05 AUG 2008 _______________________________________ *CASA To Look Into Safety Practices At Qantas *Qantas quick to defend safety record after fourth incident in two weeks *Row of seats on United Airlines flight collapses *UND to train as many as 400 UAS instructor pilots a year *Judge: FAA must pay crash victim's family $4.5M *China Carriers Improve Country's Air Safety Record *Italian Air Safety Board (ANSV) on Croatian accident *Emergency landing at JFK after LaGuardia takeoff *Petters Aviation Acquires Charter First *Qantas lays down the law to LAX *Boeing Next-Generation 737 Carbon Brakes Earn FAA Certification *************************************** CASA To Look Into Safety Practices At Qantas Calls Move A Preventative Measure Following a highly-visible incident onboard a Qantas Airways Boeing 747 last month, and two less serious incidents over the past 10 days, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority says it will investigate safety standards at the Australian flag carrier. As ANN reported, a blast -- thought to have come from the explosion of an onboard oxygen canister -- blew a hole in the fuselage of a 747 flying from Hong Kong to Melbourne on July 25. No one was injured in that incident, which forced an emergency landing in Manila... but it did cast the media spotlight on the airline, and brought immediate press attention as two other Qantas flights suffered relatively benign mechanical failures that forced diversions. A domestic flight from Melbourne to Adelaide was forced to turn back July 28 after a mainwheel gear door would not retract; five days later, a hydraulic leak forced a flight to Manila to return to Sydney shortly after takeoff. Public outcry over those incidents spurred CASA to announce the investigation, which officials say is purely a preventative measure. "We have no evidence to suggest there are problems within Qantas, but we think it's prudent and wise to go in with a new special team and take an additional look at a range of operational issues within Qantas," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told The Australian Associated Press. The team will focus their efforts on maintenance and safety practices at the airline, he added. Qantas has an eviable safety record, with no passenger fatalities since it began flying jet aircraft almost 50 years ago. The airline said Sunday it doesn't expect its reputation to be tarnished by the review. "We have no issue with this latest review and CASA says it has no evidence to suggest that safety standards at Qantas have fallen," said Qantas engineering manager David Cox. FMI: www.qantas.com, www.casa.gov.au aero-news.net *************** Qantas quick to defend safety record after fourth incident in two weeks CANBERRA - Qantas yesterday promised full co-operation with a review of its operations by Australia's air safety watchdog as another flight was delayed for last-minute repairs. The latest incident, involving a fault in the hydraulic system that kept a Tokyo-bound Boeing 767-300 for three hours at Sydney Airport, is the fourth in less than two weeks. Fairfax newspapers also yesterday printed a list of 11 problems affecting Qantas flights since the beginning of the year. These included the explosion that tore a hole in the fuselage of a jumbo on July 25, the loss of main electrical power on another flight out of London in January, an emergency landing in Hawaii caused by an oxygen leak the same month, and another in March when an external window in business class "popped". But the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has said there was no evidence of declining safety standards, and the airline believes that it has become the subject of intense media attention because of the explosion that forced its Boeing to land at the Philippines capital of Manila. "Qantas' safety standards are so high and so well-recognised, that when we do have an accident like the other day in Manila, it's big news," David Cox, the executive general manager of Qantas Engineering, told ABC radio. Casa has appointed a six-member team to review the airline's maintenance, safety systems and recent incidents in an investigation that is expected to be completed within two weeks. The most serious recent incident was the explosion on QF30 en route from Hong Kong to Melbourne with 365 people aboard, now believed to have been caused by a defective oxygen cylinder. On Saturday a Boeing 767-300 flying out of Sydney to Manila circled for an hour over the ocean to dump fuel because of a hydraulic leak noticed when the aircraft took off. The flight returned to Sydney without incident, and Casa said that with two other hydraulic systems to back up the leaking unit, safety had not been at risk. Cox said the turnback was routine, the crew had acted appropriately, there had been no safety issue at any time, and the aircraft was back in service eight hours later. Issues that required an aircraft to turn back were extremely rare in a group that operated more than 330,000 sectors a year. Cox said that Qantas' operations were first class and were subject to the scrutiny of Australian and overseas regulators, as well as the airline's own internal audits. "We have no issue