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Ryanair, a major Boeing customer, will see 737 production reach 48 units per month in April.
Ryanair, a major Boeing customer, said that it is confident that the U.S. aircraft manufacturer will be granted permission to increase the monthly production rate for its flagship 737 to 42 by October and to 48 by March orApril next year. Boeing, Boeing's biggest European customer, has repeatedly had to cut its growth forecasts because of delays. Boeing is currently working to stabilize production following a mid-air blowout panel on a new 737 MAX that occurred in January 2024. This exposed widespread quality and safety issues. Michael O'Leary is the Chief Executive Officer of Ryanair Group. His team regularly meets with Boeing management. He said he felt "fairly confident," that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration will approve an increase in production monthly from 38 to 42 aircraft in October. RYANAIR - 'Pretty Confident' about progress at Boeing Will the FAA allow them to move to rating 48 next March or April? That would be a big jump. He said in an interview that he was "pretty confident" this would happen. After the panel explosion, the FAA capped 737 MAX output at 38 per months in early 2024. On September 26, it said that Boeing has not requested a rate hike, but if they did, FAA safety inspectors on site would do extensive reviews. Boeing stated earlier in the month that there were no supply chain issues that would prevent it from increasing monthly 737MAX production to 42 by the end of the year. Boeing's other major concern is when the MAX 7 and MAX 10 will be approved by regulators. Ryanair has placed 150 MAX 10 firm orders. Will they be able to get the MAX 7 or MAX 10 certified by 2026? Boeing tells us that they are now confident in the certification process. O'Leary, while praising recent achievements at Boeing and expressing his gratitude for them, said that there are no guarantees. He said, "We're confident but there is still a chance that it will be disrupted." Corina Pons is the reporter. Conor Humphries wrote the article. David Latona, Mark Potter and Mark Potter (Editing)
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As the shutdown continues, airlines prepare for a third day of flight delays
The major U.S. carriers are bracing themselves for a third consecutive day of delays as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration continues to face staffing problems for air traffic control as the stalemate regarding funding for the government continues. Nearly 10,000 flights were delayed on Monday and Tuesday. Many of these delays were caused by the FAA slowing down flights due to air traffic controllers absences in facilities all over the country, as the shutdown entered its eighth day. The air traffic control shortages during the shutdown are more severe than during the last major government funding halt in 2019, which occurred during U.S. President Donald Trump's second term. Maryland Governor Wes Moore, along with congressional Democrats, called on Wednesday for an end to the airport shutdown at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. They noted that air traffic control officers and Transportation Security Administration agents are working without being paid. Moore, a Democrat from Maryland, stated that President Trump was unable to "close a deal" in order to keep the federal government open. Kwiesi mfume (Democrat) called for supplemental laws that would pay air traffic control during a shut down. He said that people are starting to be concerned about flying, and as a country we shouldn't get to this point. During a 35-day government shutdown in 2019, the number of controllers and TSA agents absent increased as they missed paychecks. This led to longer waits at checkpoints. The authorities were forced to reduce air traffic in New York. This put pressure on legislators to end the standoff quickly. They are not paid. During the shutdown of the federal government, 13,000 air traffic control officers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers still have to report for work. The controllers will receive a partial pay on October 14, for work done before the shutdown. Moore stated, "Our BWI employees are still here." Moore said, "They do it because they are patriots." They do it because they understand the importance of their work. Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary, said that since the FAA shutdown began last week there has been a slight rise in sick leave. Staffing in certain areas of air traffic has also decreased by half. Air traffic control shortages have been a problem in the U.S. for over ten years. Many controllers were working six-day work weeks and mandatory overtime even before this shutdown. About 3,500 air traffic control positions are not enough to meet the FAA's target staffing levels.
