Boeing says it needs more time to finish a software upgrade for its grounded 737 Max jetliners as company engineers update a stall-prevention system linked to two fatal crashes in five months. The planemaker said last week it would submit final paperwork for the revamp to the FAA by March 29 to make the system -- known as MCAS -- less aggressive in pushing down a plane’s nose, and to add redundancy so that it’s less likely to activate when other systems malfunction. Now Boeing says the update won’t be ready until the “coming weeks.” An issue with integrating the software fix and the plane’s existing flight-control architecture came to light as Boeing did a final audit of the upgrade, according to a person briefed on the work. Ensuring that MCAS will perform as desired while not interfering with existing flight controls isn’t expected to be a significant challenge said the person, who wasn’t authorized to speak about the work and asked not to be identified. “We are working to demonstrate that we have identified and appropriately addressed all certification requirements and will be submitting for FAA review once completed in the coming weeks,” Boeing said in an email Monday. “Safety is our first priority, and we will take a thorough and methodical approach to the development and testing of the update to ensure we take the time to get it right.” The FAA first announced that the proposed software upgrade wouldn’t be ready for weeks, and said the changes would face a rigorous review. That bodes poorly for investors banking on Boeing quickly getting its single-aisle workhorse back in the air. Story has further details.<br/>
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Liability claims related to the Ethiopian Airlines crash and the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft could be the largest non-war aviation reinsurance claim on record, hitting reinsurers’ profitability, reinsurance broker Willis Re said. The crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 on March 10 killed 157 passengers and crew, the second deadly crash involving a Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 airliner in five months. Liability claims for the passengers’ loss of life and in relation to the grounded aircraft could total around a billion dollars, said James Vickers, chairman of Willis Re International, a large sum for the aviation reinsurance market which Vickers said was “very small and very, very specialist”. Reinsurers help insurers share the cost of large claims, in return for part of the premium. The losses could erode three to four years of aviation reinsurers’ premium in the “global excess of loss” category of reinsurance, Willis Re said Monday in its summary of reinsurance activity at the key April 1 renewal date. In excess of loss reinsurance, the insurers are on the hook for the first part of the claim, and reinsurers only pay out on claims above a certain level.<br/>
Saudi Arabia has no immediate plans to allow Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to operate in the kingdom, its transport minister said on Monday, as state airline flyadeal potentially reconsiders an order for the jets. “There were no 737 MAX flying in the kingdom at the time and there aren’t plans for them to be back in the near future,” minister Nabeel al-Amudi said. Budget carrier flyadeal has said its waiting until investigations into the two crashes are completed before deciding if it proceeds with an order for 30 MAX jets. The order, which includes purchasing operations for 20 more of the same aircraft, is worth $5.9b at list prices, according to Boeing. Saudi Arabia will follow the global aviation industry in any recertification of the MAX, Amudi said.<br/>
US airlines were working their way through hundreds of delayed flights Monday after a data disruption temporarily suspended takeoffs across the country. Southwest was particularly hard hit, as the carrier voluntarily grounded all its planes for 40 minutes during the technology glitch at AeroData, a provider of aircraft weight and balance information. Delays affected 992 of Southwest’s flights, representing about a quarter of the airline’s 4,000 daily flights. “Because of our size and scope, and combined with our ground stop, it had a pretty big impact to our operation,” said a Southwest spokesman. The intermittent problem affected the regional partners of Delta and United Continental. American Airlines said some of its commuter affiliates were affected. The interruption lasted for about 48 minutes starting at 5:24 a.m. in Washington, the FAA said. The weight and balance information provided by AeroData is needed for flight planning, the agency said. Mainline and regional carriers were affected to varying degrees. United said 150 flights by its United Express regional carriers were delayed. Delta said it didn’t expect any cancellations among the Delta Connection flights delayed by the outage.<br/>
US lawmakers, determined to leave no stone unturned as they push for answers in the aftermath of two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in five months, have asked the US Department of Transportation (DOT) auditor to investigate pilot training, with emphasis on cockpit automation and international standards. The request, made via a March 29 letter from the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) committee and aviation subcommittee leadership to DOT Inspector General Calvin Scovel, targets three areas: FAA issuing new cockpit automation management guidance; Comparing pilot training standards in the US and abroad; and Reviewing cockpit automation training procedures. “An aviation accident never has just one contributing factor, and while the US remains the safest aviation system in the world we must always work to eliminate risks,” T&I committee ranking member Sam Graves said.<br/>
Story has details of new or upgraded airports opening in 2019. From an otherworldly, spaceship-like building in the Israeli desert to a spectacular Singaporian hub featuring the world's tallest indoor waterfall, these new aviation spaces take airports to a new level. List is:<br/>Ilan and Asaf Ramon International Airport -- Israel<br/>Singapore Changi Airport -- Singapore<br/>Istanbul Airport -- Turkey<br/>Carlisle Lake District Airport -- England<br/>Murcia-Corvera Airport -- Spain<br/>Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport -- New Orleans, USA<br/>Beijing Daxing International Airport -- Beijing, China<br/>