Some US airlines are willing to pick up their 737 MAX jets from Boeing as soon as December if the FAA approves delivery of the grounded planes before new pilot training is agreed, 3 people with knowledge of the matter said. Hundreds of 737 MAX jets have rolled off Boeing's Seattle production line in the months since 2 fatal crashes, forcing the planemaker to park un-flown jets at facilities across Washington state until regulators approve software and training updates. Boeing Monday said the FAA could issue an order approving the plane's return to service in December, even though approval for training changes would take more time. By starting to hand over 737 MAX jets, Boeing would get a head start on what airlines predict will be the biggest delivery logjam in civil aviation history, while also protecting output. <br/>
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Record throngs of travellers are expected to jam into airports over the Thanksgiving break and airlines are adding hundreds of flights a day in response. The TSA said Wednesday that it expects to screen more than 26.8m passengers and airline crew members between Nov 22 and Dec. 2. That would be a 4% increase over last year. The busiest days figure to be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day — about 2.7m people — and the Sunday after the holiday, when TSA expects to screen more than 2.8m people. The lightest day is expected to be the holiday itself. US airlines are adding about 850 flights and 108,000 seats per day compared with the same period last year, according to A4A. There were nearly 25,000 flights a day over the Thanksgiving stretch last year. <br/>
Argentina’s airline passengers have been enjoying their first taste of the global boom in discount airlines. Now the shift to greater competition is under threat from a powerful potential foe: the country’s newly elected leader. While president-elect Alberto Fernandez hasn’t detailed his plans for the industry, he emphasised during his campaign the need to boost state-controlled flagship Aerolineas Argentinas. His rival, departing president Mauricio Macri, championed policies that allowed budget carriers to vie more effectively for passengers starting last year. Fernandez’s resounding victory -- fuelled by voters’ rejection of austerity measures -- endangers an aviation opening that has enabled half a million passengers to fly for the first time. <br/>
Indonesia will not approve the return of the Boeing 737 MAX to its skies until after aviation regulators in the US, Europe, Brazil, Canada and China do so, an official at Indonesia's aviation regulator said. Indonesian investigators last month released a final report into the Lion Air crash that included recommendations to Boeing, the US FAA and the airline on improving safety practices. "Indonesia is waiting for FAA and other big countries to recertify MAX," Sokhib Al Rokhman, head of the airworthiness and aircraft subdirectorate at the DGCA said Wednesday. "We are also increasing our cooperation with ASEAN countries once FAA publishes the recertification," he said. Indonesia's decision on when to let 737 MAX jets fly in its airspace could have implications beyond local operators Lion Air and Garuda Indonesia. <br/>