Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg faced withering questions from senators Tuesday about two crashes of 737 Max jets and whether the company concealed information about a critical flight system. "We have made mistakes, and we got some things wrong," Muilenburg conceded. Some members of the Senate Commerce Committee cut Muilenburg off when they believed he was failing to answer their questions about a key flight-control system implicated in both crashes. Boeing successfully lobbied regulators to keep any explanation of the system, called MCAS, from pilot manuals and training. After the crashes, the company tried to blame the pilots, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. "Those pilots never had a chance," Blumenthal said. Passengers "never had a chance. They were in flying coffins as a result of Boeing deciding that it was going to conceal MCAS from the pilots." Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Il., said Boeing "set those pilots up for failure" by not telling them how the response to a nose-down command on the Max differed from previous 737s. "Boeing has not told the whole truth to this committee and to the families and to the people looking at this ... and these families are suffering because of it," a visibly angry Duckworth said as she pointed to relatives of passengers who died. Muilenburg denied that Boeing ever blamed the pilots. Several times this spring and summer he said the accidents were caused by a "chain of events," not a single factor. The comments were widely seen as deflecting blame, including to the pilots. The CEO told senators Tuesday that Boeing has always trained pilots to respond to the same effect caused by an MCAS failure — a condition called runaway trim — which can be caused by other problems. Muilenburg and Boeing's chief engineer for commercial airplanes, John Hamilton, spent about 80 minutes at the witness table. The committee then heard from two safety officials who helped shape reports about the Boeing plane. Story has more background.<br/>
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US safety officials are expanding inspection requirements of engines on new Airbus A220 jets after another plane suffered an in-flight engine shutdown. The FAA announced the latest requirements Tuesday, expanding an order published last month to look for compressor rotor cracks on some Pratt & Whitney engines. The FAA action follows orders from regulators in Canada and Europe that A220s be flown at no more than 94% of full power above 29,000 feet. There have been several reports of engine problems during flights. Most recently, a Swiss International Air Lines A220 flying from London to Geneva was forced to land in Paris. The airline briefly grounded its A220 fleet for inspections.<br/>
The UN aviation agency has asked Pakistan for more information about an overflight request from India, it said on Tuesday, after Islamabad denied permission to PM Narendra Modi to cross its airspace on an overseas tour. Tension has flared between the neighbors over the disputed Kashmir after India stripped the Himalayan region of its autonomy and severed telecoms links for months, with flights over Pakistan becoming the latest sticking-point in relations. Modi, who flew to Saudi Arabia on Monday for an investors’ summit, took a circuitous route because of Pakistan’s refusal, an Indian foreign ministry source said. India had taken up the issue with the ICAO, the official added. “It is a standard thing we do, we seek permission from the countries on the route,” said the official, who sought anonymity because of the sensitive diplomatic situation. “It was done in this case too, and it was refused.” Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said Modi was being blocked because of his government’s repression in the Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir. “In the context of the gross Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir, we have decided not to allow him use our airspace,” he said Sunday. India withdrew Kashmir’s special status in August in order to tighten its grip over the region and clamped down on public gatherings, telecommunications and detained scores of leaders, provoking condemnation from Pakistan. Islamabad previously refused a request in September from Modi to cross its airspace on a flight to Germany as tension runs high over Kashmir. In Montreal, ICAO spokesman Anthony Philbin said India had sent the agency a letter about Pakistan’s refusal to grant overflight clearance.<br/>
Canadian airlines are making preparations for the day when Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX jet can fly again, but one executive said work must be done to regain travellers’ trust in the US-made narrowbody involved in two deadly crashes. WestJet CEO Ed Sims said Tuesday that over 50% of people questioned by the carrier have expressed reluctance, or a lack of confidence to fly on the MAX. “There is a very major job to be done...to remind our guests of the previous safe track record and to give people confidence that the changes that have been made will make this the safest narrowbody domestic aircraft that has ever flown,” he said. The 737 MAX has been grounded worldwide since mid-March while Boeing (BA.N) updates flight control software at the center of two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that together killed 346 people within a span of five months. North American carriers, including WestJet and rival Air Canada, are taking steps to prepare for the plane’s ungrounding, even as they scramble to meet demand with slimmer fleets. Air Canada has pulled the MAX from its schedule until Feb. 14, 2020. WestJet has taken the MAX out until Jan. 4, but is reviewing whether to extend that into February. Sims added he would fly on a planned MAX demonstration flight with media and would “happily” bring his family when the aircraft again takes to the skies. Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu told analysts on an earnings call that the carrier would await the US FAA decision to clear the aircraft before taking steps to hire pilots for its MAX fleet expansion. “We’re looking at potentially hiring up to 350 incremental pilots next year,” he said.<br/>
