Faced with lawsuits over a plane crash half a world away, Boeing is arguing it shouldn’t have to defend itself in a courtroom a short walk from its corporate headquarters. The world’s largest planemaker has indicated in court filings that it’s likely to request that cases on behalf of victims in the October crash of a 737 Max plane be moved from the federal courthouse in Chicago to Indonesia, where the plane went down and where most of the victims lived. On Tuesday, a federal judge told the company it must make the request within 45 days, according to plaintiffs lawyers. They say Boeing -- if it can shift the US cases 10,000 miles away -- would skirt responsibility and lessen its financial liability. “They don’t want them to have justice,” said Steven Hart, a Chicago lawyer representing some of the plaintiffs from the Lion Air crash into the Java Sea on Oct. 29, killing all 189 people aboard. Boeing said there’s precedent for such cases to be heard in the country where the incident took place. “The disputes relating to the Lion Air Flight JT 610 accident should be heard and resolved by the courts of the nation with the greatest interest in the matter,” the company said when it disclosed its plan in a legal filing late last year. “That means the Indonesian courts, just as other cases arising out of Indonesian aviation accidents have been resolved by the Indonesian courts.” Timothy Ravich, a professor of aviation law at the University of Central Florida who has represented defendants in aviation cases, said such change-of-venue requests aren’t always granted. Boeing will argue that it should be heard in Indonesia because the plane crashed there and was flown by Indonesian pilots.<br/>
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Boeing on Wednesday named a new senior adviser to CEO Dennis Muilenburg and the board of directors as the world’s largest planemaker faces its biggest crisis in years after two deadly crashes of its 737 MAX. Crashes in Ethiopia in March and Indonesia in October have triggered the grounding of Boeing’s fastest-selling plane, lawsuits, investigations and lingering concerns over the 737 MAX’s safety. The company named Michael Luttig, who has served as general counsel since joining the company in 2006, to the newly created position of counselor and senior adviser to Muilenburg and the Boeing board of directors. Luttig, who is often listed among the highest paid general counsels of publicly traded companies, will anchor Boeing’s legal defense over the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Boeing also said Brett Gerry, who has been president of Boeing Japan since 2016, is succeeding Luttig as general counsel. Both changes are effective immediately. The two executives are expected to play a central role in Boeing’s campaign to restore the trust of customers, passengers and regulators following the crashes.<br/>
London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, overcame an attempt by environmental groups to block construction of a third runway that it says is needed to boost flights and compete with rival hubs trying to steal its traffic. Construction can go ahead after judges on Wednesday threw out lawsuits from Friends of the Earth, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and other groups seeking to challenge the UK Government’s approval of the plan. Opponents alleged the proposal violated the UK’s climate change policy and didn’t take account of the Paris climate accord. But that agreement isn’t part of British law, even though the country has ratified it -- and this posed an “overarching difficulty” to the lawsuit, the three judges said. Though it can still be appealed, the decision reduces the risks involved with a lawsuit that could’ve become a major stumbling block for the third runway plan. If the government had lost the case, it would’ve had to start the process again, potentially causing delays and uncertainty. “We understand that these claims involve underlying issues upon which the parties -- and indeed many members of the public -- hold strong and sincere views,” the judges said in the unanimous ruling. They added that the hearing had concerned only the legality and “not the merits” of a government policy statement that approved the expansion.<br/>
Thomas Cook has set a deadline of May 7 for expressions of interest in its airline business, with Indigo Partners and Lufthansa among the likely bidders, sources said. The heavily-indebted British travel group put its profitable airline business up for sale in February after profit warnings in 2018 left it needing to raise cash. Thomas Cook's airlines business consists of Germany's Condor, as well as British, Scandinavian and Spanish operations. A sale of the business, in whole or in part, would enable the world's oldest tour operator to invest more in its own hotels and improve its online sales. A source familiar with the discussions said that Indigo and Germany's Lufthansa appeared most interested in the business. British Airways owner IAG should not be ruled out and easyJet has engaged in talks but is seen as less interested, the source added. The airlines business would provide access to valuable European slots linking Britain to Spain, Greece and Turkey.<br/>