general

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said Monday that the victims of the Ukrainian airliner shot down in Iran would still be alive if the recent escalation of tensions in the region had not happened. The US killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in a Jan. 3 drone strike prompted Iran to launch a missile attack on Iraqi bases housing US troops on Jan. 8, hours before the passenger jet was shot down. All 176 aboard were killed, including 57 Canadians. “I think if there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families,” Trudeau said. Trudeau said Canada did not receive a heads up before the United States killed Soleimani, and that he “obviously” would have preferred one. “The US makes its determinations. We attempt to work as an international community on big issues. But sometimes countries take actions without informing their allies,” he said. Trudeau said that while the government was working as quickly as possible to bring the bodies home for burial, it was likely to take weeks or “perhaps even months.”<br/>

Boeing’s new CE, David Calhoun, assumes the job Monday as the US planemaker battles to recover from two fatal crashes of 737 Max planes that killed 346 people in five months and led to the model’s worldwide grounding in March. Calhoun, 62, a long-time Boeing director named chairman in October after the board stripped Dennis Muilenburg of the title, was named CE on 23 December. The board had fired Muilenburg amid growing concerns about the company’s relationship with regulators and its handling of the Max. Boeing has estimated costs of the Max grounding at more than $9b to date and is expected to disclose significant additional costs during its Q4 earnings release on 29 January. Boeing faces rising costs from halting production of the Max this month, compensating airlines for lost flights and assisting its supply chain. It is also considering raising more debt. Calhoun, a longtime executive at Blackstone private equity group and corporate crisis manager, is already working to repair the company’s relationships with regulators, airlines and lawmakers. He previously headed a General Electric division that included airplane engines. A source close to Calhoun said Sunday that he wants to “get rid of the culture of arrogance” at Boeing that led to the messages written by a small number of employees, and ensure staff “hold each other accountable”.<br/>

Boeing’s new CEO David Calhoun started work on Monday, inheriting a company that is reeling from the effects of two fatal crashes which led to the grounding of the 737 MAX last March. The Chicago-based firm is struggling for traction with financial investors and has ordered a full-scale halt in production of the 737 MAX that has already cost billions of dollars. Story features charts on a year of crisis for the company as it prepares on Tuesday to publish figures for 2019 that are expected to show a collapse of orders and deliveries and the loss of its status as the world’s biggest planemaker to Europe’s Airbus. Boeing, a top Dow performer for many years, was the fourth-worst performer in the 30-member index in 2019. Most investors are cautious, with 13 out of 24 analysts rating it a “hold” while seven still see it a “buy” and “strong buy”. Story has more financial details.<br/>

A small but active volcano on the main Philippine island of Luzon continued to belch massive columns of ash, steam and lava yesterday, shutting down the capital Manila and setting off massive evacuations in provinces near it. Government seismologists warned that a "hazardous, explosive eruption" could occur at the Taal volcano - perhaps within days - either at the main crater or new vents that were observed Monday. "It could last for at least three days, as in 1911, or as long as seven months, as what happened in 1754," said Ms Mariton Bornas, who is in charge of monitoring volcanoes at Phivolcs. The Taal volcano, about 65km south of Manila, rumbled back to life on Sunday, blasting steam, ash and pebbles up to 15km into the sky. The ashfall reached as far as Manila, covering dozens of towns and cities, including the main business district of Makati City.Flight operations at Manila's international airport partially resumed, after at least 240 flights were delayed or cancelled on Sunday. One flight that did land carried President Rodrigo Duterte, who was returning from his home city of Davao in the southern Philippines. He had been unable to fly on Sunday because visibility was low. Aircraft are still advised to avoid the airspace around the volcano as ash and ballistic fragments pose risks.<br/>

Singapore Airlines added nine weekly flights to India last year, bringing its total to 104. Air France-KLM is increasing its seat capacity on Indian flights by 25% this winter. United has just begun offering nonstop seasonal daily flights from San Francisco to Delhi. And Delta began nonstop service between Kennedy International Airport in New York and Mumbai in December. In the last few years, more than 20 of the 80 international airlines that fly to India have added service, in some cases through arrangements with other airlines, called code sharing. Travel between the US and India increased 10.3% from H1 2018 to H1 2019, American Express Global Business Travel reported. At this pace, India is expected to become the third-largest aviation market by 2024, behind China and the US, according to the Center for Aviation. The uptick in flights, experts say, is the result of a variety of economic, social, immigration and travel trends. More international social media and tech companies are setting up shop in India or increasing their staff. A growing number of Indians are living and working in the US, Canada, Britain and elsewhere, and that means more homeland visits for traditionally close-knit Indian families. Tourism continues to rise. The contribution of travel and tourism to India’s gross domestic product is expected to increase to $492.2b in 2028, from $234b in 2017. The World Travel and Tourism Council ranked India third among 185 countries in terms of tourism’s total contribution to the national economy in 2018. It was seventh in 2016. The international airlines have also increased the flights in the wake of the collapse of Jet Airways in April 2019, which in 2018 accounted for nearly 20% of passengers flown by Indian airlines, and the slow decline of the Indian government-owned carrier Air India.<br/>

A pilot and two students were killed Monday when their trainer aircraft crashed in the central Chinese province of Hubei, state media reported. The brief report did not give the type of aircraft but said the apparent accident occurred shortly after noon outside the Hubei city of Yichang, about 1,100 km southwest of Beijing. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. The aviation school, Yichang Aviation Academy, is a subsidiary of the vast HNA group, which has lately expanded from running Hainan Airlines into managing hotels and a range of other leisure outlets both within and without China. China's rapidly expanding aviation sector has created an enormous demand for new pilots, most of whom are recruited from the private sector. Overall, Chinese civil aviation has an excellent safety record resting on solid training and strict maintenance of aircraft, mostly from Boeing and Airbus. China has also been emerging as manufacturer in the civil aviation sector, first with turboprops but more recently with jet aircraft it hopes to sell to domestic carriers and discount airlines in the region.<br/>

Nepal's aviation authority on Monday asked everyone in the Himalayan nation's only international airport to cut down on heating this winter to save power so that key equipment can run without disruption. “There has been increased demand for electricity use due to the cold weather which is directly effecting the communication, navigation aids and surveillance equipment,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said. It said it was asking “airlines offices, immigration, customs and shops inside the airport” to stop using heaters and air conditioners. A spokesman for Kathmandu's Tribhuwan International Airport, Deo Chandra Lal Karna, said the power situation was under control and the request from the aviation authority was a precautionary measure. Power outages are common in Nepal, though the situation has improved over the past two years as the government has made a priority of supplying electricity. Were there to be disruptions at the international airport it could affect what the government has dubbed Visit Nepal Year 2020 in anticipation of welcoming 2 million tourists.<br/>