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Container traffic at Rotterdam's port is disrupted by a strike by lashers for higher wages
On Wednesday afternoon, the largest seaport in Europe, Rotterdam, went on strike for 48 hours to demand higher salaries. Meanwhile in the neighbouring Belgian port's main port Flemish harbourpilots were protesting pension reforms. The FNV union said that all workers of International Lashing Services (ILS) and Matrans Marine Services (Matrans Marine Services), the two lashing firms active in the Dutch ports, stopped working at 3:15 pm (1310 GMT), and will continue their strike to the same time Friday. The FNV stated that during the two-day strike, no container ships can be unloaded or loaded at the port while lashers are securing the ship's cargo. Niek Stam, FNV's spokesman, said: "Without lashers, the entire port grinds to an halt." The Rotterdam Port Authority said that the strike would certainly affect traffic but it is too early to estimate its impact. International Lashing Services and Matrans Marine Service were not available for immediate comment. Port authorities in Belgium have reported that the maritime traffic at Antwerp-Bruges was severely disrupted for four days by Flemish harbourpilots who were protesting federal pension reforms. The port of Antwerp, which normally processes 60-80 ships per day, only processed 31 vessels on February 2, with some delayed or stranded, and others headed to other destinations.
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Ryanair CEO: airline is on track to recover from last year's 7 percent fare decrease
Michael O'Leary, the Chief Executive of Irish budget airline Ryanair, told reporters in Madrid that it believes it will recover its 7% decline in fares from 2024 during this financial year. "The traffic has exceeded the target...Fares are expected to rise by 7% over the course of the year," O'Leary stated, adding that this summer's prices were "pretty close" to those of the summer of 2023. The CEO stated that the full-year results will depend on the pricing of the company's third-quarter, which includes Christmas, and the fourth-quarter, for which the company currently has "very little visibility". He said that the economic weakness in Britain, France and Germany was causing price sensitivities. This led consumers to switch to Ryanair over flag carriers such as British Airways or Air France. O'Leary stated that "there is less demand to travel across the Atlantic to America at the moment - (U.S. president Donald) Trump alienated people. More people are choosing to holiday in the Mediterranean or Europe and this has been good for Ryanair's businesses." (Reporting and writing by Corina Poons; editing by Kirsten Doovan)
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Nigeria commissions its first fully owned floating vessel in order to boost oil production and exports
One of the companies that developed it has announced that Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, has commissioned its very first Floating Storage Offloading vessel (FSOD) near its Bonny Export Terminal. The FSO with a capacity of 2.2 million barrels aims to increase crude oil production and transportation from Oil Mining Lease 18 in the Eastern Niger Delta. The FSO is expected to reduce the reliance on pipelines, and minimize risks associated with theft of oil and vandalism. The FSO Cawthorne is a joint venture between Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, which owns a 55% stake in OML 18, Sahara Group and Eroton Exploration and Production. Sahara Energy announced in a press release that they are stationed off Bonny, the Nigerian export port for high-grade Bonny Light crude. Tosin Etomi is the head of commercial and planing at Asharami Energy. This company is part of the Sahara Group. He said that this vessel will help reduce carbon emissions from barge movement and improve evacuation safety. The double-hull vessel is a converted Very Large Crude Carrier. It was designed to receive crude oil, store it, and then offload it to export tankers. This will address long-standing logistics constraints, such as limited capacity of barges, siltation in berthing slots, and delays during ship-to-ship transfer. The OML 18 production target for 2025 of 50,000 barrels a day is expected to be met. (Writing and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise; Chijioke Ahuocha)
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IATA chief: US shutdown is not causing significant flight disruptions
Willie Walsh said that the U.S. shutdown of government has not significantly affected domestic commercial flights, nor has it prevented the recruitment of air traffic controllers. "There have been no significant impacts so far." Walsh, speaking at the World Aviation Festival held in Lisbon, said: "I would say that there hasn't been any major damage." The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), on Monday, said that staffing problems were causing delays in several airports including Newark and Denver. The FAA had to slow down air traffic in New York during a 35-day shut down in 2019. This put pressure on legislators to end the standoff quickly. Air traffic controllers, including 13,000 of them, will miss their first pay on October 14, but they must still report to work during the shutdown. Walsh noted that the shutdown hasn't affected the recruitment of air traffic controllers. "That is a major change compared to the past and a positive development." "I hope this issue will be resolved quickly," said he. He said that IATA continues seeing a strong demand for passengers and cargo on a global level. The forecast is that passenger traffic will slow down to 5.8% per year in 2025 from 10.6% in the previous year. Year-to date, it was 5%.
