The FAA said Monday it is continuing to review Boeing 777-200 planes equipped with Pratt & Whitney engines like the one involved in a United emergency landing in February in Denver. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told a US House committee in May that the agency was going to mandate strengthening a key part on those engines. Those planes have been grounded for more than six months. A Boeing spokesman said Monday it was "working closely with the FAA, our customers and Pratt & Whitney to safely return PW4000-112-powered 777 airplanes to service. We have identified design changes and are working to finalize them, including a robust certification effort." The FAA said its "safety review is ongoing." The United flight was heading to Honolulu in February when it suffered an engine failure. The Boeing 777-200 plane landed safely at Denver International Airport soon after takeoff. A United spokesman said Monday it expects "these aircraft to return to service but providing anything beyond that in terms of timelines would be premature." United CCO Andrew Nocella had said in July the airline was "really disappointed" they were not able to fly 777s with the PW engines. "The 777 aircrafts that are grounded are large capacity domestic movers. And we used those for Hawaii and hub-to-hub. And so right now, we're flying well below where we like to be in Hawaii," he said. "We really want those aircraft back."<br/>
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Ethiopian Airlines has enlisted Boeing’s help in advancing Ethiopia’s aviation industry, with the companies agreeing to collaborate on projects related to pilot training, manufacturing and leadership development. The Addis Ababa-based carrier, a longtime Boeing customer, disclosed a new “strategic memorandum of understanding” with Boeing on 30 August, saying the deal will position Ethiopia “as Africa’s aviation hub”. Ethiopian has provided scant details abut the partnership and did not respond to a request for more information. “Ethiopian and Boeing have agreed to work in partnership in four areas of strategic collaboration,” the airline says. Those include “industrial development, advanced aviation training, educational partnership and leadership development, in a span of three years”. Ethiopian says the partnership will focus significantly on building “a 21st century pipeline for aviation careers in Ethiopia”. The companies “will collaborate with highly qualified educational institutions and aviation industry partners to create specialized learning and development programmes to meet workforce demands”, says the airline. “Ethiopian and Boeing desire Ethiopian Aviation Academy to be recognised as a global standard for aviation training.”<br/>
The CE of Air New Zealand, Greg Foran, has said he is confident international travel will resume early next year but thinks the trans-Tasman bubble will likely change. Foran said he is excited to open up to key markets again, such as North America and China, which his airline has continued to serve. He added the latest Delta outbreak would plunge Australia into the same category as other countries when it comes to how New Zealand operates travel. “I do think that we (will) open up to Australia but in all likelihood, we may end up operating Australia like we do with many countries when we feel travel is safe,” he said. With international countries, the prerequisites of entering New Zealand are providing proof of a negative COVID-19 test, and once arrived, 14 days of managed isolation is mandatory. “A bubble makes it quite a seamless experience for a customer. You’re not having to do a pre-departure test. You’re not having to prove you’ve been vaccinated.” Even if the trans-Tasman bubble does reopen, he said he imagines “you’re probably going to have to be vaccinated.”<br/>