshow in Britain over the past week and held preliminary discussions with several potential sellers including Mitsubishi, which is developing a new regional jet, they said. "Iran is planning to buy some 50 more airplanes of various types soon," an Iranian official said. At the same time, Iran is continuing to meet Airbus and Boeing to try to resolve headaches surrounding the financing of existing deals to buy some 200 jetliners, needed to renew its fleet. <br/>