The number of deaths in major air crashes around the globe fell by more than half in 2019, according to a report. The To70 consultancy said Wednesday that 257 people died in 8 fatal accidents in 2019. That compares to 534 deaths in 13 fatal accidents in 2018. The 2019 death toll rose in late December after a Bek Air Fokker 100 crashed Friday, killing 12 people. The worst crash of 2019 involved an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX plane that crashed March 10. The report said the fatal accident rate for large planes in commercial air transport fell to 0.18 fatal accidents per million flights in 2019 from 0.30 accidents per million flights in 2018. That means there was 1 fatal accident for every 5.58m flights. Last year may have seen fewer deaths but did not equal the historic low of 2017, which saw only 2 fatal accidents. <br/>
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Airbus has become the world's largest planemaker for the first time since 2011 after delivering a forecast-beating 863 aircraft in 2019, seizing the crown from embattled Boeing, airport and tracking sources said Wednesday. A reversal in the pecking order between the two giants had been expected as a crisis over Boeing's grounded 737 MAX drags into 2020. But the record European data further underscores the distance Boeing must travel to recoup its market position. Airbus, which had been forced by its own industrial problems to cut its 2019 delivery goal by 2-3% in October, deployed extra resources until hours before midnight to reach 863 aircraft for the year, compared with its revised target of 860 jets. Deliveries rose 7.9% from 800 aircraft in 2018. <br/>
The union representing employees who refuel the planes at 2 Montreal airports will return to the negotiating table Thursday morning after a second straight day on the picket lines, though there was uncertainly late Wednesday around the timeline for relaunching formal talks. A Union spokesman initially said the 2 sides had agreed to meet the following morning beginning at 10 am. However, Swissport Canada said late Wednesday that it had received a call by mediators to "stand by" for the moment and that "we will not be at the table at 10 am tomorrow" for the initial meeting between the union and the mediator. Swissport, said "there was no question" the company was ready to negotiate Thursday when called upon. In the meantime, strikers returned to the picket lines for a demonstration at Trudeau airport at 2 pm. <br/>
In the backdrop of Indian airline companies reporting huge losses in Q2 of 2019-20, aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Tuesday that "some predatory pricing is taking place" in airfares and the govt is concerned that if this continues, more airlines will shut down. He, however, ruled out any govt plan to regulate fares. "People are selling tickets below their cost," Puri said. "One of our concerns is that if there is predatory pricing, then the airlines will stop functioning. This is not Air India's problem only. Jet Airways got shut down. Before that, it was Kingfisher airline," he said. Asked if the trend of predatory pricing has come down after regular discussion with the airlines, he replied, "Oh yes, absolutely. It is constant battle....Our advice to them is to charge realistic fares," he added. <br/>
Global economic headwinds and geopolitical tensions have hit the aviation industry worldwide, but Changi has held its own, with strong demand for regional flights boosting overall passenger traffic. This is despite political issues in Hong Kong and challenges in the Indian market which saw the collapse of Jet Airways. Between January and November last year, Changi handled 61.9m passengers, with more than 4 in 10 coming from South-east Asian countries. Another 26% came from North-east Asia, Changi Airport Group said. This is despite the number of weekly services to Hong Kong having been cut from about 130 as of Dec 1, 2018, to 115 now. The demise of Jet Airways also resulted in the loss of 9 daily India-Singapore services earlier last year. Some of the reduced services have since been replaced by other Indian carriers. <br/>