US fliers still consider ticket prices the most important factor when choosing a flight, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, suggesting 2 fatal crashes of Boeing 737 MAX jets have had little impact on consumer sentiment. In the public opinion poll released May 15, only about half of US adults say they are familiar with the airplane crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that together killed 346 people, and only 43% could identify the Boeing 737 MAX as the aircraft involved. Most importantly for Boeing in the wake of the crashes, only 3% said that aircraft maker or model number was most important to them when buying a plane ticket. In contrast, 57% said ticket price was most important. If global regulators clear the jets for flight, the Reuters/Ipsos poll data suggest that carriers likely will not have trouble booking seats on the aircraft. <br/>
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An internal FAA review has tentatively determined that senior agency officials didn’t participate in or monitor crucial safety assessments of a flight-control system for Boeing’s 737 MAX jet, according to industry and govt officials. The preliminary conclusion, which hasn’t been reported before, may be discussed at a House Transportation subcommittee hearing Wednesday. It is part of the first official investigative findings on how the MCAS system ended up in the now-grounded MAX fleet despite its potentially hazardous design. The results, these officials said, also indicate that during the FAA certification process for the 737 MAX, Boeing didn’t flag the automated stall-prevention feature as a system whose malfunction or failure could cause a catastrophic event. Such a designation would have led to more intense scrutiny. <br/>
FAA acting chief Dan Elwell told lawmakers Wednesday he expects Boeing to submit a software fix for the grounded 737 MAX for approval soon, and said he was concerned by the planemaker's lengthy delay in disclosing a software anomaly. At a congressional hearing, the chairman of the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee told the FAA it must "get it right" in deciding when to allow the Boeing 737 MAX to fly again. "The world is watching ," representative Peter DeFazio said, adding the incidents have raised concerns about how the FAA certifies aircraft. Elwell said the agency expects to get the software upgrade and training update from Boeing in the "next week or so." He said the FAA will only allow the plane to resume flights when it is "absolutely safe to do so…It's important we get this right," Elwell said. <br/>
Airlines that use Boeing’s 737 Max will meet next week to discuss the grounded plane’s eventual return to service, just as global regulators gather to talk about the steps needed to allow the plane to fly again. IATA is organising the airline event in Montreal May 23. That’s the same day that the US FAA will host about 50 foreign counterparts in Texas to discuss plans for reviewing a software update and new pilot training for the Max. “The meeting will provide a forum for airlines to exchange information about the experiences and challenges that they face as a result of the grounding and in their preparation for the reintroduction of the aircraft into operations,’’ IATA said. The simultaneous gatherings herald a new phase for Boeing’s push to get its best-selling jet back in the skies after 2 devastating crashes. <br/>
The airplane cabin is about to get smart, raising passenger expectations and privacy concerns. Technology that manufacturers are fine-tuning will bring convenience to passengers and information about fliers’ habits to airlines. It’ll start rolling out in about 2 years. Privacy experts are already questioning how much information an airline should collect. They draw a line at data that’s personally identifiable, like keeping track of whether a passenger sleeps during flights, watches action movies, or drinks a lot of wine—without explicit consent. “Companies are collecting too much information about consumers in the name of convenience and micro-targeting,” says the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Manufacturers say they won’t collect individualised data without passenger permission. <br/>
The US banned all air transport with Venezuela Wednesday over security concerns, further isolating the troubled South American nation by severing one of its last links to the world’s largest economy. The Department of Homeland Security said it decided to immediately suspend all commercial and cargo flights between the US and Venezuela because the country’s political crisis threatened the safety of passengers, aircraft and crew. The decision will be a heavy blow for millions of Venezuelans who rely on donations or remittances from relatives abroad to survive, as the country’s crumbling economy has destroyed most of its industry and agriculture and slashed govt imports. Many have relied on airline courier services from Miami to obtain scarce medication, spare parts and food. <br/>
IATA said Tuesday that international airlines doing business in Africa were denied access to an estimated US$1b funds generated from various business transacted in the continent. IATA special envoy in Africa, Raphael Kuuchiat, lamented the new fiscal policies in some African countries that prevented airlines from uninterrupted withdrawing of funds, saying the trend constituted a severe threat to the growth of aviation industry in the continent. Kuuchiat who announced that the African aviation sector had attracted over $55.8b from both foreign and international investors in recent years with about 6.2m new jobs created, appealed to African states to relax policies that frustrate airlines business given the importance of air connectivity to the continents economic development. <br/>