Germany is to install missile defense systems on three new government jets that are used by senior leaders, the Spiegel news outlet reported on Friday. The German defence ministry is to submit a corresponding contract to the parliamentary budget committee budget for approval by the end of the year, said the report, which did not give details of its source.<br/>The three A350 jets, which are mainly used by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, will be equipped with an infrared system on the fuselage that can disable the seeker heads of approaching missiles with laser pulses, Spiegel reported. The last of the three planes was handed over to the German military in June. The defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment or to a question on how other government jets are protected from possible missile attacks. The high-tech system set to be installed in the A350s is developed by the Israeli company Elbit in cooperation with German aircraft parts supplier Diehl, Spiegel said. Many military transport aircraft are already equipped with it.<br/>
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Libya's Internal Security Agency said on Saturday it had thwarted an attempt to smuggle 100 kg of gold and E1.5m at Misrata international airport during a security check of an international flight. The agency said on its verified Facebook page that the gold bars were found in three suitcases while the money was in one suitcase. The suitcases were spotted during the security inspection process of a flight to Turkey, said the agency. A number of pictures posted by the agency showing the confiscated suitcases containing gold bars and bundles of euro banknotes. Misrata is a port city about 200 km east of the capital Tripoli. The agency added that "those responsible for these suitcases were arrested." In May, the Tripoli-based attorney general said it ordered the arrest of director general of customs and other officials at Misrata international airport over conspiring to smuggle nearly 26,000 kg of gold.<br/>
Cash-strapped Boeing is facing mounting costs from an ongoing machinist strike as workers push for higher pay. A failure to get a deal done could be even more expensive. In the shadow of a factory outside Seattle where Boeing makes its best-selling planes, picketing Boeing machinists told CNBC they have saved up money and have taken or are considering taking side jobs in landscaping, furniture moving or warehouse work to make ends meet if the strike is goes on much longer. The work stoppage by Boeing’s factory workers in the Pacific Northwest just entered its second week. The financial cost of the strike on Boeing depends on how long it lasts, though ratings agencies have warned that the company could face a downgrade if it drags on too long. That would add to the borrowing costs of the company, already $60b in debt. Boeing has burned through about $8b so far this year in the wake of a near-catastrophic door plug blowout from one of its 737 Max planes in January. Boeing hasn’t turned an annual profit since 2018, and its new CEO Kelly Ortberg is trying to restore the company’s reputation after months of manufacturing crises that have slowed deliveries to customers, depriving it of cash. At the local union office in Renton, machinists were preparing for what may become a lengthy strike: Union members carried in large pallets of bottled water, while someone mixed a giant tuna salad in the kitchen to make sandwiches for workers. Union vans visited demonstration sites around Renton offering transportation to bathroom breaks for workers on picket duty. Burn barrels provided heat for chilly overnight pickets. Many workers spoke of their love for their jobs but fretted about the high cost of living in the Seattle area, where the majority of Boeing’s aircraft are made. The median home price in Washington state increased about 142% to $613,000 as of 2023, from $253,800 a decade earlier, according to the state’s Office of Financial Management. That outpaces the roughly 55% increase nationally over that period, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.<br/>
The first delivery of Airbus' longest-range narrowbody jet, the A321XLR, is poised to slip into October, apparently missing the planemaker's delivery target by several weeks. A spokesperson for Spain's Iberia said in response to a Reuters query that the delivery is planned for the second half of October. Airbus referred questions on the delivery to the airline. In July, it said it expected the A321XLR to be delivered "at the end of the summer," having previously cited the third quarter. The delivery from Hamburg represents a milestone in a fierce competition between Airbus and Boeing to meet demand to serve longer routes with workhorse narrowbody jets. The A321XLR was launched in 2019 with an initial target for entry to service of 2023 to help airlines open new routes without the need to fill up larger wide-body aircraft. Boeing is developing a larger version of its 737 family, the MAX 10. The debut A321XLR delivery was originally earmarked for Iberia's sister airline Aer Lingus but was switched to the Spanish network by parent group IAG earlier this year amid uncertainty during a recent Aer Lingus pilots' strike.<br/>