with this latest review, and Casa says it has no evidence to suggest that safety standards at Qantas have fallen," he said. Cox said Casa regularly audited a range of Qantas operations, with 13 completed at Qantas Engineering last year, as well as the renewed confirmation of the airlines air operator's certificate. Qantas conducted up to 150 internal audits a year, and was subjected to extensive audits by about 75 external regulators, manufacturers and customer airlines. These included reviews by Casa's equivalents in New Zealand, the United States, the European Union and Japan. "On any given day Qantas Engineering is working with multiple audit teams, both internal and external, who are forensically scrutinising every part of our operations," he said. "We always have been, and always will be, fully open to this intense and constant scrutiny in the knowledge that our standards are confirmed every time these auditors renew our approvals." http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=113&objectid=10525309 ************** Row of seats on United Airlines flight collapses forcing emergency landing at Sea-Tac A United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Sunday evening was forced to make an emergency landing after a row of seats gave way during takeoff and slid into the row behind it, injuring one passenger. A United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Sunday evening was forced to make an emergency landing after a row of seats gave way during takeoff and slid into the row behind it, injuring one passenger. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident, which authorities called unusual. United flight 1139 took off as scheduled at 5:20 p.m., said Robin Urbanski, spokeswoman for the airlines. But minutes later, a bolt holding down three occupied seats in Row 3 loosened and the seats slid backward into the three passengers in Row 4. The pilot turned the plane around and returned to the airport. A 61-year-old woman sitting in Row 4 suffered a knee injury and was transported to Highline Medical Center in Burien, said Perry Cooper, airport spokesman. No other injuries were reported. An airline maintenance crew discovered the loose bolt and fixed it, said Allen Kinetzer, spokesman for the FAA. "I've never heard of this [happening]," Kinetzer said. But given the G-forces at work during takeoff, he said, just one loose bolt is enough to unanchor a row of seats. The plane was returned to service and headed out for San Francisco at 8:56 p.m. United is "in the process of compensating the passengers" on the flight, Urbanski said. The woman who was injured was re-booked on a first-class seat to San Francisco and left this morning, she said. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008090782_webunited04m.html *************** UND to train as many as 400 UAS instructor pilots a year UND will train as many as 400 unmanned aerial systems instructor pilots a year for the U.S. Air Force over the next five years. Under the $50 million contract with the Air Force, UND's UAS Center of Excellence also will provide software and training management programs for the Air Force's unmanned aerial systems. UND is partnering with the private sector, as well as with the Air Force and the North Dakota Air National Guard. At a news conference Monday, project partners discussed details of the contract. Private sector partners in the contract are Crew Training International, Science Applications International Corp. and BGI-LLC. While the majority of the instructor pilot students will be in Nevada, the distance-learning program will be based in Grand Forks, according to Al Palmer, director of flight operations at UND's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. The Air Force requires that instructor pilots need 100 to 200 hours of actual UAS flight time. "Our greatest challenge is a shortage of instructors," Palmer said. "We'll try to figure out how to do that." Because the project is still developing, Palmer said it is not yet known how much of the $50 million will be spent in Grand Forks. Ultimately, Grand Forks Air Force Base could become the nation's third certified training facility for Air Force UAS operations. Air Force UAS training is conducted at Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas. The Air Force's second designated UAS training site is Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. "In addition to training Air Force instructor pilots, we believe that the UAS Center of Excellence at UND's Odegard School will be the only university-based UAS training program in the country," Gov. John Hoeven said. "We also believe the UAS Center at UND can help Grand Forks Air Force Base build their UAS mission." Unmanned Aircraft Systems, as they are now called, represent one of the most effective intelligence gathering and counter-terrorism weapons. The North Dakota Air National Guard in Fargo has been flying the Predator from Fargo in missions in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a year. Grand Forks Air Force Base is building a new mission to host Predator and Global Hawk UAS operations. Predators will begin arriving in 2009. CTI is the prime contractor for the new $50 million project. The company is responsible to the government for providing the contracted service, which is conducting ground school training, simulator training and live flight training to Air Force pilots and sensor operators transitioning to the Predator. The company will subcontract with UND for the job of maintaining and updating all course software and training procedures. Palmer said UND has ordered a new UAS simulator to help with its onsite training and course development. The UAS Center of Excellence at UND is vital to the project, according to Al Mullen, CTI president. The UAS Center of Excellence will provide several key components: n The Center of Excellence will provide Predator instructor training for the Air Force in response to mounting need by the Pentagon. The Pentagon has tasked the Air Force to provide 50 orbits over Iraq and Afghanistan on a 24/7 basis. n The Center will develop and furnish the software to manage the flight training program. During the first phase of the contract, the UAS Center of Excellence will provide distance learning software that will allow Predator transition students to accomplish many of their lessons via computer-based training. n Beginning in September 2009, UND will launch the first undergraduate program in unmanned aerial systems to Air Force standards. The program will produce prime candidates for postgraduate Predator training. n Although not cleared at the time the contract was written, Grand Forks Air Force Base now is approved for launch and recovery training under a Federal Aviation Administration agreement with the Department of Defense. "North Dakota is well positioned to play a leadership role in Unmanned Aircraft Systems," Palmer said. "In short, the UAS world is exploding," said CTI's Mullen. "New missions are being discovered continually as older weapons systems approach the end of their service life. UND Aerospace involvement with Predator and the UAS Center of Excellence here in North Dakota represents brilliant anticipation and positioning for many opportunities to come." "This is good news for the University of North Dakota and our Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence," said UND President Dr. Robert Kelly. "The award acknowledges one of the things we do best - train pilots. It also acknowledges the innovative and entrepreneurial approach we have taken to being a world-class program in Unmanned Aircraft Systems." http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=83512§ion=news *************** Judge: FAA must pay crash victim's family $4.5M LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Federal Aviation Administration has been ordered to pay $4.5 million to the family of a flight instructor killed in a helicopter collision in 2003. The money was awarded to Robert Bailey's widow and three children after they won a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the FAA and the federal government. U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled against the FAA in May, blaming an air traffic controller for the collision of two helicopters that collided at the Torrance Municipal Airport. Cooper said the controller gave confusing instructions to a student pilot that caused his helicopter to crash into the one piloted by Bailey. Both pilots were killed and a third was severely injured. Cooper awarded Bailey's family the $4.5 million on Friday. She noted in her ruling that the 55-year-old Bailey was "a highly exceptional man upon whom each of the plaintiffs was strongly emotionally dependent." She also awarded $268,206 in lost earnings and household services to his widow Melanie Bailey and his 16-year-old daughter Serra Bailey. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said he was unable to comment on the award because he was not able to reach the agency's attorneys in Washington, D.C. on Monday afternoon. In an accident report released in May 2007, National Transportation Safety Board investigators concluded that the student pilot's "failure to comply with (air traffic control) clearance" caused the crash. http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10097728 ************** China Carriers Improve Country's Air Safety Record While Accommodating Increasing Consumer DemandA Decade of Sharp Improvement Puts China on Par with North America HONG KONG, Aug 05, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- New research shows China's air safety record has improved dramatically in the last decade, alongside rapid industry growth and increased competition. Findings published by Ascend, the world's leading provider of information and consultancy to the global aerospace industry, show that air safety in China, as measured by the number of flights* per fatal accident, is now some 800 percent better than in the late 1990s. In the 10 years to 1998, China completed an average of approximately 390,000 flights per fatal accident. Today, the country's airlines complete some 3.25m flights per fatal accident, which is close to the North American average of 3.8m flights per fatal accident. The passenger fatality rate has also improved significantly and, during the ten years to date, stands at an average of one