United Airlines will pull its 14 Boeing 737 Max aircraft from its schedules through June 4 as the US FAA’s safety review of the grounded aircraft extends into 2020 and carriers remain uncertain when those fleets could be cleared to return to service. The carrier had previously removed the Max from its schedule through March 4. The airline has 14 737 Max jets in storage, with 144 more of the type on order. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, which have extended cancellations of their Max fleets through April, have removed the aircraft from their schedules one month at a time. United’s announcement departs from that month-by-month cancellation trend. The airline will cancel up to 108 flights per day through June during the grounding said a spokesman. <br/>
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German cabin crew union UFO said arbitration talks with Lufthansa Sunday had failed and its members could stage strikes any time from now on, though they would spare passengers industrial action Dec 24, 25 and 26. In addition to a dispute over pay and pensions, UFO has been at odds with Lufthansa for months over the union's legal status. Lufthansa has said the union's leadership team that took office earlier this year was not elected in a way that met legal requirements. "Even though we have agreed not to disclose the contents of these talks, unfortunately we must state that there was no solution ... so we failed," a UFO spokesman said. "Industrial action must be expected again any time from now," he added. Industrial action Monday, Dec 23, could not be ruled out, he said. <br/>
Turkish Airlines is preparing to open a court case against Boeing due to uncertainty regarding the plane manufacturer's 737 MAX jetliner, reports said Thursday evening. The 737 MAX grounding has cost the plane manufacturer more than US$9b so far. Turkish Airlines declined to comment on the news report. The airline has 24 Boeing 737 MAX planes in its fleet. In May, its chairman said the company expected compensation for losses incurred over the grounding of the planes. The Demiroren news agency said the airline was preparing to open a court case over both the uncertainty and Boeing's failure to make an adequate statement regarding the situation. It did not specify a source for the report. Boeing said Monday it would suspend production of the 737 MAX in January. <br/>