Bombardier and Airbus could have a final assembly line in the US up and running within a year of a go-ahead, but it remains undecided whether the CSeries jets ordered by Delta Air Lines will be produced there, or in Canada, a senior Bombardier executive said. While the two manufacturers are limited in what information they can share before Airbus’ deal to acquire a controlling stake in the CSeries program secures regulatory approval, integration with Airbus is now the “top priority,” Bombardier Commercial aircraft SVP-commercial Colin Bole said. Bole maintained that ongoing talks between Boeing and Embraer about joining forces are an acknowledgement that Boeing does not have an answer to the CSeries. <br/>
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Air travellers faced the prospect of delays and cancellations Wednesday as a sprawling storm system brought ice, snow and rain to the Northeast and Ohio Valley. Most big carriers flying to the region had waived rebooking fees. Nationwide, more than 1,175 flights had been canceled and another 4,700 delayed as of 5:10 pm ET. Of those cancellations, nearly 800 were pre-emptively announced Tuesday as airlines looked to get ahead of the storm. Still, Wednesday's tally of canceled flights has crept up since morning and further disruptions remained possible as winter weather spreads across busy airports. Most of Wednesday's US cancellations were clustered at 4 busy Northeastern airports, with Boston and Newark topping the list with more 250 cancellations each. <br/>
A coalition of airlines including Alaska, JetBlue, United and Southwest has sued Washington state over its new sick leave law, saying it's part of a mishmash of state and local measures that could increase costs and delays for travellers — and which are blocked by federal regulation of air travel and interstate commerce. Airlines For America filed the lawsuit Tuesday. The organisation said at least 6 other states — Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Vermont — and 30 cities have paid sick leave laws. "Airlines cannot operate their nationwide systems properly if flight crews are subject to the employment laws of every state in which they are based, live, or pass through," A4A said Wednesday. The lawsuit seeks a ruling that federal regulation of air travel precludes Washington state's sick leave law. <br/>
Airlines want to nix a host of rules that attempt to keep them from mistreating customers. The DoT is considering it. The agency has asked airlines to suggest changes or cuts to regulations, part of a broad initiative from president Trump, once an owner of a small airline, to reduce govt red tape. It comes as DoT fines against airlines fell by half last year. The rules matter because DoT is just about the only protection consumers have in US air travel. If the airlines get what they want, the govt would weaken the tarmac delay rule, which imposes hefty fines for stranding passengers on planes for long periods, and eliminate a requirement that they show the full price of a ticket when people shop. <br/>
Saudi Arabia has granted Air India approval to operate direct flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv, sources in the Israeli flight industry told Haaretz. If confirmed, this would be the first time the Saudis are allowing commercial flights to Israel to use their airspace. However, according to Reuters, a spokesman for Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation denied the report, saying the agency had not granted Air India permission to operate direct flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv. If true, Riyadh's approval would mean that the duration of flights from India to Israel will be shortened by 2.5 hours, compared to the route currently in use. The new route would allow the airline to reduce fuel costs and sell cheaper tickers to passengers. <br/>
There will be less hassle for travellers on flights from Europe and Singapore connecting through some European airports and Changi Airport with the implementation of a one-stop security (OSS) arrangement from Tuesday. According to the EC, the OSS arrangement excludes passengers, baggage and cargo from further security controls when transferring at EU airports. Other countries that benefit from the OSS include the US and Canada, according to the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport of European Commission. Singapore’s Ministry of Transport and EC DG-MOVE said the OSS arrangement will improve transfer connections made by passengers at the airports and increase the efficiency of airline and airport operations. <br/>
The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 prompted a slew of safety proposals meant to prevent another jetliner from inexplicably vanishing. Yet 4 years later, that possibility remains. That's because international requirements for new planes to broadcast their locations every minute when they're in trouble don't take effect until Jan 2021. In an era where people can track their iPhones in real time, the world's most-advanced transportation industry still isn't obligated to do the same for craft carrying about 4b passengers a year. And that one-minute rule doesn’t apply to the current fleet of 23,500 passenger planes and the thousands more joining them in the next 3 years — mostly in Asia." “You can’t say MH370 won’t ever happen again, because it will,” said a professor of electronic and radio systems. <br/>