EasyJet Switzerland has begun a formal consultation process on cutting 70 jobs and two aircraft from its Basel operation.
That would see its fleet at the airport reduced to 10 aircraft from a pre-pandemic level of 12 jets, EasyJet states, with its workforce falling to around 385 employees. “We are focused on doing what is right for the company and its long-term health and success so we can protect jobs going forward,” states EasyJet Switzerland managing director Jean-Marc Thevenaz. “Unfortunately, the lower demand environment, forecast until 2023, means we need fewer aircraft and have less opportunity for work for our people.” The Swiss unit’s Geneva operation – which features 15 aircraft and around 560 employees – is untouched by the new proposals. The proposed cuts follow EasyJet’s group-wide announcement in late May that it would cut staff levels by up to 30% and reduce its all-Airbus fleet by 51 jets. Thevenaz notes that from late summer, EasyJet Switzerland has faced fresh travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in many of its markets, “which has impacted consumer confidence to make travel plans due to the uncertainty”. He continues: “We are committed to working constructively with our employee representatives in Switzerland with the aim of minimising job losses as far as possible and provide transfer options within our local bases.” EasyJet Switzerland is the smallest of the group’s three affiliates, accounting for 9% of its pre-pandemic fleet of approximately 320 aircraft. Around 165 of those jets were based with its UK unit, and the remainder operated by Vienna-based EasyJet Europe. EasyJet holds a 49% stake in the Swiss operation, which uses the group’s brand under a franchise agreement. The remaining 51% of the business is held by private investors. Elsewhere in Switzerland, flag carrier Swiss recently announced that at least 1,000 jobs – around 10% of its workforce – could be at risk over the coming two years.

Source: Cirium

The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring airlines to modify Boeing 747-400 and 767 fuel-tank monitoring systems to prevent the risk of ignition within the tanks. Operators will have 72 months from 10 November to modify fuel-quantity indicating systems to prevent ignition within the jets’ centre fuel tanks, according to two FAA airworthiness directives (ADs) released 6 October. “The FAA is issuing this AD to prevent ignition sources inside the centre fuel tank, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapours, could result in a fuel-tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane,” say both orders. The directives affect 71 US-registered 747s and 261 767s, and require different actions for cargo than for passenger variants of the jets. The rules apply to 747-400s, 747-400 Freighters, 767-200s, 767-300s, 767-300Fs and 767-400ERs. Boeing did not respond to a request for comment. The FAA’s actions follow its analysis of fuel-system reviews completed by Boeing, the agency says. The risk of fuel-tank explosions caught regulators’ attention following the 1996 in-flight break up and crash of TWA flight 800, a Boeing 747-100. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that a fuel-air mixture likely exploded in the jet’s centre fuel tank. Boeing, trade groups Airlines for America and Cargo Airline Association, and airlines FedEx, KLM and UPS had asked the FAA to withdraw the AD, citing various reasons. Those included the “extremely improbable” risk of fuel-tank fires. Boeing said it considered the use in jets of nitrogen-generating systems, which reduce ignition risk by pumping nitrogen into tanks to displace oxygen, as addressing the concerns. The FAA disagreed, saying it identified “non-compliant design areas identified in the manufacturer’s fuel system reviews”.

Source: Cirium

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