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Passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines plane that made an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew off this year have started to receive letters from the FBI identifying them as possible victims of a crime. The letters are a sign that a criminal investigation the Justice Department has opened into Boeing, the manufacturer of the 737 Max 9 jet, is ramping up. “As a victim specialist with the Seattle division, I’m contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime,” reads the letter from the FBI’s Seattle office, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. The letter says the incident is under criminal FBI investigation but adds that such inquiries can be lengthy and that “for several reasons, we cannot tell you about its progress at this time.” The panel on the flight, which was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members, blew off at an altitude of 16,000 feet, shortly after the plane left the Portland, Ore., airport in early January. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report that the panel, known as a door plug and used to fill space that would have been occupied by an emergency exit door if the plane had included more seats, was missing four bolts meant to secure it in place. Steve Bernd, a spokesman for the FBI’s Seattle office, declined to comment on the criminal investigation. Boeing also declined to comment. The company has previously said it is cooperating with the inquiry. Mark Lindquist, a lawyer for some of the passengers, said his clients welcomed the investigation. “We want answers, accountability and safer Boeing planes,” he said. “The DOJ brings a large hammer to those goals.” <br/>

Hong Kongers can expect lower airfares this year, with the city's flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways predicting prices will return to normal as supply of flights increase. The airline made the upbeat forecast about cheaper airfares amid rising calls from lawmakers for the company to reduce ticket prices, after it had posted HK$9.78b net profit last year. Appearing before the Legislative Council's economic development panel on Friday, Cathay's general manager for planning Erica Peng acknowledged the city's airfares had been elevated due to the unbalanced supply of flights after international travel resumed last year. Peng added that airfares were likely to "normalise" in the coming year as an increase in the supply of flights would reduce the shortfall, although she did not confirm if the carrier would cut prices. "Along with the improvement in supply of capacity, Hong Kong's airfares have started to normalise," she said. "We'll work hard to increase capacity and we expect our ticket prices will be back to normal in the coming year." Cathay CEO Ronald Lam Siu-por said the carrier would return to 80% of pre-Covid capacity by the end of Q2 this year and 100% in Q1 of 2025, despite a three-month delay to the latter target. <br/>

Japan’s JAL Group revised upwards its profitability expectations, based on its latest forecasts for both domestic and international demand. For its 2023 financial year ending 31 March, JAL expects earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to reach Y140b ($924m), up from its previous forecast of Y130b, according to a company strategy update. For its 2024 financial year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March 2025, the carrier forecasts EBIT of Y170b, increasing to Y200b, up from Y185b previously, for the 2025 financial year. The figures mark the group’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. In its 2019 financial year, its last profitable year before the pandemic, JAL Group generated EBIT of Y132b. For the coming 12 months, JAL indicates that the business environment will be characterised by high foreign exchange costs, a shortage of manpower in the aviation and tourism sectors, and increased environmental considerations with the implementation of ICAO’s market-based CORSIA carbon-offset and reduction scheme. As for the passenger market, inbound demand for travel to Japan should remain strong, although the recovery of outbound traffic will remain slow. Good e-commerce demand is also expected to boost cargo operations. More broadly, JAL foresees society continuing to emphasise the reduction of carbon emissions, as well as continued geopolitical risks.<br/>

Malaysia Airlines has confirmed it will be deploy its new Airbus A330neo aircraft to Melbourne from November, as it prepares to take delivery of the first example. Managing director of the airline’s parent company Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) Izham Ismail says the carrier also expects to operate the type to North Asia, Australia and New Zealand, as well as South Asia. Malaysia Airlines expects to take delivery of three A330neos this year, from a total commitment for 20 examples to replace its existing fleet of A330ceos. Izham, speaking in Kuala Lumpur on 22 March, also revealed the cabin products for the aircraft. Malaysia Airlines has selected Collins Aerospace and Recaro as the seat suppliers. The A330neos will be configured with 297 seats – 28 in business class and 269 in economy class. In business class, the airline will be first in the world to install Collins’s Elevation suites on an A330neo. The business-class seats – currently found on larger widebodies like the A350 and Boeing 777 – will feature privacy doors and direct-aisle access, a departure from Malaysia Airlines’ current staggered business-class product. <br/>

United States-based firm Ocean Infinity is expected to present its proposal on finding Flight MH370 in early May, says Anthony Loke. The Transport Minister said the Cabinet will only be presented with a memorandum once the ministry receives the proposal. “We have an appointment. We need to wait for the presentation of their proposal such as the focus areas to search. Then, the ministry will write a memorandum paper to be presented to the Cabinet for approval. “First, we need to listen to their presentation and then we have to secure the approval of the Cabinet before any decision can be made,” Loke told a press conference at the ministry’s headquarters here yesterday. He said Ocean Infinity and the government have agreed to a “no cure, no fee” principle but added that there are other commitments that carry a financial implication to the government. Loke was responding to a question on the progress of the government’s interest in resuming the search for the missing plane.<br/>

Witness evidence in the compensation case against Qantas has concluded but the 1,700 illegally outsourced workers will have to wait months before the case can properly conclude. The Federal Court heard the last of the witness evidence on Friday (22 March) but lingering questions about the “counterfactual world”, in which the sackings never occurred, has pushed the timeline back. Justice Michael Lee ordered counsel for Transport Workers Union (TWU) and Qantas prepare closing submissions ahead of May. The closing submissions will now consider how likely the counterfactual world would be and respond to statistics about salary. Qantas was found guilty of illegally outsourcing the ground handling staff in November 2020 by the Federal Court. An appeal in the High Court upheld this decision. In the current compensation hearings, Qantas submitted they should only have to compensate employees for up to 12 months because the outsourcing would have occurred legally around March 2021. Colin Hughes, then-executive manager of Qantas airports, said the outsourcing was always going to occur because it would have been in the company’s best commercial interests. “I can’t think of any Qantas manager who would not have recommended consideration of that proposal,” Hughes said. “It is hard to think why that wouldn’t have been the case.” Hughes outlined a meeting with Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) to determine the legal risks of the outsourcing decision.<br/>