Global regulators, aviation security specialists and manufacturers failed to reach an agreement on a quick technical fix to the problem of GPS spoofing near war zones at meeting on Thursday, instead calling for better training of pilots to deal with the issue, according to two sources briefed on the talks. Airlines have been urging quick action after a series of incidents where navigation systems were disrupted to show a false location or wrong time, though aircraft flight controls remained intact. Spoofing might involve one country's military sending false Global Positioning System (GPS) signals to an enemy plane or drone to hinder its ability to function, which has a collateral effect on nearby airliners. GPS jamming and spoofing have grown worse in Eastern Europe, the Black Sea and the Middle East, according to industry group OpsGroup. GPS is a growing part of aviation infrastructure as it replaces traditional radio beams used to guide planes towards landing. The first international meeting bringing together the sector was held on Thursday in Cologne, Germany, organized by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and international trade group the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Neither EASA nor IATA were immediately available to comment on the meeting.<br/>
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US airline CEs expressed frustration over Boeing’s quality issues on Tuesday, as they revealed the extent of the cost impact and delivery delays from the fuselage blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month. “We’re going to hold them accountable. Boeing needs to get their act together,” American Airlines CE Robert Isom told analysts on Thursday. Boeing’s issues over the past number of years were “unacceptable”, he added. No matter who was leading the plane maker, he said, “all of Boeing needs to come together and to get back on the right track”. His comments follow strong words from bosses at rivals United Airlines and Alaska Airlines. “We’re going to hold Boeing’s feet to the fire to make sure that we get good aeroplanes out of that factory,” Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci told analysts on Thursday. Alaska executives were having “tough, candid conversations” with Boeing’s leadership, he added, saying that what happened on the Max 9 “should never have happened at all” and was “not acceptable”. Shares in Boeing closed down 5.7% on Thursday after the FAA on Wednesday barred it from expanding output of its Max series, citing quality-control concerns. Its market value has fallen by about a fifth since the start of the year. On Thursday the company paused production at its plant in Renton, Washington, for 15 hours to discuss quality issues with more than 10,000 workers. Alaska on Thursday said it expected to take a $150mn hit to profits this year from the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet after the mid-air loss of a door plug on one of its flight from Oregon to California on January 5. Rivals Southwest and American, meanwhile, expect fewer Boeing aircraft to be delivered than planned this year as a result of the accident and the FAA ban on the aircraft maker expanding production.<br/>
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said Thursday the US planemaker supports the FAA decision to bar the planemaker from expanding production of its best-selling 737 MAX planes, following "unacceptable" quality issues.<br/>Calhoun told Reuters in a brief interview after a Capitol Hill meeting he supported the FAA decision and added there is "no question" the agency has the authority to impose the production increase restriction. "We all want safe airplanes. This is a safe airplane," Calhoun said, who has further meetings Thursday with senators. The FAA said the order meant Boeing could continue producing MAX jets at the current monthly rate, but it could not increase that rate. It offered no estimate of how long the limitation would last and did not specify the number of planes Boeing can produce each month. The FAA said MAX 9 planes could resume flights following inspections and maintenance after the agency grounded 171 MAX 9 planes following a mid-air emergency earlier this month.<br/>
Boeing's production difficulties will "get resolved", its 737 MAX 10 aircraft will get certified and the impact of US regulators freezing a planned production ramp-up will be minimal this year, the head of major customer Avolon said. In the medium term, however, tighter regulation will cause delays and it could take until the end of the decade for the industry to make up the production shortfall experienced since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Avolon CEO Andy Cronin said. The FAA Wednesday froze planned increases in production of the 737 MAX following the blow-out of a panel on an Alaska Airlines Boeing jet, raising concerns for airlines and suppliers worldwide. Avolon, the world's third-largest aircraft lessor and a major Boeing customer with over 100 MAX aircraft on order, said it was not concerned about the plane's safety, but regulators' increased focus on production was set to result in production delays. "They'll clearly be very cautious now," Cronin said.<br/>
