United Airlines has begun removing seats from Embraer 175 regional aircraft, a strong indication that broad pilot furloughs are imminent. On 6 August, Chicago-based United began showing three different seat maps of the E175 on its website. The first seat map is the aircraft’s normal 76-seat, three-class configuration. Two other diagrams show a maximum of 70 seats, in two different three-class configurations. The changes come several weeks after United’s chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said that the airline was drawing up plans to remove seats from its jets, a requirement under the carrier’s contract with its pilot union Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). That contract requires United to “convert” 76-seat aircraft to 70-seat aircraft if it is forced to furlough pilots hired prior to when the contract was signed, a move that could diminish the economics of the jets. Regional carriers Mesa Airlines, Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines operate a combined 172 of the type for United, according to Cirium fleets data. “We have the engineering being worked on right now, and we will have them removed by October 1,” Nocella had said on 20 May when asked if United might take this step. United did not comment on the changes. Last week the carrier told its pilots it plans to furlough at least 3,900 pilots or one third of its total pilot population as it prepares to deal with the pandemic’s long-term effects on the industry. Passenger demand fell to record lows during the second quarter as shelter-in-place orders and lockdowns around the country and across the globe depressed demand for passenger air transport. Even though there has been a small rebound recently, most industry players expect the recovery to take up to three years. The airline, which has received federal government financal aid under the CARES Act, was prevented from laying off or furloughing personnel before 1 October. That deadline is fast approaching, and the commercial aviation industry is preparing for up to 75,000 layoffs across the country if the relief is not extended. Pilot union representatives could not immediately be reached for comment on the changes and what they might mean for the airline and its pilots. In June, the union agreed to voluntary furlough and company leave of absence programmes, as well as a voluntary separation leave initiative in order to help reduce the number of pilots who might be laid off in the coming months.

Source: Cirium

Italy's National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) today says it may suspend Ryanair from flying to the country if the ultra-low-cost carrier does not meet its health safety standards intended to minimize the spread of coronavirus. These "repeated violations" noted by ENAC include failure to distance passengers on aircraft. Italy has implemented strict health safety measures, having been a major epicenter for coronavirus infections in Europe. "Ryanair systematically does not comply with the provisions envisaged in Italy to limit the risk health from coronavirus on board aircraft departing and arriving in domestic airports," ENAC says in a statement. The Irish ultra-low-cost carrier says in a statement that its health safety rules "are in line with the safety recommendations & measures set out by the Italian Government and also the European Safety Agency". These measures include social distancing before and after boarding, requirements to wear masks and disinfecting of aircraft, according to Ryanair's website. The airline's safety measures do not mention distancing of passengers during flights. "Ryanair complies fully with the measures set out by the Italian government and our customers can rest assured that we are doing everything to reduce interaction on both our aircraft and at airports," the airline states. Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost operator, carried 4.4 million passengers in July. The carrier flew 40% of its planned July schedule with a load factor of 72%, restoring part of its network as European nations begin to loosen travel restrictions. Still, traffic was down 70% year-over-year. The European Union aims to resume business and tourism while avoiding the rise of coronavirus infections that have increased in the USA following the reopening of businesses and beaches in numerous US states. The USA is not on the list of nations permitted to fly to European Union destinations.

Source: Cirium

The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed fining Boeing a total of $1.25 million in civil penalties for several violations of rules that allow aircraft manufacturers to perform some FAA functions.

The regulatory body says on 5 August that the Chicago-headquartered airframer exerted “undue pressure or interfered with the work of FAA designees” at the company’s plant in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Both fines are for transgressions around the company’s Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program that allows aerospace manufacturers to perform some certification work on behalf of the FAA, in order to standardise processes and potentially save time.

The first fine, for $1,066,655 is for a series of violations that occurred between November 2017 and July 2019, where employees in two ODA units reported to managers who were not in approved ODA management positions, the FAA says.

“Boeing failed to ensure ODA administrators were in a position to effectively represent the FAA’s interests,” the FAA says.

Furthermore, between September 2018 and May 2019, “non-ODA Boeing managers exerted undue pressure or interfered with ODA unit members”.

The second fine, for $184,522, is in response to an allegation that in February 2020 Boeing “failed to follow its quality control processes and subjected ODA members to undue pressure or interfered with an airworthiness inspection of a Boeing 787-9”.

Boeing responds on 5 August that the penalties are “a clear and strong reminder of our obligations as an ODA holder”, and that “undue pressure of any type is inconsistent with our values and will not be tolerated”. The company says both allegations were appropriately reported and investigated, and that it fully cooperated with the FAA’s own independent inquiry.

”Boeing implemented corrective action in response to both incidents,” the airframer adds.

The outsourcing of duties as a part of the ODA process has long been under fire from critics, who describe it as being ripe for abuse and that it lacks oversight.

In a report issued in June in response to two fatal accidents involving the 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019, the FAA maintained ODA was “an effective and efficient method to enhance safety”, though it pledged improvements.

Just last week Boeing said that it would be cutting production of the 787 to six aircraft per month by 2021, and that it had embarked on a review of its 787 production footprint. This led to speculation that work on the widebody, which is currently built in North Charleston and also on a final assembly line at its Everett site in Washington’s Puget Sound region, will be consolidated to just one line. Analysts have said they see South Carolina as the future of the 787 partly because only that site produces the largest 787 variant – the 787-10. Though engineers developed the 787-10 in Everett, the jet’s mid-body fuselage is too large to be transported from South Carolina, where it is made, to Everett, for final assembly, Boeing has said.

Source: Cirium