For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

Where press releases are breaking news

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

by

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.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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

by

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.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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

by

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.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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

by

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.

Travel News | eTurboNews

ADI statement on circus lion attack in Ukraine

by

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/

Travel News | eTurboNews

Ethiopian Airlines has a statement on preliminary crash report

by

Ethiopian Airlines had a tragic year so far, but it appears without fault to the carrier. The preliminary report about ET 302 crash on March 10 came in and the airline responded with the following statement:

The preliminary report clearly showed that the Ethiopian Airlines Pilots who were commanding Flight ET 302/10 March have followed the Boeing recommended and FAA approved emergency procedures to handle the most difficult emergency situation created on the airplane. Despite their hard work and full compliance with the emergency procedures, it was very unfortunate that they could not recover the airplane from the persistence of nose diving. As the investigation continues with more detailed analysis, as usual, we will continue with our full cooperation with the investigation team.

Group CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam said that “ All of us at Ethiopian Airlines are still going through deep mourning for the loss of our loved ones and we would like to express our deep sympathy and condolences for the families, relatives, and friends of the victims. Meanwhile; we are very proud of our pilots’ compliances to follow the emergency procedures and high level of professional performances in such extremely difficult situations. We are also very proud of our Global standard Pilot Training Center and the Ethiopian Aviation Academy which is one of the largest and most modern in the world equipped with state of the art and latest training technologies.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our valued customers, the traveling public, the media and Global aviation professionals for the remarkably high level of a vote of confidences and strong support that you have been giving us starting from the day of this tragic accident. We will double our efforts every single day to win your confidence and earn your business. Your Safety will remain our top most priority and we will continue to work together with our partners around the world to make air travel safer and more comfortable. My highest appreciation also goes to my 16, 000 colleagues at Ethiopian Airlines for their resilience, high standards of professionalism and their continued commitment for operational excellence and their award-winning customer services which enabled us to continue our business without any operational disruption, flight delays or flight cancellations.”

Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing Airline in Africa. In its seventy plus years of operation, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success.

Ethiopian commands the lion’s share of the Pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 119 international passenger and cargo destinations across five continents. Ethiopian fleet includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as Airbus A350, Boeing 787-8, Boeing 787-9, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200 Freighter, Bombardier Q-400 double cabin with an average fleet age of five years. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate these aircraft. Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with Six business centers: Ethiopian International Services; Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services; Ethiopian MRO Services; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian ADD Hub Ground Services and Ethiopian Airports Services. Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.

Mr. Asrat Begashaw

Manager Corporate Communications, Ethiopian Airlines

Tel 🙁 251-1)517-89-07/656/165/913/529

CorporateCommunication@ethiopianairlines.com

www.ethiopianairlines.com

www.facebook.com/ethiopianairlines

www.twitter.com/flyethiopian

Travel News | eTurboNews

Xtra Aerospace in Florida also responsible for Boeing 737 Max crash?

by

Our purpose is to ensure each flight is safe and cost-effective every day. This is the message on the Xtra Aerospace website. The Xtra Aerospace states their maintenance division can provide optimal maintenance to all of the unique aviation needs.

Xtra Aerospace may have been very much off on this goal when in Indonesia a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX crashed after it was repaired in a U.S. aircraft maintenance facility and the so-called angle-of-attack sensor was replaced. This sensor sent erroneous signals causing repeated nose-down movements on the Oct. 29 flight that pilots struggled with until the Boeing Max plunged into the Java Sea. Everyone on board, 189 people were killed.

XTRA Aerospace is an FAA/EASA/ANAC certified repair station located in Miramar, Florida, USA.

Documents obtained by Bloomberg News show the repair station, XTRA Aerospace Inc. in Miramar, Fla., had worked on the sensor. It was later installed on the Lion Air plane on Oct. 28 in Bali, after pilots had reported problems with instruments displaying speed and altitude. There’s no indication the Florida shop did maintenance on the Ethiopian jet’s device, according to Bloomberg.

Xtra Aerospace states: ” We specialize in the repair of instruments, radio & mechanical/electrical accessories. XTRA offers extensive capabilities servicing the A300, A320 family/A330/A340 and Boeing 737 thru 777. We are proud to serve the world’s top airlines and suppliers with one goal… complete customer satisfaction.

