Boeing announced late April 5 it will slow 737 MAX production from 52 to 42 aircraft a month by mid-April, indicating that the type’s grounding and delivery halt will last longer than initially expected.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA)—which had planned to take delivery of three Boeing 737 MAX 8s beginning in mid-April—will adjust its summer schedule as deliveries of the type are postponed until the US manufacturer’s flight-control software upgrade is certified and the grounding is lifted.
An interim report into the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash said the flight crew followed proper procedures in response to uncommanded nose-down inputs, but they could not keep the aircraft from descending into the ground, Ethiopia's top transport official said April 4.
Slovenian flag carrier Adria Airways and Russian manufacturer Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. (SCAC) have failed to convert the airline’s November 2018 letter of intent to acquire 15 Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) regional jets into a firm order after they were unable to reach an agreement on contract terms.
Indian airline Jet Airways is still grounding aircraft because of lease payment defaults, even though the first parts of a bailout plan have been put in place.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has grounded two of its nine Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners because of premature blade deterioration found on the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN engines.
Boeing’s proposed changes to its 737 MAX family flight-control software will undergo “additional work” and may not be in regulators’ hands for a final review for another six weeks.
Spanish leisure airline Evelop Airlines has taken delivery of its first of two Airbus A350 XWBs, while African flag carrier Mauritania Airlines has accepted its first Embraer E175.
Luxembourg’s national carrier Luxair is still deciding on the future shape of its fleet, but in the interim has gone ahead with the purchase of two further Boeing 737-700s.
Vietnam startup airline Bamboo Airways is preparing to sign a deal with Airbus to purchase A321neos, a key step in its ambitions to develop a fleet of Airbus narrowbodies and Boeing widebodies.
FAA retained oversight of the Boeing MAX’s new maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) early on in the aircraft's certification process, but later delegated it to Boeing once the agency was confident the company had the expertise to manage it, FAA acting administrator Dan Elwell told a Senate hearing March 27.
Key changes to the Boeing 737 MAX’s maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) will incorporate more redundancy into the aircraft’s much-scrutinized flight-control law and give pilots ultimate elevator authority by limiting the degree of nose-down stabilizer command the automated system can trigger.
