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Indonesian investigators will give their final report next month on the crash of a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX jet that killed 189 people last October, the country’s civil aviation authority said on Friday. The 737 MAX, Boeing’s best-selling jet, was grounded globally in March following another fatal crash of the jet operated by Ethiopian Airlines. The two crashes together killed 346 people. A draft of the report by the transport safety agency (KNKT) will be sent next week to Boeing, Lion Air, the FAA and other parties to seek feedback, said Polana Pramesti, director general of civil aviation. “After getting the responses, KNKT will release it in September,” Pramesti said. The report will include the facts and a chronology of the Lion Air crash, the causes of the incident and give recommendations, said KNKT deputy chairman Haryo Satmiko. Boeing and the FAA provided data for the report, he said, which is expected to be released at the end of September. <br/>

Ryanair’s directly employed pilots in Ireland on Friday voted in favour of industrial action unless pay demands are met swiftly, with Spanish pilots also threatening to join growing unrest at the airline. The airline suffered a number of strikes last year by pilots and cabin crew, forcing it to cancel hundreds of flights and hitting profit after a rocky start to its move to recognise trade unions for the first time. Ryanair managed to quell the disputes by reaching deals with many unions in Europe on pay and allowances, but it has yet to move beyond recognition agreements with others and further angered unions by telling staff 10 days ago that it had 900 more pilots and crew than it needed. Members of Ryanair’s British pilots union voted this week to follow Portuguese cabin crew to the picket line, with two strikes planned from Aug. 22. The action in Ireland was backed by 94% of those who cast a ballot among the 180 eligible pilots. About a quarter of Ryanair’s 350 pilots in its home market staged a series of one-day strikes a year ago before concerns on transfers and promotions were settled, but the Forsa/IALPA trade union said the airline has stalled on talks since pay demands were submitted in late March. “They (pilots) feel they have been forced into contemplating potentially disruptive industrial action by a company that seems either unwilling or unable to negotiate in a professional and constructive manner,” said Forsa’s assistant general secretary, Ian McDonnell.<br/>

Over 100 passengers who were kept on a plane that landed at Manchester airport in northern England on Friday after a woman had fallen ill on the flight have been given the all-clear to disembark, airline Flybe said. Earlier, Flybe said it was working closely with Public Health England to collect contact details from the passengers to allow them to be traced if needed. The passenger had fallen ill on Flybe flight BE3122 from Paris to Manchester but no details of her ailment have been released. “Flybe can confirm that all 106 passengers asked to remain on board the above flight upon arrival into Manchester this morning were given the all-clear to disembark without further restriction and have since done so,” the airline said. “The aircraft, following a deep clean, has also been given the all-clear by the authorities to return back into service as soon as this is completed.”<br/>

SpiceJet booked income on the expectation of receiving compensation from Boeing for grounded 737 Max jets, posting its highest-ever profit in the process. Airlines around the world have sought compensation from Boeing for order delays and losses caused by the grounding of the 737 Max in the wake of two deadly crashes. There’s no clarity on when those jets could fly again as regulators scrutinize corrective measures. Chinese airlines have said they may have lost more than $500 million due to the groundings. “This aircraft has been grounded for no fault of SpiceJet. We are paying for expenses for the aircraft,” SpiceJet’s CFO Kiran Koteshwar said. “These are the rentals which we have incurred between April, May and June, and we have sent this and other numbers to Boeing. We are very sure this is the minimum we will get.” SpiceJet posted a profit of 2.6bi rupees ($37m) for the three months ended June helped by the collapse of local rival Jet Airways India, which allowed it to raise fares 11%. The company’s revenue for the period included a notional income of 1.14b rupees on account of costs incurred on aircraft lease rentals.<br/>

A flight attendant on a Chicago-to-South Bend flight has been charged with public intoxication. Forty-nine-year-old Julianne March of Waukesha, Wisconsin, faces an Aug. 29 initial hearing after being charged Thursday. Court documents say March was part of an Air Wisconsin crew working an Aug. 2 United Express flight when passengers became "scared for their lives" due to her apparent condition after departing Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The South Bend Tribune reports that when the plane landed in South Bend, officers removed March. Court documents say she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.20%. Air Wisconsin Airlines said Friday that March is no longer employed by the airline. <br/>

Start-up carrier Air Antwerp will operate its first flight to London City on 9 September, following the granting of its air operator's certificate by Belgium's civil aviation authority. The Belgian airline, a joint venture between KLM and CityJet, will use a 50-seat Fokker 50 turboprop to operate three return weekday flights plus one Sunday evening service. KLM will be a codeshare partner on the route. "Business travellers will finally be able to fly again from the centre of London to Antwerp," states Air Antwerp chief executive Johan Maertens. "Also for the Antwerp business world – in particular the diamond industry and the port community – it is good news that there is again a direct link to the London Docklands." The airline expects the KLM codeshare agreement with KLM to provide significant support to the venture. VLM, which operated an Antwerp-London City service before it entered liquidation last year, did not have such a relationship with a major airline, Air Antwerp spokesperson Yves Panneels points out. "The codeshare agreement with KLM will reinforce the strength of the operation. It is important to have the support of a strong brand," he says.<br/>

Investigators probing a Xiamen Airlines Boeing 737-800 excursion in Manila have disclosed that the captain twice overruled the first officer's call for a go-around on final approach. The first officer also made two other go-around calls after the jet had touched down on runway 24 on 16 August last year. Its crew had previously executed one missed approach at 30ft owing to insufficient visual reference, and the pilots discussed the possibility of a second go-around, and diversion, should similar conditions prevail. In an update to the probe the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines accident inquiry board says the aircraft was stabilised in landing configuration during the second approach, and its autopilot and autothrottle were disengaged while descending through 1,000ft. While the aircraft had remained on course through the decision altitude, it started to drift to the left as it passed over the runway threshold. The first officer called "go-around", says the inquiry, but the captain responded: "No." As the 737 descended to 13ft it was rolling to the left and continuing to drift left of the centreline, and the first officer again called for a go-around at 10ft – a call which was similarly rejected by the captain. Story has more details.<br/>

In the latest expansion of Sichuan Airlines’ intercontinental services, the carrier will add a stop in Helsinki to its service between Copenhagen and Chengdu, China. The airline has also increased capacity on a service to Istanbul that originates from Chengdu, its home city and the provincial capital of Sichuan. Helsinki will be inserted into the twice-weekly Chengdu-Copenhagen service beginning in September, the airline said. The route, which opened in December, is operated by Airbus A330-200s. It depends heavily on Chinese tour groups for traffic, industry sources said. The Chengdu-Istanbul service, flown three times a week, began in April with A330-200s, which were switched to A350-900s in August. Sichuan Airlines opened a 3X-weekly route between Chengdu and Rome in June, using A330-200s. <br/>