XTRA Aerospace welcomes the U.S. Government. XTRA is DD2345 certified to obtain military critical technical data. XTRA’s cage code is 5FWE2 and we look forward to helping you with all your sourcing and repair needs.”

U.S. teams assisting the Indonesian investigation reviewed the work by the company to ensure that there weren’t additional angle-of-attack sensors in the supply chain with defects, said a person familiar with the work. They didn’t find any evidence of systemic issues on other sensors the company may have worked on.

Bloomberg states in their article:

“Much of the concern by regulators and lawmakers after the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes has focused on Boeing’s design of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, which was programmed to push down a plane’s nose to help prevent aerodynamic stalls in some situations. But the preliminary report by Indonesia on the Lion Air crash shows that maintenance and pilot actions are also being reviewed.

It’s common for licensed repair stations to overhaul older parts so they can be resold, said John Goglia, a former member of the NTSB who earlier worked as an airline mechanic. Airlines can save money buying used parts and U.S. regulations require that the parts meet legal standards, Goglia said.

If the sensor was repaired at XTRA Aerospace, “it would have to go through what the manual says to overhaul it,” he said. “That means all the steps.”

The Indonesian preliminary report doesn’t say what went wrong with the device but indicates that the plane’s maintenance is a subject of the investigation.”

The Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max that crashed on March 10 also apparently had issues with the same type of sensor, which triggered a safety system on the plane that was driving down the plane’s nose, according to people familiar with the accident. In that case, investigators are still attempting to locate one of the sensors to help determine why it malfunctioned.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Confirmed: Auto anti-stall system on before Ethiopian Max jet crash

by

It has been confirmed that investigators have determined the automatic anti-stall system as activated before the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max jet crash.

This initial determination is based on information from the aircraft’s data and voice recorders, which shows that the malfunctioning automated system may be responsible for the deadly March 10 crash.

This preliminary determination was made known during a briefing at the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) yesterday. It is also known that the auto anti-stall system was activated on the Indonesian Lion Air 737 Max jet crash.

The preliminary findings could be revised, but right now they point to the system, called MCAS (or Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) as the potential cause of both crashes. Regulators say the Ethiopian Airlines Max jet followed a similar flight path to the Lion Air flight, including erratic climbs and descents before crashing minutes after takeoff.

The MCAS system is designed to automatically point the nose of the jets down if it senses potential for a loss of lift, or aerodynamic stall. Aircraft can lose lift from the wings and fall from the sky if the nose points too high. The system also makes the Max fly similarly to older generations of Boeing’s 737, negating the need for a lot of added pilot training.

Boeing is working on a software update to the auto anti-stall system so that the nose will point down only once instead of around 21 times as happened in the Lion Air crash making it easier for pilots to override it.

Ethiopian officials are expected to release their preliminary report soon.

The 737 Max 8 has been grounded worldwide due to the crashes as Boeing works on an update to its software to make the planes safer.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Ethiopian Airlines CEO believes in The New Spirit of Africa and pledges to work with Boeing

by

Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines issued a statement today.

He wrote: “It has been more than two weeks since the tragic crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. The heartbreak for the families of the passengers and crew who perished will be lasting. This has forever changed their lives, and we at Ethiopian Airlines will feel the pain forever. I pray that we all continue to find strength in the weeks and months ahead.

The people of Ethiopia feel this very deeply, too. As a state-owned airline and the flagship carrier for our nation, we carry the torch for the Ethiopian brand around the world. In a nation that sometimes is saddled with negative stereotypes, accidents like this affect our sense of pride.

Yet this tragedy won’t define us. We pledge to work with Boeing and our colleagues in all the airlines to make air travel even safer.

As the largest aviation group on the continent of Africa, we represent The New Spirit of Africa and will continue to move forward. We are rated as a 4-star global airline with a high safety record and member of Star Alliance. That will not change.

Full Cooperation

The investigation of the accident is well underway, and we will learn the truth. At this time, I do not want to speculate as to the cause. Many questions on the B-737 MAX airplane remain without answers, and I pledge full and transparent cooperation to discover what went wrong.

