New global packaging standards expected in late 2018 will allow lithium-ion batteries back into passenger plane cargo holds, pending design and regulatory approval, but some airlines say the new rule overlooks other safety concerns. It will reverse a 2016 suspension due to fire risks, but some airlines argue that packaging alone will not fully protect against cargo battery fires because battery shipments are sometimes mislabelled. Airlines and battery makers want jet designs to factor in better cargo fire-safety measures. Carriers have described finding packages of mislabelled lithium-ion batteries, often by shippers trying to avert the ban. It is not clear how many mislabelled battery packages are transported by air, or discovered, but carriers fear it could continue as some shippers try to avoid the anticipated higher costs of proper packaging. <br/>
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Boeing is in talks to acquire KLX, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the planemaker seeks to ramp up a new division providing maintenance, spare parts and other services to airlines. An agreement may come as soon as Monday, though a deal could still be derailed, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. KLX, which surged on the report, is a distributor of spare aircraft parts and oil and gas equipment, and had a market value of US$3.7. A deal would further Boeing’s biggest acquisition spree since its 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas and boost CE Dennis Muilenburg’s efforts to more than triple sales at its services business to $50b within a decade. Boeing has held preliminary talks with parts-maker Woodward and is deep into talks to form a JV that would give it control of Embraer's commercial jets. <br/>
The State Department wants new talks with Russia by the end of May on agreements for US airlines to cross Russian airspace, with officials in Moscow holding out on at least one key route used by cargo carriers. Russia this month agreed to renew 3 of 4 overflight routes as a deadline was about to expire. The fourth route, which runs across southern Russia, wasn’t renewed, and cargo carriers have had to use a costlier flight path as a result, said Manisha Singh, the assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs. The US wants the talks to take place in May to establish a more formal way of communicating with Russia about the issue. That would also allow discussion of broader, longer-lasting overflight agreements before the current one expires Oct 28. <br/>