A committee established by the US Department of Transportation has determined that the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing properly followed FAA processes when approving the 737 Max. In a report released 16 January, the committee also throws support behind the FAA’s controversial Organisation Designation Authorisation (ODA), under which the FAA delegates certification work to manufacturers. But the report also urges the FAA to make significant improvements. It recommends the FAA require aerospace manufacturers have formal risk-mitigation plans known as safety management systems (SMS). The report also calls for the agency to better account for pilot performance and pilot-system interactions, and to better review how updates to old aircraft designs affect safety. “The committee found the FAA’s overall certification system to be effective,” says the 67-page report. “It also concluded that reforms must be adopted to help our extremely safe aviation system become even better at identifying and mitigating risk.” Investigators determined a series of factors involving Boeing, the Federal Aviation Administration, a parts supplier, Lion Air and pilots, led to the deadly crash of Lion Air flight 610. Democrat Peter DeFazio, chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, says he will consider the recommendations as lawmakers mull possible certification-related legislation. He also pledges to address perceived problems with the ODA programme. “It would be the height of irresponsibility to leave the ODA system as is and just hope for the best the next time,” DeFazio says in a statement. “Not addressing the failures head-on would be a grave mistake and that will not happen on my watch.” But Republicans read the report differently, saying it “clearly dispels the narrative that our aviation certification system is broken and must be completely rebuilt”. FAA administrator Steve Dickson says in a statement, “We welcome and appreciate the special committee’s recommendations”. “I was pleased to see that the committee recommended we advance the use of safety management systems throughout all sectors of the aviation industry,” Dickson adds. “The agency will carefully consider the committee’s work, along with the recommendations identified in various investigative reports and other analyses, as we take steps to enhance our aircraft certification processes.” Following two 737 Max crashes, the DOT established the investigatory committee for the purpose of independently reviewing the FAA’s Max certification and its broader certification processes. The five-member panel was led by co-chairs Lee Moak, former Air Line Pilots Association president, and retired US Air Force general Darren McDew, who formerly headed the military’s US Transportation Command. During its investigation, the committee interviewed FAA staff from the agency’s Boeing Aviation Safety Oversight Office, which certificated the Max. It also “met with an array of aviation and safety management specialists” and industry representatives, says the DOT.

Source: Cirium

One year ago, Airbus executives in Canada laid out broad strokes of a plan to make the A220 a commercial success.
Chief among the company’s goals: to boost A220 production, land sales with major airlines, reduce costs and, ultimately, make A220s profitable. One year later, the production rate is up and several major airlines have signed purchase papers. The degree to which Airbus has achieved cost and profitability goals, however, remains unclear. But Airbus Canada chief executive Philippe Balducchi insists the A220 programme is progressing as expected. “The journey to get the cost down has started [and] is on [a] good track,” Balducchi tells FlightGlobal on 15 January, adding that Airbus expects to achieve more cost reductions “in the coming months and year”. “We are on the normal path of an aircraft programme at this stage,” adds Balducchi, who spoke at an event in Montreal during which Air Canada unveiled its first A220-300. In January 2019, about six months after Airbus acquired the A220 programme from Bombardier, Balducchi described his A220 goals during a media event in Montreal. He pledged to make the A220 profitable and said his team had initiated a broad cost-cutting effort that included seeking concessions from suppliers. The team would also work to improve production efficiency, partly by bringing Airbus’s processes and systems to the A220. Balducchi now says Airbus aims to reduce the A220’s cost basis by 20%. But he declines to disclose more details or say whether the A220 is closer to profitability. “We have been progressing on the cost reduction. We have been having some significant progress with some suppliers. Some are still under discussion,” Balducchi says.

Source: Cirium

Combined orders and deliveries across the two mainline OEMs plummeted in 2019 as the effect of the 737 Max grounding stymied Boeing’s single-aisle performance. The Boeing production hiatus also ensured Airbus became the new record holder for airliner production. Overall, net orders at Airbus and Boeing declined by 50% on 2018’s total, to 822 aircraft while total deliveries fell by more than a fifth to 1,243 units. With Max activity effectively in limbo for the last nine months of 2019, Boeing’s total net orders across all its products declined by more than 90% to 54 units while deliveries were halved to 380 aircraft. For reference, the manufacturer’s guidance a year ago was to deliver 895-905 aircraft in 2019. Boeing delivered just 57 Max aircraft in 2019, compared with 256 in 2018. Overall, 737 deliveries fell to 127 aircraft (from 580 in 2018). As the sun set on commercial 737NG production, Boeing shipped 70 aircraft. Max deliveries were suspended shortly after the Ethiopian Airlines accident on 10 March, and the grounding and ongoing crisis has blunted the airframer’s sales activities of the new 737 family. The Max net-order tally was significantly in the red, to the tune of 73 aircraft, as a result of cancellations. Airbus enjoyed a slight rise in net orders last year, to 768 aircraft from 747 in 2018. It also powered to a new industry production record – taking the honours from long-time holder Boeing, with a total of 863 deliveries. The previous record of 806 deliveries was set by Boeing in 2018. The US manufacturer dropped behind Airbus in delivery terms for the first time since 2011.

Source: Cirium