Union leaders and U.S. lawmakers on Monday criticized Boeing's lockout of its unionized firefighters and urged the planemaker to reach a contract deal. Earlier this month, Boeing locked out about 130 members of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local I-66 who rejected two contract offers - a move that last week drew the concern of President Joe Biden. At a rally outside Boeing headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, IAFF President Edward Kelly, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Representative Val Hoyle urged Boeing to make a deal. "We want to get a deal. We just want to be treated fairly," Kelly told Reuters, who said Boeing wants firefighters to work nearly 20 years before reaching top pay but added he is hopeful talks will soon resume. "If they can break us and set a pattern, that will then translate into the contract of the larger unions. That's where the real savings are." Hoyle, a Democrat, said she hopes Boeing will come to the table and "do the right thing. They prioritize safety and they invest in their workforce." On social media, Democratic Senator John Fetterman said Monday "Boeing should focus on keeping critical safety workers and paying dignified wages, particularly given their recent safety and quality control issues where these safety workers may be needed." Boeing, which did not immediately comment Monday, said last week its contract offer to increase firefighters' average take-home pay from $91,000 to $112,000 in the first year remains on the table.<br/>
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Major airlines and an industry trade association asked a federal appeals court to toss out a new Department of Transportation rule requiring earlier disclosure of add-on fees during flight booking. The challengers — trade group Airlines for America, and Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue and United airlines — argue the DOT exceeded its legal authority when it published the rule, in late April, and that the rule is “arbitrary, capricious” and an “abuse of discretion.” The petition for review was filed in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals late Friday. The Biden administration introduced the airline fee disclosure rule in September 2022. It requires airlines and online travel agencies to disclose fees for seat selection, checked baggage and other add-ons upfront alongside the airfare, rather than adding the costs at checkout based on a customer’s selections. “You should know the full cost of your ticket, right when you’re comparison shopping,” President Joe Biden said at the time. Airlines for America said in a statement to CNBC on Monday that the rule will “confuse consumers” and “complicate the buying process.” “Airlines already provide consumers with complete disclosure of all fees associated with air travel before they purchase a ticket,” the group said in the statement. “DOT’s attempt to regulate private business operations in a thriving marketplace is beyond its authority ... The DOT ancillary rule is a bad solution in search of a problem.”<br/>
European pilots have described plans for the flight deck of passenger planes to be occupied by only one pilot for long stretches as “a gamble with safety”. The EU Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) is evaluating the safety of “extended Minimum Crew Operations” (eMCO). The idea is that one pilot would leave the flight deck to rest for several hours during the cruise portion of the flight while the other remains at the controls. Airbus, which is reseaching eMCO, says harnessing new technological tools would enable the flight crew “to better organise their presence in the cockpit during the cruise phase”. The Toulouse-based aircraft manufacturer says: “Pilots can thus achieve a better balance between working and resting time on long-range flights.” Easa has stressed it will not tolerate any reduction in safety compared with the current two-pilot convention. But the Brussels-based European Cockpit Association has launched a website, OneMeansNone.eu, to oppose any such move. The association, representing pilots’ unions across Europe, calls the plan “an inherently dangerous concept, driven solely by the commercial interests of manufacturers and airlines”. Passengers are told: “Airlines and airplane manufacturers want to reduce the number of pilots flying a plane from two to one. "However, relying on one pilot is not enough as flying with just one pilot is like flying on a pilotless flight. Automation on a plane requires humans to programme and manage it effectively. But, it often fails. This is why planes are equipped with multiple backups – like two engines, two generators, two hydraulic systems, two navigation receivers. This redundancy is key to maintaining today’s impressive safety record. If one system fails, another kicks in. The same applies for pilots: if one gets sick or needs to use the bathroom, another one must swiftly take over.”<br/>
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) last year obtained E1m in refunds and compensation for disgruntled air passengers, according to its 2023 annual report. Last year the aviation watchdog handled 4,969 complaints about airlines withwith the bulk of them concerning long delays and cancellations. The IAA received 2,275 complaints over cancellations and 2,444 over long delays. The report said that E204,000 was obtained in refunds following IAA intervention and more than E794,000 in compensation was awarded to passengers in respect of the 1,155 upheld complaints. The E998,000 payout compares to the IAA’s predecessor, the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) obtaining E348,000 in refunds and compensation for air passengers in 2022. The 2023 report also pointed out that 1,797 complaints were not upheld in favour of the complainant “and the main reason was that the air carrier was able to prove that a disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances and therefore would be exempt from paying compensation”.<br/>
A UK aircraft has tested ground-breaking quantum technology that could pave the way for an unjammable back-up for GPS navigation systems. The government, which helped fund the research, said it was the first test of its kind to be publicly acknowledged. While GPS is satellite-based, the new system is quantum-based - a term used to describe tech that is reliant on the properties of matter at very small scales. Science minister Andrew Griffith said the test flights were "further proof of the UK as one of the world leaders on quantum". GPS is a critically important system, used on planes ships and road vehicles and by the militarily, as well as helping your smartphone determine your location. But signals from GPS satellites can be jammed, or "spoofed" to give misleading location data. In March, an RAF plane carrying UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps had its GPS signal jammed while flying close to Russian territory. Finland's flag carrier Finnair even had to suspend daily flights to Estonia's second largest city, Tartu, for a month, after two of its aircraft suffered GPS interference.<br/>
China’s Comac has reportedly began working on preliminary designs for a new widebody aircraft under the C939 moniker. A report from Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, citing an unnamed source, says the Shanghai-based airframer has drawn out design concepts for the new jet, but notes that it will take several years before an actual prototype is being developed. The report, published 13 May, offers no technical specifications about the new programme, including the number of engines or its seat count. Contacted by FlightGlobal, Comac declined to comment, and would only say to wait for official confirmation. The report also notes that Comac’s other in-development widebody programme, the C929, is making good progress. Comac is looking to pitch the programme as an alternative to Boeing’s 787 and Airbus’s A330. The C929 was a former joint venture with Russian airframer United Aircraft, but the alliance was quietly scuppered following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In April, Comac kicked off a series of research meetings, bringing together a large group of academics, scientists and engineers, as well as government officials. The C929, which has yet to clinch a launch customer, will have around 280 seats and has a range of up to 6,480nm (12,000km), according to Comac.<br/>
As part of a further move to lower the aviation industry’s carbon footprint, trials on the use of renewable diesel for heavy and specialised airside vehicles will be conducted at Changi Airport. Airside refers to the area of an airport where loading and unloading of aircraft, as well as take-offs and landings, take place. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement on May 13 that the trials – expected to last one year – will be carried out with various parties across the airport community, including airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG), ground handlers dnata and Sats, as well as aircraft maintenance provider SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC). Ground handler dnata was the first among these firms to kick-start the trials through a six-month test on 12 of its ground support equipment starting from April 26, with the use of Esso Renewable Diesel R20, made with at least 20% renewable content such as used cooking oil. The equipment included aircraft pushback tractors and baggage transporters. Renewable diesel is made from waste materials such as used cooking oil and animal fats.<br/>