passenger fatality per 5m passengers carried. This is, however, still some way behind the North American average for this period which is currently one passenger fatality per 18m carried. Furthermore, in the 10 years to date, Chinese airlines have completed an average of more than 2.5m flights per total loss** - twice as good as North American airlines, which recorded fewer than 1.5m flights per total loss during the same period. "This data should dispel any lingering concerns people may have about the safety of Chinese airlines," says Paul Hayes, Director, Ascend. "China's air safety record has improved significantly since the 1990s due in part to the importance the country has placed on achieving a high level of safety and the huge investment in new equipment and infrastructure, to the point where the country's figures are now very comparable to North America." This significant improvement in safety has been achieved during the same time that Chinese airlines experienced a period of huge growth. In 2008 Chinese airlines are expected to make some 2.2m flights and carry 210 passengers, 3.5 times more than 10 years ago. "While growing customer demand has dramatically increased the number of flights and passengers carried within and outside of China, the number of recorded fatalities has steadily decreased. This highlights China's commitment to improving aircraft safety standards while accommodating rapid market expansion and rising competition," Hayes explains. Notes to editors * Statistics were based on flights by aircraft with 15 or more passenger seats or cargo equivalent. **A 'Total Loss' is where the aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economical repair. For further information, including charts on the data, and to speak to Ascend, please contact Nancy Prendergast nancy@tannissanmae.com or Vanessa Tout vanessa@tannissanmae.com at Tannissan Mae Communications on +44 (0) 20 7243 4440. About Ascend Ascend is the world's leading provider of specialist information and consultancy services to the global air transport industry. For over four decades it has supplied the most reliable, trusted and up-to-date aviation industry information and insight available anywhere. Today, all of Ascend's market-leading products and services are built to deliver decision-support information, insight and consultancy across a wide spectrum. Offerings include: -- Aviation Fleet Information -- Valuations and Appraisals -- Technical and Commercial Solutions -- Market Analysis -- Airport Economics -- Space Analytics From aircraft manufacturers to operators, financiers, lessors and suppliers, the aviation industry relies on Ascend to help make informed decisions and capture new opportunities. Ascend is headquartered in London with offices in New York and Hong Kong. SOURCE: Ascend ************* Italian Air Safety Board (ANSV) on Croatian accident occurred last Friday Rome, Italy - An Agency's expert in his capacity as observer during the technical inquiry (WAPA) - "Italian Air Safety Board (ANSV) appointed its own investigator, in his capacity as observer, for the technical inquiry carried out by Croatian authorities after the accident occurred on August 1st, at 12:30 p.m., to Piper PA-44-180 airplane, code D-GZXB, crashed on the sea after leaving Zara with 2 people on board, one of them Italian. The wreck was located in the Adriatic Sea, 6 Km offshore Dugi Otok isle, 40 Km West of Zara. Italian Air Safety Board's investigator is working under the international law on civil aviation technical inquiries". http://www.avionews.com/index.php?corpo=see_news_home.php&news_id=1093049&pa gina_chiamante=index.php ************** Emergency landing at JFK after LaGuardia takeoff An American Airlines MD-80 bound for Atlanta was forced to make an emergency landing yesterday when one of its two rear-mounted engines failed shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport, airline officials said. The plane landed a short time later at Kennedy Airport. No one was injured and the cause of the engine failure was not known yesterday, said Tim Wagner, an American Airlines spokesman. Passengers from the 140-seat aircraft were put on another American flight or on flights from other carriers to get to Atlanta, he said. American Airlines flight 2393 took off from Runway 4 at 4:39 p.m. and airport personnel immediately knew there was a problem, officials said. Debris, believed to be from one of the aircraft's two rearmounted engines, fell to the runway below. Bill McLoughlin, National Air Traffic Controllers president, was working at the time in the LaGuardia tower with six or seven other controllers. "We heard a large bang on departure," he said. Moments later, the pilot radioed the tower that he had lost his right engine and was declaring an emergency. McLoughlin said there are degrees of emergency. "On a level of one to three, this was a level two," McLoughlin said. "Number three would be an aircraft that actually crashed." The pilot had difficulty gaining altitude and control of the aircraft, McLoughlin said, and controllers cleared aircraft from airspace around that plane, notified Port Authority security, New York City police and fire department about