Rolls-Royce said it would add maintenance facilities and people to triple its capacity to fix problems with Trent 1000 engines that have grounded Boeing Dreamliner planes, but said this would not raise the cost of the work. The compressor in the Trent 1000 package C engines that power Boeing's 787 Dreamliner jet is not lasting as long as expected, requiring inspections and forcing airlines to ground aircraft while the checks take place. That has led to complaints from some of Rolls’ airline customers as they must lease alternative planes to fly in the key summer holiday period, putting extra pressure on the engineer to speed up the process. Rolls said Wednesday that it had a new inspection technique that meant it could check engines without removing them from the wings. <br/>
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Safran is sticking to production targets for the LEAP jet engine, but is still unwilling to back proposals for higher output from Airbus and Boeing until it is convinced its own suppliers can keep up, its CE said Wednesday. Safran co-owns the world's largest jet engine supplier, based on the number of units produced, along with General Electric and their plans for a record hike in output of LEAP are 4-6 weeks behind schedule. "I want to be virtually certain about the robustness of the supply chain before committing to higher production," Philippe Petitcolin said. CFM International, the joint venture that makes LEAP engines, aims to deliver around 1,100 of the engines this year, followed by 1,800 next year and hitting the 2,000 mark in 2020. <br/>
The US DoT told senator Bill Nelson, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, in a May 23 letter that consumer protections included in both chambers’ FAA reauthorisation bills are “unnecessary, expensive and counterproductive.” In the letter, DoT deputy general counsel James Owens singled out a provision in the Senate bill that would require DoT to create rules to determine which airline fees “are unreasonable or disproportionate to the cost incurred by the air carrier.” The counsel claimed such a provision would signal a “return to the pre-1978 era,” back when the US federal govt controlled domestic airline fares and rates. The administration voiced displeasure that the bill would mandate airlines and ticket agents disclose the fees to consumers at all points of sale. <br/>
It’s not funny, people. That’s the message the Indonesian authorities are trying to send, as a sudden rash of jokes about bombs has resulted in flight disruptions across the country. Monday night, at least 10 passengers suffered injuries, including broken bones, after a man on a Lion Air plane preparing to take off from the city of Pontianak on Borneo island told a flight attendant there was a bomb on board. Indonesian news media said Monday’s episode was the ninth bomb scare this month that started with a joke, and the seventh on Lion Air alone. A 2009 law imposes a penalty of up to 8 years for joking about bombs in airports or planes in Indonesia. But enforcement of the law has been weak — at least until this week, when the authorities charged the joker in Monday’s incident and vowed to follow up on other cases. <br/>