Alitalia scheduled a board meeting for late today following the decision by the outgoing government to grant the ailing carrier a €300 million ($477.9 million) emergency bridge loan to continue operations (ATWOnline, April 23). AZ's management is scheduled to meet with its unions this morning.

Boeing announced record first-quarter earnings of $1.21 billion, up 38% from $877 million reported in the year-ago period, on a 4% increase in sales to $15.99 billion. Despite hiccups in the 787 program, Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney said the company was "off to a good start" in what he expects to be "another strong year." Total company backlog as of March 31 reached a record $346 billion, up 32% year-over-year, with growth driven by commercial airplane and V-22 multiyear orders.

United Airlines parent UAL Corp. suffered a massive $537 million loss in the first quarter, widened precipitously from a $152 million deficit in the year-ago period, and said Tuesday that it will "fundamentally overhaul every facet of our business," starting with the grounding of 30 aircraft and the laying off of 1,100 employees.

Airbus beginning May 1 will add $2 million to the list price of each single-aisle aircraft and $4 million to each widebody. The increases, which it said are owing to the continued decline of the US dollar and higher metal prices, are on top of the "normal" 2.74% escalation. The manufacturer said the dollar's decline translates into a more-than-15% devaluation. Compounding the problem, metal prices have risen by at least 6.5%.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Boeing finalized a previously announced commitment for four 777-300ERs and four 787-8s at a signing ceremony yesterday in Dhaka (ATWOnline, March 12).