The US FAA said on Wednesday it will relocate control of the Newark, New Jersey, airspace area to Philadelphia to address staffing issues and congested traffic in the New York City area. The announcement comes ahead of what could be a record summer travel season. Airlines this week forecast record travel this spring. The FAA, which has struggled with air traffic staffing issues, said it and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) signed a memorandum to relocate control of Newark at New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) (N90) to Philadelphia Tower/TRACON by the end of June. The FAA said the change will help "meet continued traffic demand in the busy Northeast Corridor." Several controllers are expected to voluntarily transfer to Philadelphia. New York TRACON is one of the busiest US facilities overseeing among most complex American airspace. The FAA in 2023 had said it planned to reassign approximately 100 square miles of Newark airspace from N90 to Philadelphia to address staffing issues. United Airlines has a hub at Newark International Airport, which often faces significant delays because of congestion and air traffic staffing issues. The carrier reduced flights last summer after flight disruptions and CEO Scott Kirby sharply criticized the FAA performance adding "Newark has more flights scheduled than the physical infrastructure can handle." The FAA extended cuts to minimum flight requirements at New York City-area airports through October because of staffing issues. Under minimum flight requirements, airlines can lose their takeoff and landing slots at congested airports if they do not use them at least 80% of the time. The waiver allows airlines to not fly some flights and still retain slots.<br/>
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Airline executives called for further industry consolidation on Wednesday as the EU weighs a deal between Germany's Lufthansa and Italy's ITA Airways and continues to block a separate transaction between IAG and Air Europa. Europe's airline industry has been gradually consolidating for the last 20 years but remains fragmented, with small national carriers struggling to compete with bigger rivals, often needing expensive government bailouts. The EC should "get on with it and approve these mergers because, ultimately, it is the way forward in Europe," Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said at an industry event in Brussels. He added there was a need to "tidy up" small-scale, struggling carriers in Europe, pointing to Portugal's TAP as requiring an "unsustainable" amount of taxpayer support to survive during the pandemic. Others highlighted that smaller airlines have a much greater chance of success as part of larger groups, such as Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA), opens new tab, IAG and Lufthansa. "If we don't allow consolidation in Europe, we will destroy airlines in Europe," IAG CEO Luis Gallego told the conference. The EC is due to say this week how it views Lufthansa's bid to acquire a 41% stake in state-owned ITA for E325m while offering up a statement of objections to the deal.<br/>
Britain's aviation regulator said it could further reduce the fees charged by Heathrow Airport, the country's largest hub, next year and in 2026, as it started a six week consultation on the matter. The Civil Aviation Authority said on Wednesday that it could potentially lower by 6% the proposed cap on passenger charges paid by airlines for 2025 and 2026 to take into account the competition regulator's recent findings. "It is the UK Civil Aviation Authority's intention to make its decision on whether to modify Heathrow Airport Limited's Licence in the manner proposed in the summer of 2024. Adjustments will be spread evenly over 2025 and 2026," the CAA said in a statement. The CAA announced last year that it would cut the cap on Heathrow charges for 2024-2026, angering both the airport, which said the cuts would deter investment, and airlines who said the airport's fees were still too high. The proposed cuts would be in the interests of consumers said the CAA, and follows recommendations by the Competition and Markets Authority to re-examine its proposed fees. The changes if confirmed could complicate an ongoing sale process led by Heathrow's major shareholder Ferrovial.<br/>
The General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC) of Chile, in collaboration with Thales, has launched the world’s first air traffic control radar station powered entirely by solar energy. The station is located in the north of Chile, specifically in the Atacama Desert, more than 3,500 meters above sea level, a region known for its high solar incidence. The radar system includes a primary STAR NG radar and a secondary RSM radar, both developed by Thales. These devices are capable of detecting a wide range of aerial targets, from helicopters to commercial airplanes and jets, moving at various speeds. The station’s energy infrastructure is based on 340 solar panels covering an area of 10,000 m², with a maximum generation capacity of approximately 960 kWh per day. This implementation not only marks a step forward in air safety and surveillance for the region but also sets a precedent for sustainability and the use of renewable energies in the civil aviation industry. The project aligns Thales and the DGAC with global initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impact and promoting a greener future, consistent with Chilean national policies and the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).<br/>
Boeing predicted a massive cash drain for Q1 as regulatory scrutiny and slower output of its 737 Max jetliner following a January mid-air accident take their toll on its finances. Cash outflow will reach $4b to $4.5b in Q1, Boeing CFO Brian West told a Bank of America conference in London on Wednesday. A plan to reach a $10b cash flow target by 2025-26 will be at the far end of that window. For the year, free cash flow will be in the single digit billions of dollars, West said. “We’re not at the moment where we can manage the near term for these financial outcomes because of the work at hand around stability,” West said. “Our expectation is that we’ll get more predictable and better positioned, but it will take time.” West said margins at the commercial aircraft business will be negative to the tune of about 20% in the first quarter as the company pays out compensation for a near-catastrophic fuselage failure on a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft on Jan. 5 and absorbs the broader hit from the episode. While margins will improve for the year, they will remain negative for 2024, the CFO said. As part of the fallout from the Jan. 5 episode, regulators have capped Boeing’s output to make sure the company has the resources to review its manufacturing processes. West said production rates will be lower in the first half and the rise again in the latter part of the year toward 38 737 Max units a month. Anything beyond that “will be up to the FAA,” West said, referring to the FAA. Boeing shares fell 1.8% in US premarket trading. The company is set to report earnings for Q1 in late April. Weeks after the January incident, Boeing suspended its forecast for 2024, breaking with tradition of guiding investors for the year, as it worked through fixing its processes and the intensifying public scrutiny on its production standards. <br/>
Boeing needs to shift its focus from the business of making planes toward safety in the wake of recent findings on lapses surrounding the January failure of a fuselage panel, the top US aviation regulator said. FAA chief Michael Whitaker told NBC Nightly News that his impressions from a recent visit to the manufacturer’s facilities was that “there are issues around the safety culture at Boeing,” according to interview excerpts released by the network. “Their priorities have been on production, and not on safety and quality,” Whitaker said in the interview scheduled to air Tuesday evening. “What we really are focused on now, is shifting that focus, from production to safety and quality.” The concerns were triggered by the Jan. 5 failure of a panel covering an unused door during an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 flight near Portland, Oregon. The failure prompted an explosive decompression and emergency landing. <br/>
Embraer within the next two years will be ready to develop a new executive or commercial aircraft, an effort seemingly separate from the Brazilian manufacturer’s potential longer-term development of aircraft with novel propulsion systems. “Our engineering teams are…conducting studies [of] potential new aircraft, either in the executive or commercial markets”, company chief executive Francisco Gomes Neto said on 18 March. “We believe we will be ready for a new business case in one-and-a-half years or two years from now.” “Also, we are working on alternatives to fund these new developments, so… we will be able to go for new programmes without risking the company’s financial performance in the future,” he adds. Gomes Neto, who spoke the day Embraer disclosed its full-year 2024 results, did not elaborate about what aircraft type the company might launch next. But in recent years Embraer executives had pitched development a new passenger turboprop aircraft. They have also teased about a possible future larger business jet. Embraer has been tossing around the turboprop idea for a decade or so, saying such an aircraft would have some 70-80 seats. The idea makes sense because Franco-Italian firm ATR is the only Western manufacturer of turboprops in that class, standing alone after De Havilland Canada halted Dash 8-400 production amid the Covid-19 pandemic. And neither of those aircraft are new designs. A new Embraer turboprop could be attractive to airlines needing to replace old 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 and ERJ-145 regional jets, neither of which remains in production.<br/>