The Federal Aviation Administration has released a draft report proposing training requirements for 737 Max pilots, another step towards the agency’s certification of the grounded jet. The FAA is accepting comments to the draft “Flight Standardization Report” through 2 November. The agency will not issue final training recommendations until after the comment period closes, the FAA says. Boeing has previously said it expects regulators will certificate the jet in time to allow deliveries to resume in the fourth quarter, though the FAA says steps remain. Asked to comment about the draft report, Boeing says it ”is working closely with the FAA and other global regulators to meet their expectations as we work to safely return the 737 Max to service”. The draft training document outlines changes aimed at helping pilots better understand and respond to inputs from the Max’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). Investigators say MCAS, which pitches the Max’s nose down in some flight circumstances, contributed to crashes of a Lion Air 737 Max in 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines Max in 2019. The draft training report specifies that pilots must be taught about MCAS and “associated failure conditions”, and experience, in a flight simulator, MCAS activation. They must also be trained in recognising “runaway stabiliser”, a condition occurring when a jet’s horizontal stabiliser moves without pilot command. Training must also stress “control column functionality and its effect on runaway stabiliser”, and “the need to trim out forces on the column prior to selecting “STAB TRIM cutout”. Pilots can use the trim-cut-out switch to disengage the jet’s electric horizontal trim system. Additionally, training must emphasise procedures for using electric and manual stabiliser trim during non-normal conditions, and “the effects of the air loads on the stabiliser.” The proposed training also calls for review of “erroneous high angle-of-attack (AOA) malfunctions”. The proposed training items address pilot and training concerns highlighted by the Max crashes. In the minutes before both jets went down, AOA failures caused MCAS to erroneously activate. Accident investigators concluded that the pilots, facing a bevy of failure indicators, were unable to regain control. They have attributed the crashes to pilot actions, Boeing’s design of the Max’s flight control system and the FAA’s certification of the jet. The draft pilot training recommendations incorporate recommendations from a “Joint Operations Evaluation Board” – a panel composed of regulators from the USA, Canada, Brazil and the European Union. In addition to finalising pilot training, the FAA says it still must review “Boeing’s final documentation, to evaluate compliance with all FAA regulations”.

Source: Cirium

Virgin Atlantic has introduced a pre-flight Covid-19 testing program for some of its London Heathrow-based crew, with the aim of eventually carrying out monthly tests on all pilots and cabin attendants. The UK carrier says it launched the trial by testing crew ahead of flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai on 30 September, and will roll out the program to cover Barbados and other "select services" later this month. Virgin Atlantic has partnered with biotech firm GeneMe UK, distributor of the FRANKD Covid-19 test. Swabs are taken on site and results are processed and delivered within 30min via an app, negating the need for a laboratory, says the carrier.
"While the Covid-19 testing landscape evolves, we continue to be in discussions with multiple providers offering different technologies to guarantee the best solution possible, while absolutely ensuring that we do not compete with the UK National Health Service for vital resources," states Virgin Atlantic chief customer and operating officer Corneel Koster.
The trial is "a first step in our phased plan to introduce regular testing for all of our teams in the air and on the ground, in order to instill confidence in flying", adds Koster. Virgin Atlantic has reiterated its call for the "swift introduction" by the UK government of a wider passenger testing system that removes the need for arrivals from high-risk countries to quarantine. Koster says that without it, "demand for travel will not return". The UK government is reported to be on the verge of making an announcement on airport testing, amid strong pressure from the aviation industry. The list of countries that people can travel to without having to self-isolate for 14 days when they return is shrinking. Turkey and Poland are the latest nations to be removed from the UK's travel-corridor list.

Source: Cirium

US carriers adjusted their total capacity for October downward during the past two and a half weeks. As of 17 September, total capacity in available seat miles for US airlines in October was down 52%, compared with October 2019. Domestic capacity was down 44%, while international was down 60%. As of 5 October, US airlines' total capacity in October is down 60% year-on-year. Domestic capacity is down 46%, and international is down 73%. The number of daily travellers clearing US Transportation Security Administration checkpoints in the early days of October has increased slightly on a year-on-year basis. From 1 to 4 October, the number of travellers clearing TSA checkpoints between has been down 65% versus the same weekdays a year ago. Through much of September, the number of travellers clearing TSA checkpoints was down around 70-75%. It remains to be seen if continued improvement in US traveller throughput and a rise in late bookings give US carriers the confidence to do more than merely shift existing capacity toward leisure destinations. International travel restrictions remain in place, impeding any hopes for real growth in that sector. "Significant improvements [in international travel] are unlikely before summer 2021, in our view, as global travel restrictions remain in place," Bloomberg Intelligence analyst George Ferguson writes in a 30 September research note. Total capacity in November will be down 45%, compared with November 2019, as of 5 October. Airlines are likely to reduce existing capacity as the month draws near. In addition, US carriers could potentially make significant cuts to their networks in November if the federal government cannot come to terms on an extension of the US CARES Act payroll support program. Restrictions for airlines receiving CARES Act funds expired at the end of September, making it possible for these airlines to eliminate US destinations from their networks, or to lay off and cut the pay of their workers.

Source: Cirium