Airbus sealed deals with big buyers for its latest passenger jet at the Paris Airshow on Wednesday, battling back a day after a surprise order by BA’s owner for rival Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX jet. Indigo Partners, the private equity firm of veteran low-cost airline investor Bill Franke, and American Airlines each signed up for 50 of Airbus’s new long-range A321neo jet, although some orders were converted from deals on other models. Airbus, which has not given a list price for the A321XLR, launched the new plane on Monday, aiming to carve out new routes for airlines with smaller planes and steal a march on Boeing’s plans for a potential all new jet for the middle of the market. The deals are a big vote of confidence in the European planemaker, a day after major customer BA owner IAG signed a letter of intent to buy 200 of Boeing Co’s 737 MAX jets, a model that has been grounded since March after two deadly crashes. Asked about the IAG deal, Franke, who struck the largest-ever plane deal by number of aircraft with Airbus in 2017, called the A321neo the most efficient single-aisle jet. Franke’s Indigo Partners signed a memorandum of understanding to buy 32 of A321XLR aircraft and to convert 18 existing A320 family jet orders to the larger model.<br/>
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Boeing has “caused a global aviation crisis of trust,” the head of a pilots union said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday in which lawmakers, pilots and airline officials expressed frustration even as the company makes progress in returning its 737 Max jet to service. Daniel F. Carey, president of the Allied Pilots Association, the union representing American Airlines pilots, said the fallout from two Max crashes that killed 346 people “will require global solutions to restore and bolster aviation’s global safety culture and reputation.” The Max has been grounded since March, after a second crash in a matter of months. In the aftermath of those accidents critics have found fault with the design, certification and rollout of the Max. “These crashes are demonstrable evidence that our current system of aircraft design and certification has failed us,” said Chesley B. Sullenberger III, the pilot who landed a plane in the Hudson River and is known as Sully. Witnesses at the hearing, held by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s aviation subcommittee, also raised questions about whether the FAA had ceded too much authority to companies like Boeing, which help certify their own planes. “These tragic incidents and the revelations surrounding them have shaken the public trust in our entire aviation system due to the decisions made by Boeing during the original certification process, the slow and inadequate response in the wake of the loss of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, and the questions surrounding F.A.A. oversight throughout,” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said in her prepared remarks. Boeing said in a statement that it was working to regain the public’s trust.<br/>
A recent government ruling may transform air travel for passengers with life-threatening food allergies by extending to them the protections afforded other individuals with disabilities. In September 2016, gate agents for American Airlines refused Nicole Mackenzie’s request to preboard a flight from Portland, Ore., to Charlotte, N.C., to clean the area around the seat assigned to her seven-year-old daughter, who has life-threatening nut and seed allergies. The family filed a formal complaint with the federal DoT. Regulators determined last month that American Airlines had violated the Air Carrier Access Act — roughly the equivalent of the Americans With Disabilities Act, but applicable to the airlines. The DoT considers severe allergies a disability under the act if they impact a passenger’s ability to breathe or “substantially impact another major life activity.” “This changes the entire landscape for the food-allergy flier,” said Lianne Mandelbaum, who has a son with a severe food allergy and writes a blog about food allergies and travel. “Until now, food-allergy passengers’ safety was beholden to the mood of a particular flight crew,” Mandelbaum added. <br/>
Singapore Changi Airport closed one of two runways for 10 hours after a drone was sighted in the vicinity on the night of June 18 through the morning of June 19. As a precautionary measure, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) closed runway 20R, which affected the delay of 37 departures and arrivals, including one that was diverted to Kuala Lumpur. The author was on one of the affected flights when the Cathay Pacific flight was instructed to hold over Malaysia for an additional 20 min. before landing at the functioning runway 20L. This is Changi’s first major flight disruption as a result of errant drones, and comes after similar incidents in London Gatwick and Dubai airports. “The authorities take a serious view of errant operations of unmanned aircraft, which may pose threats to aviation or endanger the personal safety of others and will not hesitate to take enforcement action against those who contravene regulations,” CAAS said. <br/>