Boeing plans to restart the production of the troubled 737 Max months before regulators approve the plane to fly again, CE Dave Calhoun said Wednesday. Calhoun said it is important that Boeing get its assembly line in Renton, Washington, going again sooner rather than later. Boeing continued to build the plane throughout 2019, even after the jet was grounded in March. Work on the line was temporarily halted last week. Calhoun did not give a specific target date when work on the jet will restart, though he suggested it could be in 2 to 3 months. He said production would begin very slowly at first. Calhoun confirmed that Boeing will not lay off or furlough any of its own staff during the shutdown. With unemployment in the Seattle metropolitan area at 2.9% Boeing can’t risk losing the workers it will need to restart production. <br/>
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Airlines are scrambling to book time in 737 MAX training facilities as far afield as Fiji, Iceland and Panama, operators said, after Boeing recommended pilots be trained in one of the few simulators replicating the latest model. That means thousands of pilots from more than 54 airlines need to squeeze into about 3 dozen 737 MAX simulators around the world before they can fly the plane. "Boeing is recommending that all 737 MAX pilots undergo training in a 737 MAX simulator prior to flying the aircraft in commercial service," the company said Tuesday. Jan 7, the company had recommended using a simulator but did not specify what type. "I think that what a shortage of simulators will mean is the fleet of MAXes will start flying more slowly than what the airlines would like," said the director of TRU Flight Training Iceland. <br/>
Boeing 737 Max operators are to be instructed to update engine-control software to address a loss of thrust issue, attributed to icing, on the type’s CFM International Leap-1B powerplants. At least 2 occurrences have been investigated which Leap-1Bs suffered temporary loss of thrust control as a result of icing in engine pressure lines, EASA states. This is despite a previous update to the Leap-1B software which was introduced after a similar problem affected the Leap-1A engine for the Airbus A320neo family. Instances of Leap-1As being unable to accelerate to target thrust during take-off had prompted analysis which determined that water could accumulate and freeze inside the pressure sensor lines or system, possibly resulting in erroneous pressure readings by the full-authority digital engine control. <br/>
Boeing is taking a fresh look at the design of its so-called New Mid-market Airplane due to changes in the global aviation market and heightened focus on pilot-aircraft interactions. “We are going to take, probably, a different approach,” Boeing CE David Calhoun said. “We are going to start with a clean sheet of paper, again.” Calhoun, who made his comments just days into his new role as Boeing CE, provided few details, saying the company’s primary focus remains on existing products, starting with the Max, and on improving the company’s safety and engineering functions. But he cites market shifts as one reason for the NMA re-evaluation. “Things have changed a bit…The competitive playing field is a little different,” Calhoun says. “We have to plan for China.” <br/>
Operators of Rolls-Royce-powered Airbus A380s are set to be ordered to inspect the type’s engines for cracking of spacers between intermediate-pressure compressor discs. EASA says examination of a Trent 900 rotor shaft revealed a crack in an interstage spacer between the stage 2 and stage 3 discs, and that a similar crack was subsequently found – in the same location – on another rotor shaft. “Investigation is ongoing to identify the cause of these cracks,” it states. “It has been determined that more engines could be affected by this cracking phenomenon.” EASA warns that the condition could potentially lead to failure of the intermediate pressure compressor rotor shaft and release of high-energy debris. <br/>Emirates and SIA are the largest operators of Trent-powered A380s, <br/>
Airports around the world have begun taking precautions to deal with an anticipated influx of Chinese tourists taking Lunar New Year holidays, just as the outbreak of a pneumonia-like virus in China has prompted officials there to take drastic measures to prevent its spread. Dubai International, the world's busiest for international travel, announced Thursday that, following govt guidance, all passengers arriving on direct flights from China will receive thermal screening at the gate upon arrival and be provided with informational brochures. Abu Dhabi International later tweeted that it had also started a screening process for all passengers arriving from China. Elsewhere in the Mideast, the Saudi Health Ministry said it would begin screening airline passengers arriving on direct and indirect flights from China to the kingdom. <br/>