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Boeing scraps 2019 financial forecast, halts share buybacks in wake of 737 MAX disaster

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World’s biggest aerospace corporation was forced to pull its full financial forecast for the current year due to unresolved issues surrounding Boeing’s once best-selling 737 MAX aircraft.

Boeing also announced plans to pause share buybacks, citing “a challenging time for our customers, stakeholders and the company.”

“Across the company, we are focused on safety, returning the 737 MAX to service, and earning and re-earning the trust and confidence of customers, regulators and the flying public,” Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg said in a statement.

The manufacturer had previously posted a report on the first-quarter earnings that managed to fall in line with analysts’ expectations, while its revenue was slightly less than projected. Boeing’s earning per share totaled the expected $3.16 from January through March, while the revenue amounted to $22.92 billion against $22.98 billion forecasted by London-based provider of financial markets data Refinitiv.

Boeing stressed that the previous guidance didn’t reflect the impact of two crashes of the company’s flagship planes, leading to the grounding of all 737 MAX 8 jets by global regulators, lawsuits from some air carriers and a decline in market value.

According to the producer, more than 135 test and production flights of updated software for the 737 MAX have been carried out so far.

Boeing’s bestseller crashed on March 10 not far from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa six minutes after takeoff on the way to Nairobi, Kenya. The tragedy, which killed 157 people, marked the second crash involving the same jet model in less than six months. In October, the same type of aircraft, operated by Indonesia’s Lion Air, crashed in the Java Sea shortly after takeoff, claiming the lives of 189 people.

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Soap bars around the world get a new life from Red Lion Hotels

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Based on US market statistics, the combined hospitality segment produces close to 440 billion pounds of solid waste per year. A great amount of this waste is made up of discarded soap and bottled amenities. However, through Clean the World’s Hospitality Recycling Program, these life-saving hygiene products can skip the landfill and, instead, be sent to one of Clean the World’s five Recycling Operations Centers where the products are sanitized, fully recycled, and given a second-life to help those in need. It’s a win-win for the hospitality industry, helping to reduce waste and transform lives around the world.

In celebration of Earth Day, Clean the World, dedicated to WASH (WAter, Sanitation and Hygiene) and global sustainability, is joining forces with RLH Corporation to collect and recycle gently-used bars of soap and bottled amenities at Hotel RL locations nationwide to help fight the spread of preventable diseases while preserving our planet.

“We are excited to collaborate with Clean the World,” said RLH Corporation SVP of Brand Strategy Amanda Marcello. “At Hotel RL, we are focused on the modern-day traveler, with core hotel elements that allow guests to immerse themselves in local culture while maintaining their connection to the world. We are always searching for opportunities to better our planet, the communities we live in and those around the world. With Clean the World, we will now be able to make a significant improvement in reducing the amount of waste our hotels produce while benefiting communities worldwide by recycling our bath amenities.”

Together, this Earth Day, Clean the World and RLH Corporation are bringing awareness to sustainable practices within the travel and hospitality industry. Eight Hotel RL locations adopting the Hospitality Recycling Program this week will begin recycling all soap and bottled amenities from over 1,600 guestrooms. In just one year, the Hotel RL portfolio of hotels is projected to provide over 6,700 pounds of soap and bottled amenities to Clean the World, resulting in the creation of an estimated 23,000 bars of newly-recycled soap to be distributed to those in need locally and globally.

“We are thrilled to join forces with RLH Corporation this Earth Day to share the importance of implementing new, eco-friendly approaches to daily operations that benefit and help to preserve our planet,” said Shawn Seipler, founder and CEO of Clean the World. “By diverting leftover soap and bottled amenities from landfills, RLH Corporation will not only help Clean the World provide health and hygiene programs to children and families around the world, but also set a great example of CSR and sustainability throughout the hospitality industry, encouraging others to help make a difference.”

Through this joint venture, newly-recycled bars of Clean the World soap will make their way to shelters, food banks and disaster relief initiatives in the United States, in addition to supporting hygiene education internationally through Clean the World Foundation’s WASH Education programming. Our global programming, in places like India, Kenya and Tanzania, has contributed to a 60 percent decrease in the rate of hygiene-related deaths in children under 5, helping to keep children healthy and in school.

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American Airlines to keep its Boeing 737 MAX jets grounded until August

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American Airlines has chosen to keep its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX grounded until at least August 19, even if it means canceling 115 flights a day in summer season, as probes into the troubled jet continue and new sales have frozen.

The company, which owns 24 of the embattled jets that were involved in two recent deadly crashes, announced the decision in a letter to employees and customers. AA wants to ensure reliability “for the peak travel season and provide confidence to our customers and team members when it comes to their travel plans,” Chief Executive Doug Parker and President Robert Isom wrote.

The 737 MAX 8 airliners were grounded worldwide after a fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight, which killed 157 people on board. The incident came months after a crash of the same model operated by Lion Air was apparently linked to the same faulty flight control system.

