Right now, domestic airlines treat traveling families differently. A handful, such as JetBlue Airways, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, guarantee that parents can sit next to their children. But on the others, parents are left to pay for more expensive assigned seats or to bank on the good will of strangers. Recently, President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have pressured airlines to implement fee-free family seating, a continuation of the Biden Administration’s push for airlines to be more transparent and accommodating of travelers. President Biden even called on Congress to pass legislation targeting fees for families to sit together. Instead, the Transportation Department is directly taking aim at them with a new rule proposed today. “Many airlines still don’t guarantee family seating, which means parents wonder if they’ll have to pay extra just to be seated with their young child,” Buttigieg said in a statement. “Flying with children is already complicated enough without having to worry about that.” Story has more.<br/>
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A trade group representing major U.S. airlines has sued a New York state civil rights agency accusing it of improperly trying to use state anti-discrimination laws to eliminate airlines' limits on paid sick leave for employees. The lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday is at least the fourth by Airlines for America to claim that states are improperly requiring airlines to provide paid leave for routine doctor's appointments and "transitory" medical conditions. A federal judge in Boston last year agreed with the group that a Massachusetts paid sick leave law was preempted by a federal law regulating airlines. The group also has lawsuits pending against Colorado and Illinois. Wednesday's lawsuit was prompted by an administrative complaint that the New York Division of Human Rights filed last November claiming American Airlines discriminates against flight attendants based on disability and sex by disciplining them for missing work over certain medical issues, including for routine pregnancy-related appointments. Airlines for America says a state anti-bias law does not cover those kinds of absences and that even if it did, the law is preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act, which bars states from adopting laws that affect the "price, route, or service" offered by an air carrier. Finding otherwise would lead to an increase in worker absences, which in turn would cause flight delays, cancellations, and longer lines at ticket counters and gates, the lawsuit says.<br/>
Germany's Leipzig/Halle airport temporarily halted flights early on Thursday after climate activists breached the airfield as part of a disruptive protest campaign that has lawmakers calling for stricter punishment and better airport security measures. Air traffic at the airport in eastern Germany was interrupted for three hours, affecting freight traffic, said the airport in a statement. Flights resumed at 0123 GMT, it said. Last Generation activists said in a statement that they had entered the airport grounds around midnight, without specifying how they were able to enter, to call for the German government to pursue a global agreement to exit oil, gas and coal by 2030. The group has listed several countries across Europe and North America where they said similar disruptions are planned as part of a protest campaign that began last month. Last week, their actions forced two airports in Germany to temporarily suspend air traffic. German politicians have demanded better protection for the country's airports after climate activists were able to breach fences and disrupt air traffic, including at the country's busiest airport, Frankfurt, for two days in a row last week.<br/>
Boeing's incoming boss, Kelly Ortberg, faces a herculean task when he starts next week - restoring the might of a U.S. corporate powerhouse rocked by multiple crises. The former Rockwell Collins boss is returning from retirement to head the 108-year-old U.S. planemaker, which is bleeding cash and beset by companywide problems expected to take years to fix. His extensive to-do list includes mending relationships with airlines and employees, boosting output, repairing company finances and securing a labor deal to avoid a possible worker strike later this year. Current and former airline executives told Reuters they are optimistic about Ortberg's aerospace and engineering expertise and his status as an outsider untethered to Boeing's past. But the 64-year-old has a hefty task. “This is not a five-year fix-it," said Bill George, former Medtronic CEO and executive fellow at Harvard Business School. "Is he prepared to spend the 10 years it's going to take to restore Boeing?" Boeing did not make Ortberg available for an interview. The company has previously said it is taking comprehensive steps to strengthen quality and build confidence, including reducing the amount of so-called traveled or pending work. "There is much work to be done, and I'm looking forward to getting started," Ortberg said on Wednesday in a statement. The company's most pressing issue is its falloff in jet production and deliveries following a Jan. 5 mid-air panel blowout on a near-new 737 MAX. Boeing is currently producing about 25 MAX jets a month, with a target of 38 per month by year-end.<br/>
Boeing is hiring nearly 20 times more engineers in India than in China, as the United States seeks to lessen its dependence on Chinese talent amid geopolitical concerns. As of Wednesday, five jobs were available in China on the Boeing Careers site, three of which were for engineering roles. Meanwhile, India had 83 job openings, with 58 for engineering roles – equating to 19 times more available engineering roles in India than in China. That gap has remained in the same region for at least a couple of weeks. According to Boeing, which is struggling through one of its biggest safety and management crises for decades, it has around 2,200 employees in China, and more than 6,000 in India, where the size of the country’s total commercial aviation fleet is about a sixth of China’s. Many top US companies have India in their sights, as the nation becomes a growing hub for American companies looking to diversify their manufacturing base away from China. Recent comments from a senior US official about recruiting more Indian students over Chinese students for STEM majors also indicate the country is not only looking to India to build its new factories, but for its scientific talent as well. Yet China’s engineering expertise is part of what helped Boeing achieve a duopoly – along with Europe’s Airbus – over global aircraft manufacturing. In 1916, Boeing hired Beijing-born Wong Tsu as the company’s first aeronautical engineer, following his graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).<br/>
AerCap raised its full-year earnings guidance for the second time this year on Thursday after further gains on the sale of aircraft and higher lease revenue in the second quarter. Aercap, the world's largest aircraft lessor, expects full-year adjusted earnings per share of around $10.25, including gains on the sale of aircraft, engines and helicopters in the first half of the year but before any potential further gains in the second half. The Dublin-based lessor had forecast a range of $7.50 - $8.50 in March, excluding any gains on sales for the year, and raised it to $9.20 in May after reporting a E160m first quarter net gain on asset sales. It reported a further E129m net gain in the period from April to June after it sold 29 aircraft, seven engines and one helicopter in what it described as a "robust sales market". AerCap's portfolio consisted of 3,492 owned, managed or ordered aircraft, engines and helicopters at the end of June, a fleet that far dwarfs its nearest rival. It entered into lease agreements for 162 of those assets in the second quarter. It said it had subsequently entered into an agreement with Airbus in July to purchase 36 A320neo aircraft, to be leased to Spirit Airlines upon delivery in 2027 and 2028. Low cost U.S. carrier Spirit announced in April that it had deferred all aircraft on order with Airbus that were scheduled to be delivered in 2025 and 2026 to 2030 to 2031.<br/>