US safety regulators are investigating an engine failure on a Delta Air Lines jet that forced pilots to shut down the turbine and return to Atlanta shortly after take-off. The accident occurred Wednesday on a Boeing 757-200 bound for Orlando, Florida, the NTSB said Thursday. Delta Flight 1418, which had 121 passengers and 6 crew members, landed safely and there were no injuries. The engine failure occurred at about 18,000 feet, according to the FAA. The Delta incident is at least the fourth since Aug 2016 in which an engine failure has allowed debris to escape. The powerplants are designed with a hardened exterior so that even in the event of a blowout, fan blades and other components can’t get out and threaten fuel tanks, passengers and other sensitive aircraft structures. <br/>
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Delta Air Lines may sell a stake in its Trainer oil refinery outside Philadelphia, 6-years after it made the questionable move into the oil refining business. The carrier has engaged Barclays Capital and Jeffries to "explore opportunities to form a joint venture" with a strategic partner, Delta says. The airline plans to maintain a stake in the refinery, through its Monroe Energy subsidiary, to ensure jet fuel production levels while selling the balance of ownership in the facility. Delta bought Trainer for US$150m from Philips 66 in 2012. The facility, which the carrier has expanded to refine up to 205,000 barrels a day of crude oil, did not meet initial forecasts that it would yield 32% jet fuel and failed to turn an annual profit - despite management comments that it would - until 2014. <br/>
KLM agreed to reduce the workload for its pilots. Unions at sister carrier Air France want a deal too. Labour representatives at Air France-KLM’s French unit have been asking for a pay rise since the beginning of the year, vowing to stage more strikes if new CE Ben Smith doesn’t comply. Now that KLM pilots have had their demands satisfied, Air France employees say they should, too. There’s no reason for managers to postpone negotiations until Smith takes the job, the CGT union said Wednesday, citing the KLM agreement as evidence. “We’re not letting anything go,” the union said, referring to possible walkouts. The new CE, who plans to take the helm before the end of September, is facing staunch opposition from 9 unions at Air France. Workers are demanding a share of the airline’s 2017 profits through a 5% pay rise this year. <br/>
The CE of state-owned Italian rail operator Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) is reviewing possible synergies with Alitalia, he told an Italian newspaper, as the govt decides the next steps for the troubled carrier’s future. “There is certainly an interest for FS, which corresponds with the country’s interest in creating an inter-modal pole, promoting integration and synergies and avoiding overlap,” Gianfranco Battisti said. “The high-speed [rail] model has hurt Alitalia very much and now it makes sense to review what synergies may be possible.” Alitalia’s long-term future is still shrouded in confusion over a year since it declared bankruptcy in May 2017, having been hit partly by competition from LCCs which have rapidly grown their market share in Italy. <br/>