the emergency, and notified JFK officials to do the same, in case the pilot decided to try to land there. "It was scary," said McLoughlin, a controller for 22 years. "We're sitting watching this guy struggling to altitude ... going over the Bronx, then his path back over Queens, over the Sound, skirting Nassau County southwest of Lake Success." The pilot chose to make his emergency landing at JFK, where the runways are longer, McLoughlin said, and the airspace and runway he wanted were cleared for him. McLoughlin said he received word at 5:10 p.m. that the aircraft had landed safely on JFK Runway 31R. The debris on LaGuardia's Runway 4 was cleared, and that runway was reopened at 5:16 p.m., McLoughlin said. "Losing an engine is a pretty significant emergency," McLoughlin said. But the coordination between the controllers at the two airports, the pilot, and emergency units worked. "They demonstrated outstanding teamwork, calmly and collectively." MD-80s like the one that landed yesterday at JFK have had their share of problems this year. Over March 26 and March 27, and then again between April 8 and April 12, an FAA safety audit against American Airlines forced the airline to ground its MD-80 series fleet, to inspect the aircraft's hydraulic wiring. American was forced to cancel nearly 2,500 flights in March and more than 3,200 in April. In addition, Delta Air Lines inspected their own MD-80 fleet this year to ensure their 117 MD-80s were also operating within regulation. This prompted Delta to cancel 275 flights. Staff writer Micheline Maroni contributed to this story. About the plane The MD-80 series is a midsize, medium-range airliner introduced in 1980. The airplane series was designed for frequent, short-haul flights for 130 to 172 passengers depending on plane version and seating arrangement. Recent problems associated with the MD-80: Sept. 28, 2007, American Airlines MD-80 Flight 1400 landed safely after the left engine caught fire. Nov. 30, 2007, MD-83 Atlasjet Flight 4203 crashed in the southwestern province of Isparta, Turkey, killing all 57 people aboard. The cause of the crash is unknown. On March 26 and 27 and then again between April 8 and April 12, 2008, an FAA safety audit against American Airlines forced the airline to ground its entire 300 MD-80 series fleet to inspect the aircraft's hydraulic wiring. American was forced to cancel nearly 2,500 flights in March and more than 3,200 in April. In addition, Delta Air Lines this year inspected its MD-80 fleet to ensure its 117 MD-80s were operating within regulation. Delta canceled 275 flights. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/transportation/ny-liair055789646aug05,0,21 76634.story ************** Petters Aviation Acquires Charter First Acquisition Expands Petters Aviation's Presence at MSP, Adds Convenience for Charter First Customers MINNEAPOLIS, Aug 04, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Petters Aviation today announced that it has acquired Southwest Aviation, Inc. (d/b/a Charter First and operated by Midwest Aviation), a private air charter carrier based in Marshall, Minn. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Charter First was formed in 1962 and is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Certified Air Carrier operating a diverse fleet of jet and turboprop aircraft. The company provides business and leisure travel services to all parts of the continental United States, as well as Alaska, Mexico and all parts of the Caribbean. Charter First also offers aircraft management services and consulting on aircraft acquisition, ownership and operations for private parties. Petters Aviation plans to retain all Charter First employees and Charter First will continue to maintain offices in Marshall, Minn. Peter Johnson, Charter First's President and majority shareholder, will continue with Petters Aviation in the capacity of Executive Vice President and will oversee and manage the day-to-day operations of this new air charter and jet management division. Jay Salmen, President and CEO of Petters Aviation, said the acquisition of Charter First complements the company's existing interests in the aviation sector, creates new revenue streams in both charter service and aircraft management and will enable Petters Aviation to better use certain ground-side assets and personnel at its headquarters located on the airfield of the Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport. "We're thrilled to be adding Charter First to the Petters Aviation family," said Salmen. "Charter First has built a strong business by providing outstanding service to charter customers for more than four decades. Demand for the convenience, flexibility and productivity advantages of charter service continues to grow and this acquisition enables us to participate in that growth through both charter operations and aircraft management." Pete Johnson said that the sale of Charter First to Petters Aviation will further enhance convenience for charter flyers and enlarges the growth opportunities for the business. "The ability to base our aircraft at the Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport and use Petters Aviation personnel and