The US House is poised to continue stricter oversight of Boeing and safety reform at the Federal Aviation Administration following the re-election of Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio, the committee chairman overseeing the investigation and response to fatal 737 Max crashes. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman defended his seat against Republican challenger Alek Skarlatos, who waged a multi-million dollar campaign against the Democrat during the US election. The FAA is poised to recertificate 737 Max aircraft to return to service for the first time since March 2019, and DeFazio's re-election is unlikely to affect that timetable, says Teal Group aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia. Boeing says it expects FAA approval on safety fixes for 737 Max aircraft before the end of 2020, leaving airlines to decide whether to return Max fleets into service. "The FAA is in the home stretch," he says. DeFazio's re-election is most significant when it comes to the future of the FAA's aircraft certification process. Absentee and mail-in ballots are still being counted as of 4 November, so depending on how many Senate seats Republicans maintain "they might not agree to the resources needed for greater certification oversight," Aboulafia says. DeFazio for years has been critical of the process that allows the FAA to delegate certain data reports for Boeing and other airframers to complete during the certification process for their own aircraft. He criticised both Boeing and the FAA for not revealing enough safety information about the Max aircraft prior to two fatal crashes during which 346 people died. The House chairman in September introduced legislation that would increase penalties for regulatory violations and extend whistleblower protection to allow employees to report safety concerns without fear of reprisal. The House transportation chairman is also a leader in the push for additional payroll stimulus. Conferencing a stimulus bill with the Senate will remain challenging as Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell also defended his seat against a challenger during the election. Following the expiration of federal payroll support on 1 October, McConnell focused Senate attention on confirming a US Supreme Court justice and refused to stage a vote on stimulus legislation. The Senate is in recess until 9 November. The end of the 2020 campaign could reduce pressure on Republicans to appear fiscally conservative and ease the passage of new legislation to provide $2 trillion to fund salaries and benefits for American workers through March, as DeFazio and other House lawmakers proposed. “House Democrats have now passed multiple relief bills containing desperately needed direct payments to Americans, help for local and state governments to keep law enforcement and health care workers on the job [and] funding for expanded testing and contact tracing," DeFazio said on 2 October supporting House legislation.

Source: Cirium

Spain's government has approved a €475 million ($557 million) state-backed loan for Air Europa. The airline will be the first Spanish company to receive money from a fund set up by the country's government in July to help businesses weather the Covid-19 crisis. Air Europa will receive a €240 million equity-backed loan and a €235 million regular loan, says the Spanish finance ministry in a 3 November statement. The carrier will have up to six years to repay the loans. The government says Air Europa provides an "essential service" in ensuring domestic and international connectivity for Spain. According to media reports, the Spanish government wants to have a say on IAG's proposed acquisition of Air Europa in return for its support. The finance ministry did not immediately respond to Cirium's request for comment. IAG says it is "not commenting" on what the Spanish government's investment could mean for the proposed takeover.

Source: Cirium

British Airways’ decision to retire its fleet of Boeing 747s will accelerate the airline’s sustainability efforts, according to recently appointed chief executive Sean Doyle. “That’s 32 older aircraft leaving British Airways, being replaced by modern 787 and A350 variants, and that’s an advancement of our sustainability commitment over the Covid crisis that we’re excited about,” Doyle stated during the UK Royal Aeronautical Society’s Climate Change Conference today. Those Airbus and Boeing widebody types are ”a huge enabler of more efficient operations”, Doyle says, explaining that BA expects to achieve an improvement “in terms of CO2 per kilometer travelled” as a result of the jumbos being retired early. The airline is currently assessing “exactly what that improvement would look like in the future”, he states. Beyond fleet considerations, Doyle believes that BA parent company IAG’s commitment to achieving ”carbon net zero by 2050” will involve “many dimensions”. Noting that “there’s no silver bullet” in terms of improving aviation’s environmental footprint, he cites measures “like sustainable aviation fuel, like offsets, like emissions trading, like airspace management”, which are “fundamental to getting the industry to where it needs to get to”. Doyle also acknowledges that “there are more exciting longer-term technologies like hybrid, battery and hydrogen”, but says that BA sees ”those coming from about 2040 onwards”, rather than offering near-term solutions. He adds that those technologies “will affect commuter, regional and shorter-sector sector journeys below 120 minutes more immediately”, meaning they will initially have limited value for an airline with a significant focus on medium- and long-haul routes. Asked if the coronavirus crisis might reduce some of the pressure on the airline industry to address its environmental impact, Doyle says sustainability will remain a “fundamental issue to tackle in terms of our right to operate” as the recovery begins. “People like flying, but they don’t like the carbon footprint from flying,” he states. Alex Cruz was at the helm of BA when the decision to retire its 747 fleet was made earlier this year, with Doyle replacing the former Vueling chief as chief of the UK flag carrier in October.

Source: Cirium