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EU: Spain's airline fines for cabin baggage fees are illegal
The European Commission said on Wednesday that the fines levied by Spain against Ryanair, an Irish budget airline and other airlines charging additional fees for cabin bags violated existing regulations. Last year, the Spanish Consumer Rights Ministry fined Ryanair and easyJet, Norwegian Airlines, IAG’s low-cost unit Vueling, and Volotea, a total of 179.16 million euros for practices like charging for cabin baggage. These fines challenge the business model of budget airlines, which relies on low ticket prices and charges for extras such as larger hand luggage. The commission said that the fines violated the EU law governing air services which gives airlines the "freedom" to set their own prices. The letter said, "The Commission will send a formal notice to Spain. Spain has two months now to respond to the deficiencies and correct them." The European Commission has opened an infringement procedure that could lead to a case being brought before the EU Court of Justice. Pablo Bustinduy (Spanish Consumer Rights Minister) accused the Commission siding with airlines and against consumers. He told reporters that it was regrettable that "the European Commission decided to openly position themselves as the defense attorney for these handful of large multi-nationals who are profiting on the backs of consumers rights." "We will take our case to the EU Tribunal and defend it with all rigor." In June, a Spanish court ordered that the fines be temporarily suspended while the case was investigated. The court's injunction allowed the airlines to continue their pricing policy, until a final ruling was made.
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US sanctions against Serbia's NIS Oil Company, owned by Russians, are postponed for one week
According to sources, the U.S. delayed sanctions against Serbia's NIS oil company owned by Russia, which operates Serbia's sole oil refinery for a week, until October 15. The Nova Ekonomija portal in Belgrade reported this on Wednesday. JANAF reported on Wednesday that the U.S. had extended the license of Croatian oil pipeline operator JANAF for another week to allow it to continue transporting crude oil to Serbia in order to meet the contract volumes. NIS has not responded to a comment request. The U.S. sanctioned NIS in early January as part of an overall effort to isolate Russian assets. The measures were delayed until the 9th of October, when they were expected to be stopped. JANAF announced in a press release on Wednesday that, at JANAF’s request, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has extended the measure for an additional week. NIS is among the last remaining Russian energy assets in Europe. Gazprom holds 44.9% of the stake and an investment unit within Gazprom owns around 11.3%. The Serbian Government holds 29.9%. Experts said that while NIS claims to have enough oil and oil products to supply the domestic markets in the short term, sanctions will make it more difficult to ensure deliveries over the longer term. JANAF transports crude oil from the Croatian coastline to Serbia. The license extension will allow JANAF to perform "activities which are customary and essential for oil transportation with the goal of completing the activities under the crude oil transportation contract previously mentioned by October 15. Maran Helios is the next tanker to arrive in Omisalj, Croatia. It will transport approximately 1,000,000 barrels of Kazakh crude to NIS via the JANAF system. According to a source familiar with the situation, it is expected to arrive on 8-9th October overnight. Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic and Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Edward McAllister and Aidan Lewis
EU: Spain's airline fines for cabin baggage fees are illegal
The European Commission said on Wednesday that the fines levied by Spain against Ryanair, an Irish budget airline and other airlines charging additional fees for cabin bags were in violation of regulations.
Last year, the Spanish Consumer Rights Ministry fined Ryanair and easyJet, Norwegian Airlines, IAG’s low-cost subsidiary Vueling as well as Volotea, a total of 179 million Euros ($208 million). This was for practices like charging for cabin baggage.
These fines challenge the business model of budget airlines, which relies on low ticket costs while charging extras such as larger hand luggage that was traditionally included in price.
The Commission, however, said that the fines violated EU law on air service which allows airlines to "set their own prices".
The letter said, "The Commission will send a formal notice to Spain. Spain has two months now to respond to the deficiencies and correct them."
The letter initiates a "violation procedure" that could lead to the EU Court of Justice hearing the case.
Pablo Bustinduy (Spanish Consumer Rights Minister) accused the Commission siding with airlines and against consumers.
He told reporters that it was regrettable that "the European Commission decided to openly position themselves as the defense attorney for these handful of large multi-nationals who are profiting on the backs of consumers rights."
"We will take our case to the EU Tribunal and defend it with all the rigor we can muster."
Michael O'Leary, Chief Executive Officer of Ryanair, told reporters in Madrid that in reality the Commission had sided with consumers who benefited from more price options.
In June, a Spanish court ordered that the fines be temporarily suspended while the case was investigated.
The court's injunction allowed the airlines to continue their pricing policy, until a final ruling was made.
(source: Reuters)