Boeing will resume deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners in the coming days, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday. Deliveries of the wide-body jetliners have been suspended for much of the past two years as regulators and Boeing reviewed a series of manufacturing flaws. American Airlines, which has more than 40 of the planes on order, said it expects to receive its delivery as early as Wednesday. The resumption of deliveries is long-awaited for Boeing and customers like American Airlines and United Airlines, which have gone without new Dreamliners just as travel demand surged this year. The twin-aisle planes are often used for long-haul international routes. The Dreamliners are a key source of cash for Boeing as the bulk of an aircraft’s price is paid when it’s handed over to customers, though the manufacturer had to compensate buyers for the extensive delays. The company earlier this year said 787 issues, including a drop in production, would cost it $5.5b. “Boeing has made the necessary changes to ensure that the 787 Dreamliner meets all certification standards,” the FAA said in a statement Monday. “The FAA will inspect each aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery.” Boeing shares initially jumped on the news, rising more than 3% on the day, but ended Monday up 0.5%. Boeing last month said it was near the finish line of resuming 787 deliveries, which CEO Dave Calhoun called “the moment we’ve been waiting for.” The company had 120 of the planes in inventory as of the end of last quarter, according to a securities filing.<br/>
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The US approach to regulating airlines and ensuring passengers are properly treated needs improvements, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Monday. "We've been due for a refresh on a lot of our rules toward airlines and when you get it right, the entire system is better off - certainly passengers are better off," Buttigieg told Reuters. "(Airlines) have a responsibility to take good care of passengers and we have a responsibility to hold them accountable." Last week, the US DOT proposed rules to strengthen airline passenger protection and require airlines to provide vouchers that do not expire when passengers are unable to fly for some pandemic reasons. Buttigieg said the rule could be the biggest expansion of passenger protections in years. He also plans to finalize a new rule proposed in July 2021 to require passenger airlines to refund fees for bags that are significantly delayed and for services like onboard Wi-Fi that do not work. Last month USDOT warned it may prohibit airlines from charging extra fees to allow young children to sit next to accompanying family members. Buttigieg said US airlines are improving performance since flight woes this year led to tens of thousands of flights being canceled but have more to do. Airlines over the weekend canceled about 3,000 US flights as bad weather snarled traffic. Buttigieg has urged airlines to set more realistic scheduling and boost staffing to improve performance. He has rejected suggestions from airlines that air traffic control staffing is to blame.<br/>
Following a miserable weekend for travel, Monday isn't looking much better. Another wave of airline cancellations and delays is taking its toll on passengers across the United States on Monday. According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, about 500 US flights had been canceled by midday Monday. On Sunday, 950 flights were canceled. More than 2,000 flights had been delayed across the United States by midday Monday after more than 8,000 were delayed Sunday. Chicago O'Hare International Airport was struggling on Monday for a second day, with about 12% of flights originating there canceled by 12 p.m. ET. Chicago saw heavy rain on Sunday, including a flash flood warning that was in place for parts of the afternoon for portions of Cook County. On Sunday, Chicago O'Hare saw the most cancellations and delays, with approximately 12% of flights canceled, and over 45% of flights delayed. Chicago's Midway airport also continued to be affected, with 12% of its flights delayed and 4% canceled by noon on Monday. Newark Liberty airport also struggled with delays and cancellations Sunday, and about 6% of its flights were canceled by noon on Monday.Saturday saw a total of 657 flight cancellations and 7,267 delays within, into or out of the United States. American Airlines canceled 4% of its flights and 24% of its Saturday flights were delayed, according to FlightAware. United had 4% of its flights canceled and 23% delayed, followed by Delta with 2% canceled and 22% of its Saturday flights delayed, FlightAware notes. 41% of JetBlue's flights and 36% of Southwest's flights were also delayed on Saturday, according to the website.<br/>
Air traffic around Taiwan is gradually returning to normal after airspace surrounding the island reopened, Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications said on Monday, although China later announced fresh military drills in the area. China last week deployed scores of planes and fired live missiles near the island during military exercises sparked by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. The drills led some airlines to cancel flights to Taipei and to alter flight paths between Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia to avoid the affected area. Beijing-issued notices to airmen (NOTAM) had declared temporary danger areas for airlines to avoid during the exercises that encircled much of Taiwan. The final NOTAM covering a section of airspace east of the island expired on Monday at 0200 GMT and was not extended. China's military announced fresh drills in the seas and airspace around Taiwan on Monday, but no specific location was provided, no new NOTAM was issued and there were no signs on flight tracking service FlightRadar24 of airlines adjusting routings. Taiwan's transportation ministry earlier said most scheduled flights to and from the island had continued to operate during the Chinese military exercises that began on Aug. 4, averaging around 150 departures and arrivals per day.The number of flights transiting through the airspace its controllers manage is gradually returning to normal after the final NOTAM was lifted, the ministry added in the statement on its website. Some foreign airlines that typically used the airspace had instead flown alternative routes through areas managed by Japan and the Philippines during the drills, the ministry said last week.<br/>
