United Airlines said on Monday that it had found loose bolts in panels to its Boeing 737 Max 9 jets that are similar to the part of an Alaska Airlines plane that blew out during a flight on Friday, adding to growing safety concerns about the Max 9. The disclosure followed reports that Alaska Airlines had been warned three times about problems with cabin pressure on its plane. Those warnings were significant enough that the airline decided the plane could no longer be used on flights to Hawaii. United found the loose bolts in the panels, known as plugs in the industry, after starting to take out seats and sidewall liners to inspect the part this weekend, the airline said on Monday. The plugs are placed where an emergency exit door would be if a jet had more seats. A door plug suddenly flew off the Alaska Airlines plane on Friday during a drop in cabin pressure about 10 minutes after takeoff from Portland, Ore., subjecting passengers to howling wind and forcing pilots to quickly return to the airport. The door plug, phones, toys and other personal items all streamed out of the hole in the side of the plane and fell across the city. Airlines have canceled hundreds of flights as they prepare to inspect nearly 200 aircraft that will be grounded until regulators and company officials decide they are safe. Alaska Airlines used 65 Max 9 planes, about 20% of its fleet, and United used 79, more than any other airline and about 8% of its fleet, according to Cirium, an aviation data provider. Some passengers’ travel plans could be disrupted for days. The FAA sent instructions to the airlines on Monday on how to carry out the inspections, although Alaska and United said they were waiting on additional approval from the F.A.A. to begin. Officials led by the NTSB are focusing on, among other things, the installation and inspection of the plug. Story has more.<br/>
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Deutsche Lufthansa has offered concessions to European Union merger watchdogs in an attempt to head off competition concerns over its E325m investment in ailing Italian carrier ITA Airways. The German firm made the submission ahead of the EU’s initial Jan. 15 deadline to either clear the stake or open an in-depth probe, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said recently that the EU is likely to embark on a so-called phase 2 review, adding several more months to the investigation process. While the people declined to identify the details of the offer, potential remedies previously reported by Bloomberg include the disposal of slots at Milan Linate airport, which is dominated by ITA and the wider Lufthansa group, encompassing regional carriers such as Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Austrian. Lufthansa declined to comment. The European Commission didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. As part of a deal announced on May 25, Lufthansa plans to invest E325m via a capital increase for a 41% stake, with the Italian government contributing an additional E250m. Lufthansa also has an option to purchase all remaining shares at a later date. The move from the German flag carrier marks the latest attempt to resurrect the ailing Italian carrier, which officially ceased operations in 2021. A scaled-back version remained under government ownership and has soaked up billions of euros in state support since then. Lufthansa’s swoop has drawn support from the Italian government, which is keen to ensure the long-term health of a national airline that has long been a burden on taxpayer’s pockets. In September, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hit out at the EU’s executive arm for dragging its feet to examine the deal, even before it had been formally filed for approval, saying that “the same European Commission that asked us for years to find a solution for ITA’s woe, when we find a solution it blocks it.”<br/>
Turkish Airlines is withdrawing its five Boeing 737 Max 9s temporarily from service, in order to carry out checks on the aircraft. The measure is in response to the Alaska Airlines incident on 5 January during which a plugged exit door was shed from a Max 9 climbing out of Portland. No operators from European Union Aviation Safety Agency member states operate the Max 9 in the affected configuration. But Turkey is not an EASA member and the carrier operates five Max 9s alongside a fleet of 28 Max 8s. Turkish Airlines says the inspection of its aircraft is “precautionary” and follows the Alaska event. “Until the technical investigation process is completed, and the measures requested by the authorities are implemented, Turkish Airlines has decided to withdraw the five [Max 9s] from operation at the first airport they land at,” states the carrier. “Flight safety is our top priority.” Turkish Airlines has configured its Max 9s with 169 seats.<br/>
Announcing the passenger and cargo traffic results for December, the Turkish Airlines revealed that higher passenger capacity in terms of available seat kilometres stood at 19.4% compared to the same period in 2022. The number of passengers increased by 10.1% compared to the same period in 2022, reaching 6.1m. International load factor was 80% while domestic load factor was 78.5%. The number of international to international passengers carried increased by 19% from 2.2m in 2022 to 2.6m in this period. Available seat kilometres (ASK), increased by 19.4% to 19.8b during the period of December 2023 from 16.6b for the same period of 2022. Cargo/Mail carried during the period of December 2023 increased by 15.8% to 159,700 tonnes from 137,900 tonnes in the same period of 2022. By the end of December 2023, the number of aircraft in the fleet was 440.<br/>