Airbus and Boeing see strong long-term potential for the Indonesian airliner market, with both forecasting vast demand for jets in the coming two decades. During media briefings at the inaugural Bali air show on 19 September, the two airframers described favourable demographic trends and the importance of air connectivity in a nation formed by thousands of islands spread across a vast expanse of Southeast Asia. Anand Stanley, president Airbus Asia-Pacific, said that Indonesia is a major priority for Airbus, noting that 250 Airbus jets are in service in the country with eight airlines, with 215 on order. Stanley observed that Indonesia’s gross domestic product is growing by over 4% annually, which will see GDP rise to over $3t by 2043. During this period, annual trips per capita will go from 0.4 to 1.4, which means that demand for new aircraft from major airframers during will come to “at least” 1,000 units in the coming 20 years. Stanley made a strong push for the smallest jet in the Airbus family, the A220. “The A220 is the perfect candidate to connect all the islands in Indonesia,” says Stanley. While the market is now dominated by larger narrowbodies such as the A320 and 737 families, he feels that the A220’s ability to operate from shorter runways will allow it to serve locations that have hitherto been served by turboprops. Moreover, the A220’s 7h endurance would allow it to operate from western points in Sumatra directly to eastern points in Papua, Indonesia’s province on the island of New Guinea.<br/>
Planemaker Embraer had its debt upgraded to investment-grade status for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, joining a select group of high-grade Brazilian corporates. Fitch Ratings upgraded the company’s credit score to BBB-, one level above junk, from BB+, according to a Friday statement. The outlook is stable. “Embraer’s improving production, delivery profile and profitability combined with gross debt reduction are driving credit metrics to levels more commensurate” with the new rating, Fitch said. Embraer, which was cut to junk in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, is among a handful of Brazilian firms — including miner Vale SA and pulp producer Suzano — rated investment grade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The planemaker has benefited from strong demand for private jets and commercial aircraft, with American Airlines Group Inc. agreeing earlier this year to buy 90 of its E175 regional jets. The jet maker delivered 25 aircraft in the first quarter, a 67% increase from a year earlier, surfing a flow of new orders and breaking into a duopoly between Boeing and Airbus. The recovery in deliveries and improved credit metrics sparked an outlook change at Moody’s Ratings earlier this month. S&P Global Ratings had already upgraded the firm’s debt to BBB- in February, while Moody’s still scores it a notch into junk. <br/>
BOC Aviation Ltd. plans to grow its plane fleet to 1,000 by 2030, CEO Steven Townend told local paper The Business Times. The aircraft leasing firm wants to increase its current fleet of 680 to “have the portfolio size and diversity” its investment-grade credit ratings and to do “bigger deals with the bigger airlines,” according to the report. Townend sees planes not being built fast enough to meet demand as the biggest challenge for the aviation industry, the report said. This supply gap won’t close until around 2028, Townend told BT, which will sustain lease rates at the current levels for at least the next two or three years, he said.<br/>
In late 1965, at what’s now London Heathrow airport, a commercial flight coming from Paris made history by being the first to land automatically. The plane – A Trident 1C operated by BEA, which would later become British Airways – was equipped with a newly developed extension of the autopilot (a system to help guide the plane’s path without manual control) known as “autoland.” Today, automatic landing systems are installed on most commercial aircraft and improve the safety of landings in difficult weather or poor visibility. Now, nearly 60 years later, the world’s third largest aircraft manufacturer, Brazil’s Embraer, is introducing a similar technology, but for takeoffs. Called “E2 Enhanced Take Off System,” after the family of aircraft it’s designed for, the technology would not only improve safety by reducing pilot workload, but it would also improve range and takeoff weight, allowing the planes that use it to travel farther, according to Embraer. “The system is better than the pilots,” says Patrice London, principal performance engineer at Embraer, who has worked on the project for over a decade. ”That’s because it performs in the same way all the time. If you do 1,000 takeoffs, you will get 1,000 of exactly the same takeoff.” Embraer, London adds, has already started flight testing, with the aim to get it approved by aviation authorities in 2025, before introducing it from select airports.<br/>