Russian airlines, including state-controlled Aeroflot (AFLT.MM), are stripping jetliners to secure spare parts they can no longer buy abroad because of Western sanctions, four industry sources told Reuters. The steps are in line with advice Russia's government provided in June for airlines to use some aircraft for parts to ensure the remainder of foreign-built planes can continue flying at least through 2025. Sanctions imposed on Russia after it sent its troops into Ukraine in late February have prevented its airlines from obtaining spare parts or undergoing maintenance in the West. Aviation experts have said that Russian airlines would be likely to start taking parts from their planes to keep them airworthy, but these are the first detailed examples. At least one Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 and an Airbus A350, both operated by Aeroflot, are currently grounded and being disassembled, one source familiar with the matter said. The source declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. The Airbus A350 is almost brand new, the source said. Most of Russia's fleet of aircraft consists of Western passenger jets. Equipment was being taken from a couple of Aeroflot's Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s, as the carrier needs more spare parts from those models for its other Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s, the source said.<br/>
Nivedita Bhasin became the world's youngest commercial airline captain in 1989, but the Indian pilot still recalls her early years when other crew would urge her to rush into the cockpit so passengers wouldn't get nervous at the sight of a woman flying their plane. Three decades after Bhasin's career began, female pilots are no longer a rarity in India, making the country a success story when it comes to diversity in the airline industry. India has the highest percentage of female pilots globally, the International Society of Women Airline Pilots estimates, with about 12.4% of all pilots women, compared with 5.5%in the US, the world's largest aviation market, and 4.7% in the UK. The statistics raise questions about how a nation - which placed 135th among 146 countries on the World Economic Forum's ranking of nations based on gender parity - was able to reverse the trend in this particular industry. Some of the answers may offer lessons for other countries and sectors striving to get more women into their ranks. Businesses that are more diverse tend to perform better, and some studies have even shown that female pilots have fewer safety incidents. Hiring more women could also help airlines address the staff shortages that are disrupting travel as the world emerges from the Covid pandemic and demand rebounds. Trailblazers like Bhasin say Indian women are being encouraged by a string of factors from outreach programmes to improved corporate policies and strong family support. Many Indian women were drawn to flying through an air wing of the National Cadet Corps, formed in 1948, a kind of youth programme where students are trained to operate microlight aircraft. To make the expensive commercial pilot training more accessible to women, some state governments are subsidising it and companies such as Honda Motor give full scholarships for an 18-month course at an Indian flying school and help them get jobs. "India has started decades ago recruiting women into Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) positions, including pilots," said Michele Halleran, a professor and director of diversity initiatives at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. "In the US, we have only started the demand for a diversity movement in aviation because of our current drastic pilot and technician shortage."<br/>
Airbus Monday confirmed slower deliveries in July as a supply crunch left semi-finished jets outside its factories without engines, but bolstered its future business with confirmation of a major new order from China. The European planemaker said it had delivered 46 planes in July, down from 60 in the previous month and 47 in July 2021. Airbus last month revised down its delivery forecast for the year to 700 aircraft from a previous goal of 720 after gaps in the supply chain left it without enough engines.Several newly assembled and liveried A320neo jets could be seen parked, with red counterweights instead of engines, outside Airbus headquarters near Toulouse, France, last week. Airbus produces the bulk of its narrow-body jets in Toulouse and Hamburg, Germany. July's tally of 46 deliveries confirms a Reuters report last week that Airbus had delivered just over 45 jets. For the first seven months of the year, Airbus handed over 343 jets, or a net total of 341 after deducting two A350 jets built for Aeroflot but impossible to deliver due to sanctions. Airbus had booked these as deliveries in its 2021 accounts but they were still on the ground in France when the West imposed sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine. The planemaker subsequently revoked the order from Aeroflot for the two jets and on Monday said it had sold two A350s to Turkish Airlines. It also announced it had cancelled orders from Aeroflot for a further four A350s.<br/>
US fuel retailers are fighting the inclusion of a tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel in Democrats’ $430b spending bill, arguing SAF is more carbon intense and less efficient than renewable diesel. Lawmakers are offering a $1.25-$1.75 per gallon SAF credit depending on the feedstock used, as part of a tax and climate bill that aims to lower US carbon emissions by about 40% by 2030 and cut the federal budget deficit by $300b. The bill is expected to pass the Senate and move to the House with the SAF credit included next week. Democrats control the House and approval with the credit is expected. Fuel retailers fear the credit would shift vegetable oil and other renewable feedstocks to aviation, leaving less of it for fuel producers that make renewable diesel. The National Association of Truckstop Operators (NATSO) and SIGMA, a fuel marketers association, are urging lawmakers to oppose the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 unless it provides tax parity between the biodiesel tax credit (BTC) and proposed SAF tax credit. A 2021 study from LMC International, an agricultural marketing consultancy, found that SAF production is less efficient at reducing carbon emissions than renewable diesel as more feedstock is required per gallon of output. “SAF cannot compete with other renewable fuels on an environmental basis,” said David Fialkov, executive vice president of government affairs at NATSO. Other environmental advocates have argued that all biofuels that divert lipid-based feedstocks such as animal fats and waste cooking oils from existing markets present significant sustainability concerns.<br/>