As it is well known in our global aviation industry, the differences training between the B-737 NG and the B-737 MAX recommended by Boeing and approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration called for computer-based training, but we went beyond that. After the Lion Air accident in October, our pilots who fly the Boeing 737 Max 8 were fully trained on the service bulletin issued by Boeing and the Emergency Airworthiness Directive issued by the USA FAA. Among the seven Full Flight Simulators that we own and operate, two of them are for B-737 NG and the B-737 MAX. We are the only airline in Africa among the very few in the world with the B-737 MAX full flight Simulator. Contrary to some media reports, our pilots who fly the new model were trained on all appropriate simulators.

The crews were well trained on this aircraft.

Immediately after the crash and owing to the similarity with the Lion Air Accident, we grounded our fleet of Max 8s. Within days, the plane had been grounded around the world. I fully support this. Until we have answers, putting one more life at risk is too much.

Belief in Boeing, U.S. Aviation

Let me be clear: Ethiopian Airlines believes in Boeing. They have been a partner of ours for many years. More than two-thirds of our fleet is Boeing. We were the first African airline to fly the 767, 757, 777-200LR, and we were the second nation in the world (after Japan) to take delivery of the 787 Dreamliner. Less than a month ago, we took delivery of yet another new two 737 cargo planes (a different version from the one that crashed). The plane that crashed was less than five months old.

Despite the tragedy, Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines will continue to be linked well into the future.

We also are proud of our association with U.S. aviation. The general public does not know that Ethiopian Airlines was founded in 1945 with help from Trans World Airlines (TWA). In the early years, our pilots, flight crews, mechanics and managers were actually employees of TWA.

In the 1960s, after the handoff, TWA continued in an advisory capacity, and we’ve continued to use American jets, American jet engines and American technology. Our mechanics are Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified.

Our first direct passenger service to the U.S. began in June 1998, and today we fly direct to Africa from Washington, Newark, Chicago and Los Angeles. This summer, we will begin flying from Houston. Our cargo flights connect in Miami, Los Angeles and New York.

U.S. travel to Africa has increased more than 10 percent in the last year, second only to travel to Europe in term of the percentage increase — traveling to Africa has increased more than traveling to Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, South America, Central America or the Caribbean. The future is bright, and Ethiopian Airlines will be here to meet the demand.

In less than a decade, Ethiopian Airlines has tripled the size of its fleet – we now have 113 Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier aircraft flying to 119 international destinations in five continents. We have one of the youngest fleet in the industry; our average fleet age is five years while industry average is 12 years. Moreover, we have tripled the passenger volume, now flying more than 11 million passengers annually.

Each year, our Aviation Academy trains more than 2,000 pilots, flight attendants, maintenance workers and other employees for Ethiopian Airlines and several other African airlines. We are the company others turn to for aviation expertise. In the last 5 years, we have invested more than half a Billion dollars in training and other infrastructure in our Addis Ababa base.

We will work with investigators in Ethiopia, in the U.S. and elsewhere to figure out what went wrong with flight 302.

We resolve to work with Boeing and others to use this tragedy to make the skies safer for the world.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Indonesian national airline Garuda cancels order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets

by

Indonesia’s flag carrier Garuda has announced the cancellation of its multi-billion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 passenger jets after two fatal crashes involving the aircraft in less than five months.

In 2014, Garuda Indonesia signed a $4.9 billion agreement for the delivery of 50 of the Boeing planes, one of which was handed to the company.

The air carrier has now reportedly sent a letter to Boeing to cancel the order for the remaining 737 MAX jets with the representatives of the world’s biggest aerospace group expected to visit Jakarta in late March for “further discussion” of the issue.

The move comes amid the latest crash of Boeing’s best-selling passenger jet in Ethiopia. The tragedy, which killed all 157 people on board, followed a similar deadly accident in Indonesia that took the lives of 189 people in October.

“Our passengers have lost confidence to fly with the MAX 8,” Ikhsan Rosan, spokesperson for Garuda said.

Earlier this month, global air carriers and aviation authorities had to ground the troubled jet over safety concerns until the results of a probe into the crashes are known.

The investigation, currently in its early stages, was launched after the first crash of a 737 MAX aircraft operated by Indonesia’s Lion Air.

Boeing’s best-selling 737 Max 8 has been extremely popular among the company’s customers since it hit the market in 2017. Global airlines and leasing corporations have placed some 5,000 orders for the jet.

Travel News | eTurboNews