Boeing has begun mapping out the steps to ease its 737 Max back into commercial service once regulators lift a global grounding for the company’s best-selling jetliner. The planemaker has been planning the Max’s comeback with airlines in a series of meetings from Miami to Moscow, while placing carefully tailored plans in place for suppliers, CE Dennis Muilenburg said Wednesday. He didn’t specify a timeline for the plane’s return, which will be determined by regulators. Meanwhile, the head of IATA warned of discord among global regulators and cautioned that commercial flights for the Boeing narrow-body aren’t likely to resume for at least 10 to 12 weeks. “We are preparing a meeting between regulators, the aircraft manufacturer and the operators to make an assessment of the situation,” Alexandre de Juniac said. <br/>
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Ahead of its annual general meeting in Seoul Saturday, IATA reported that passenger demand rose in April, but it warned of ominous global economic factors that it says may be behind slowing year-over-year growth. “We experienced solid but not exceptional rising demand for air connectivity in April. This is partly is owing to the timing of Easter, but also reflects the slowing global economy,” said CE and DG Alexandre de Juniac. “Driven by tariffs and trade disputes, global trade is falling, and as a result, we are not seeing traffic growing at the same levels as a year ago. However, airlines are doing a very good job of managing aircraft utilization, leading to record load factors.” <br/>
Boeing is looking to make the first test flight of its 777X twin-aisle jet as soon as late June, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday, slightly later than the planemaker had planned, but still on track for putting the plane into airline service in 2020. Boeing hopes the new jet will extend its grip on the ‘mini-jumbo’ market, which it shares with Airbus' 365-seat A350-1000, and perhaps scoop up fresh orders following the demise of Airbus’ A380 superjumbo. The test flight will likely be too late for Boeing to hit its previous target of flying the 777X to the Paris Air Show, where it had hoped to make a marketing splash in Airbus’ backyard. Development of the plane has been slowed by the partial US govt shutdown earlier this year and assembly delays on its carbon-composite wings and new GE9X engines. <br/>
Increasingly, what airlines sell you on long flights is sleep. It’s the top reason people upgrade and highest priority for 70% of long-haul passengers, according to JPA Design. JPA reviewed academic and passenger studies and conducted its own tests of various in-flight sleeping configurations. Airlines are one-upping each other to get more lie-flat beds on routes as short as from Boston and New York to Caribbean islands. But here’s the punchline: Some of the newest designs at airlines may not be conducive to good sleep. Airlines advertise bed length and shoulder-room dimensions. Research shows that for those who sleep on their sides, which is most of us, space at your hips may be most important. The long, skinny business-class seats being rushed into airplanes can be difficult for many sleepers. <br/>
Chinese airlines will incur losses of CNY4b (US$580m) if their grounded Boeing 737 MAXs do not return to the air by June 30, the China Air Transport Association said. The loss will be greater if the grounding extends into the second half of the year, the association said. Its calculations include the impact of the airlines’ inability to use aircraft already delivered and those for which the companies are awaiting delivery. All 13 Chinese airlines that have ordered MAXs have filed compensation claims with Boeing. At least 2 of them—China Eastern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, both based in eastern China—have begun ferrying MAXs to uncongested airfields to the west. China Eastern said it has put aircraft at Taiyuan and Lanzhou. Xiamen Airlines is also using Lanzhou, along with Shijiazhuang and Yinchuan. <br/>
Inflight connectivity provider Gogo will build a 5G cellular network for aviation, with a plan to begin offering the broadband service in 2021. The new air-to-ground network is designed for use on business aviation aircraft, regional jets and smaller mainline airliners operating in the US and Canada, Gogo said Wednesday. The company will build the 5G system on its existing infrastructure of 250 towers, using unlicensed spectrum in the 2.4 GHz range to connect with aircraft. The network will use a proprietary modem and employ advanced beamforming technology to focus wireless signal energy. Gogo plans continue using its 3G and 4G networks, which “will provide backup to the 5G network when needed.” The company said it is committed to providing “easy upgrade paths” to 5G for existing customers. <br/>