Leaders of Latin American carriers expressed optimism Monday about the increasingly common joint ventures and airline-airline equity investments, while also downplaying regional challenges as workaday hurdles. "We are carriers in Latin America, and Latin America has ups and downs. And we are used to that," LATAM CE Enrique Cueto said at the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum. Much of the event involved discussion of those ups and downs – primarily the downs, among them political uncertainty, social strife, economic troubles, regulatory barriers and high taxes. Additionally, voters in Argentina just elected the country's next president, Alberto Fernandez, a populist who some business people fear will reverse the recent pro-business shift. Since that shift, Norwegian Air Argentina, Flybondi and JetSmart have started services in the country. "I have a feeling that nothing is going to really change," said LATAM's Cueto of the Argentine election. He suspected the country's government, regardless of who holds power, will decide against handing massive subsidies to state carrier Aerolineas Argentinas. Copa Airlines CE Pedro Heilbron said political changes in Argentina have affected that country's domestic air travel market significantly more than its international one. He downplayed the impact on Copa, which flies to several Argentine destinations from Panama City. Chief executives also say they are adjusting to an environment in which joint ventures and equity investments have become commonplace. Story has detailed background.<br/>
Planemakers worldwide face tougher scrutiny and changes in the way aircraft are certified in the aftermath of two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 MAX jets, leading regulators have said. Tuesday marks one year since the deadly crash of a Lion Air jet, which Indonesian investigators linked in part to violent seesaw movements triggered by flawed anti-stall software. The MCAS software, activated by a single faulty sensor and omitted from training manuals, has led to calls for tighter regulation as well as improvements in the training of pilots. “The certification process will change; I think so,” the head of the US FAA, Steve Dickson, said late Monday at an airlines meeting in Brazil. Boeing 737 MAX aircraft have been grounded around the world since March following a second fatal crash, this time involving a plane operated by Ethiopian Airlines. Dickson also emphasised a need to raise standards for airplane pilot training globally. A recent report by international regulators, commissioned by the FAA, faulted processes at both the US regulator and Boeing. But the impact of the crisis is likely to be felt worldwide, including at Boeing’s rival Airbus and new entrants from Russia to China and Japan, as regulators step up efforts to ensure that risks are correctly identified right from the drawing board. “We are going to make it harder,” Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), said when asked about the future of certification in general, without naming countries or companies. “In the future we may ask to have a larger set of data which will be used in the certification case than today,” he added. <br/>
The Transport Ministry has ordered Airports of Thailand (AoT) to halve its landing and parking charges at all airports under its management in a bid to attract more charter flights for the upcoming tourist high season, which is due to start in three months. "The 'sale' should help boost tourism, especially in smaller cities, because this 50% discount will apply to all charter flights arriving and departing from all AoT airports across the country," said Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob on Monday. At present, aircraft landing fees vary from 10,000-60,000 baht depending on the size of the aircraft, while parking fees start from 880 baht per 24-hour block. Saksayam said the policy is aimed to attract more seasonal flights from Eastern Europe and China, sources of increasing arrivals. "We could get more charter flights in if our airports can free up more space," said Mr Saksayam. At present, the airports of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang can handle 180 charter flights a day. The minister said the policy will also encourage airlines to re-route their flights to other airports to take advantage of the lower fees. He said that the main international gateways -- Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Hat Yai -- have already exceeded their passenger handling capacity by about 40%. As such, the minister also asked AoT to slap higher fines for abrupt cancellations of landing and parking slots at AoT-managed airports.<br/>