facilities to grow charter operations will make charter service originating or ending at MSP even more convenient for our customers," said Johnson. "In addition, we expect affiliation with Petters Aviation and Petters Group Worldwide will benefit our longer term fleet modernization plans, as well as expand our aircraft management opportunities." About Petters Aviation Petters Aviation is a division of Petters Group Worldwide and is an emerging provider of value-added services to the executive and corporate aviation market. Most recently, the company has entered into a marketing agreement with Airbus and is working in cooperation with Airbus to further the marketing and sale of Airbus corporate jets in North America. SOURCE Petters Aviation ************* Qantas lays down the law to LAX Qantas has threatened Los Angeles Airport that it will move its flagship Airbus A380 services to San Francisco unless Los Angeles upgrades its facilities. The calls come just weeks before the inaugural Airbus flight is due to fly from Melbourne to Los Angeles on October 20. But a Los Angeles Airport spokeswoman described Qantas's demands as odd, given that the airline's executives visited just a week ago and praised the progress made as part of $723 million spent in renovations. Qantas senior executive vice-president for the Americas and Pacific, Wally Mariani, told British transport and security publication Jane's that it would not put up with passengers having to exit its planes at remote gates not attached to airport terminals. "If in the future LAX [Los Angeles Airport] is unable to keep up with the need for additional ... gates, we would be forced to relocate our A380 services to San Francisco," he said. "Should that ever be required, it would be a major economic loss to Los Angeles and we would regret it. We've made a large investment in our A380s for the benefit and enjoyment of our passengers and we do not intend to lose it on the ground." Qantas is the largest international carrier at the airport, operating about 40 services there every week. From October 20, Qantas will operate two regular Airbus A380 return services each week to LA - one from Melbourne and one from Sydney. When the second A380 is put into service in November, the airline will complete three return trips from Sydney and two return trips from Melbourne each week. Airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles said it had already purchased eight gates to accommodate the A380 - which are much larger than for a normal aircraft - two of which will be attached to terminals. "We built it in time [for the inaugural A380 flight]. I don't understand why they're saying that," she said. "I can see why he'd be concerned if we were to say you have to park out there on the remote side of the terminal, but that's not the case as it stands. "Unless Qantas have plans to expand that we're not aware of, there's no reason for that." She said the airport would have an additional eight gates attached to terminals by 2012. Modelling conducted by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation found that an average daily, transoceanic flight of wide-body aircraft to Los Angeles generates $US623 million in annual economic output, and sustained 3120 direct and indirect jobs in Southern California. Qantas's near monopoly on the Sydney-Los Angeles route will be challenged when competitor, V Australia, launches services on December 15. http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/qantas--warns-lax/2008/08/05/1217702013246 .html ************** Boeing Next-Generation 737 Carbon Brakes Earn FAA Certification Delta Air Lines receives first set of brakes, first 737-700 SEATTLE, Aug 04, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Boeing announced that it earned certification last week from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for its new carbon brakes designed for the Next-Generation 737. The brakes, supplied by Messier-Bugatti, also entered service last week when Boeing delivered a Next-Generation 737-700 to Delta Air Lines -- the first of 10 737-700s the airline will receive over the next several years. Carbon brakes weigh 700 pounds (320 kg) less than high-capacity steel brakes for Next-Generation 737-700, -800 and -900ER (Extended Range) airplanes; and 550 pounds (250 kg) less than standard-capacity steel brakes for Next-Generation 737-600s and -700s. Reduced weight contributes to reductions in associated fuel burn and CO2 emissions depending on airline operations. Delta Air Lines is coupling lighter-weight carbon brakes with drag- and emissions-reducing Blended Winglets (wing tip extensions) to improve operating and fuel efficiency simultaneously on its Next-Generation 737s. Delta's stated goal is to have greater flexibility to serve more markets with existing aircraft, further enhancing the largest international expansion in Delta's history. Carbon brakes are the most recent enhancement that Boeing is offering on its Next-Generation 737. Since its entry into service, Boeing has introduced product enhancements that improve performance, navigation precision and passenger comfort on the Next-Generation 737. SOURCE Boeing http://www.boeing **************