Parker and Isom have at the same time expressed confidence in Boeing’s ability to fix the problem through software updates and changes to pilot training procedures. The US airline has 24 MAX planes in its fleet and is expected to get 16 more delivered this year. The grounding has already resulted in the cancelation of about 90 flights per day through early June, and the extension may put a strain on American’s ability to meet demand for seats during upcoming peak travel season. As many as 115 daily flights will have to be canceled in August, according to the letter.

The crashes have left Boeing open to criticism over the way it certified the fast-selling model, conducting some of the tests in-house with the permission of the Federal Aviation Authority. Critics say the producer cut corners to fast-track the new model to the market, compromising flight safety as a result.

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Boeing CEO: Safety is our responsibility, and we own it

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Boeing CEO Dennis A. Muilenburg issued the following statement in response to its 737 Max software, production:

As we work closely with customers and global regulators to return the 737 MAX to service, we continue to be driven by our enduring values, with a focus on safety, integrity and quality in all we do.

We now know that the recent Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accidents were caused by a chain of events, with a common chain link being erroneous activation of the aircraft’s MCAS function. We have the responsibility to eliminate this risk, and we know how to do it. As part of this effort, we’re making progress on the 737 MAX software update that will prevent accidents like these from ever happening again. Teams are working tirelessly, advancing and testing the software, conducting non-advocate reviews, and engaging regulators and customers worldwide as we proceed to final certification. I recently had the opportunity to experience the software update performing safely in action during a 737 MAX 7 demo flight.  We’re also finalizing new pilot training courses and supplementary educational material for our global MAX customers. This progress is the result of our comprehensive, disciplined approach and taking the time necessary to get it right.

As we continue to work through these steps, we’re adjusting the 737 production system temporarily to accommodate the pause in MAX deliveries, allowing us to prioritize additional resources to focus on software certification and returning the MAX to flight. We have decided to temporarily move from a production rate of 52 airplanes per month to 42 airplanes per month starting in mid-April.

At a production rate of 42 airplanes per month, the 737 program and related production teams will maintain their current employment levels while we continue to invest in the broader health and quality of our production system and supply chain.

We are coordinating closely with our customers as we work through plans to mitigate the impact of this adjustment. We will also work directly with our suppliers on their production plans to minimize operational disruption and financial impact of the production rate change.

In light of our commitment to continuous improvement and our determination to always make a safe industry even safer, I’ve asked the Boeing Board of Directors to establish a committee to review our company-wide policies and processes for the design and development of the airplanes we build.  The committee will confirm the effectiveness of our policies and processes for assuring the highest level of safety on the 737-MAX program, as well as our other airplane programs, and recommend improvements to our policies and procedures.

The committee members will be Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr., (Ret.), former vice chairman, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, who will serve as the committee’s chair; Robert A. Bradway, chairman and CEO of Amgen, Inc.; Lynn J. Good, chairman, president and CEO of the Duke Energy Corporation; and Edward M. Liddy, former chairman and CEO of the Allstate Corporation, all members of the company’s board. These individuals have been selected to serve on this committee because of their collective and extensive experiences that include leadership roles in corporate, regulated industries and government entities where safety and the safety of lives is paramount.

Safety is our responsibility, and we own it. When the MAX returns to the skies, we’ve promised our airline customers and their passengers and crews that it will be as safe as any airplane ever to fly. Our continued disciplined approach is the right decision for our employees, customers, supplier partners and other stakeholders as we work with global regulators and customers to return the 737 MAX fleet to service and deliver on our commitments to all of our stakeholders.

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ADI statement on circus lion attack in Ukraine

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Animal Defenders International (ADI) has urged Ukraine and other countries without bans on the use of animals in circuses to stop circus suffering after a lion attacked a trainer during a circus performance in the city of Lugansk.

 

ADI President Jan Creamer said: “Exploited for entertainment, animals in circuses endure a lifetime of suffering and abuse. It’s time for countries without bans in place to step up and stop animals and people being put in harm’s way.”

 

The attack is one of a growing catalogue of incidents involving circus animals around the world, highlighting the inherent animal welfare and human safety issues.

 

Studies of the use of wild animals in traveling circuses show that circuses cannot meet their physical or behavioral needs. Animals are confined in small spaces, deprived of physical and social needs, spending excessive amounts of time shut in transporters. These animals are often seen behaving abnormally; rocking, swaying, and pacing, all indicating that they are in distress and not coping with their environment. ADI’s video evidence has shown how these animals are forced to perform tricks through physical violence, fear, and intimidation.

 

The animal protection organization is currently in Guatemala helping enforce a ban on the use of animals in circuses, as it has done in both Bolivia and Peru, and now has 21 lions and tigers at its temporary rescue center. Eighteen of the big cats will be going to the new ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa. To support the rescue mission, donate here: https://donate.adiusa.org/guatemala/

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