Boeing hoped 2024 would be the year it would significantly increase production of its popular Max jets. But less than a month into the year, the company is struggling to reassure airline customers that it will still be able to deliver on its promises. That’s because the FAA said on Wednesday that it would limit the plane maker’s output until it was confident in Boeing’s quality control practices. On Jan. 5, a panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 body shortly after takeoff, terrifying passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight and forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport in Oregon. Almost immediately, the F.A.A. grounded some Max 9s. Since then, details have emerged about the jet’s production at Boeing’s facility in Renton, Wash., that have intensified scrutiny of the company’s quality control. Boeing workers opened and then reinstalled the panel about a month before the plane was delivered to Alaska Airlines. The directive is another setback for Boeing, which had been planning to increase production of its Max plane series to more than 500 this year, from about 400 last year. It also planned to add another assembly line at a factory in Everett, Wash., a major Boeing production hub north of Seattle As part of the FAA’s announcement on Wednesday, it also approved inspection and maintenance procedures for the Max 9. Airlines can return the jets to service once they have followed those instructions. United Airlines said on Thursday that it could resume flying some of those planes as soon as Friday. The move is another potential blow to airlines. Even though demand for flights came roaring back after pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions eased, the airlines have not been able to take full advantage of that demand. The companies have not been able to buy enough planes or hire enough pilots, flight attendants and other workers they need to operate flights. A surge in the cost of jet fuel after Russia invaded Ukraine also hurt profits. Many airline executives are now assessing how the FAA order would affect plans for their fleets for the next decade — or longer.<br/>
Comac’s C919 single-aisle jet is poised to make its international air show debut in Singapore next month, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Chinese planemaker seeks to capitalize on Boeing’s woes and a production backlog at Airbus SE. Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd., as it’s formally known, will conduct a flying display and exhibit its homegrown jet amid a push to broaden prospective sales beyond Asia’s biggest economy, the people said, declining to be identified because the information isn’t public. Singapore’s biannual air show runs from Feb. 20-25. For China, the timing of the upcoming display by Comac couldn’t be more fortuitous for China’s ambitions to join the ranks of global aircraft manufacturers. Boeing is facing intense scrutiny over its single-aisle 737 Max jets in the wake of a plug door blowout on a brand new Max 9 jet flown by Alaska Airlines earlier this month. US aviation regulators ordered Boeing late Wednesday to halt further production-rate increases for its 737 Max aircraft. In light of Boeing’s quality issues, the US planemaker isn’t planning to send any of its commercial aircraft for display in Singapore, other people said. A representative for Boeing didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Comac also didn’t respond to a request for comment. Organizers for the Singapore air show didn’t respond to a request for comment. Comac has already dabbled sending its planes outside of mainland China, in December flying its only two models of jet — the C919 and smaller ARJ21 — to Hong Kong. The ARJ21 will also be present at the Singapore air show.<br/>
As the industry gears up for the Singapore air show in February, aerospace executives feel that the Asia-Pacific growth story is intact - albeit with some clear challenges. “The Asia-Pacific is a hot market,” says Bicky Bhangu, president of Southeast Asia, Pacific & South Korea at Rolls-Royce. “It constitutes a huge among of growth. We’ve got 60% of the globally population here and 70% of global GDP growth over the last ten years happened in the Asia-Pacific.” Bhangu made the remarks during a media roundtable arranged by show organiser Experia Events. The show, which will run from 20-25 February, will be the first edition in six years that is not impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 event was overshadowed by the emergence of Covid 19 – then called the Wuhan coronavirus – in China. While the 2022 event was well attended, Covid-19 restrictions such as masking wearing, daily testing, and restrictions to group sizes served to tone down the show. Bhangu adds that Singapore is a major centre for R-R, both for manufacturing engines as well as maintaining engines in service with Asia-Pacific carriers.<br/>
Boeing's troubles with its 737 MAX jets are upending the aerospace industry's 2024 plans, changing airlines' fleet and expansion goals as U.S. regulators froze production of the best-selling jets. The FAA ramped up scrutiny of Boeing after a frightening Jan. 5 incident when a cabin panel tore off of an Alaska Airlines jet mid-flight. The plane landed safely with only minor injuries to people on board - but that experience has forced the industry to grapple with problems with Boeing's manufacturing and quality-control processes. The FAA on Wednesday froze increases in production of the single-aisle 737 MAX due to the issues, which have frustrated executives dependent on Boeing, one of only two major global plane manufacturers. "Boeing needs to get their act together," said American Airlines CEO Robert Isom. "It is hard enough running an airline. We need quality product, and that's what we demand." The FAA's order means Boeing can continue producing MAX jets at its current monthly rate, but it cannot increase that rate. It offered no estimate of how long the limitation would last and did not specify the number of planes Boeing can produce each month. The FAA's unprecedented intervention in production schedules could further delay some deliveries of new planes to airlines and hurt suppliers already reeling from an earlier MAX crisis and the pandemic.<br/>Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told Reuters on Thursday that he supported the FAA decision. "We all want safe airplanes. This is a safe airplane," he said in Washington, where he has been meeting with U.S. legislators.<br/>