Flight Safety Information March 15, 2012 - No. 053 In This Issue AViCON 2012: Aviation Disaster Conference (25APR - NYC) Retraining for Air Controllers FAA says new 'safety culture' will stress solutions, not blame TSA set to test new screening protocols for elderly Jury to decide $177 million lawsuit in helicopter crash that killed 9 firefighters Countermeasures for Driver Distraction Forum - NTSB ARGUS PROS Global Auditing Book catches fascinating flight of Indian aviation Lufthansa Considers Selling Austrian Airlines Boeing has China deals for 30 more 777s, AViCON 2012: Aviation Disaster Conference Held At The Intrepid Air, Sea & Space Museum Wednesday, April 25, 2012 The Intrepid Air, Sea & Space Museum Pier 86, W 46th St and 12th Ave New York, NY 10036-4103 AViCON 2012 Trailer by RTI Forensics AViCON 2012 Trailer Aviation Disaster Conference Investigating the Causes, Resolving the Claims Venue: The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum New York, NY April 25, 2012 CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION ACCREDITATIONS ARE BEING SOUGHT FROM 22 STATES, PUERTO RICO, AND CANADA The following distinguished faculty members are scheduled to instruct at the event: Frederick (Rick) Alimonti Alimonti Law Offices, P.C. Professor Graham Braithwaite Head, Department of Air Transport, Cranfield University Christa M. Hinckley Partner, Husch Blackwell LLP Nick Hughes Partner, Holman Fenwick Willan LLP David T. Hunter Orion ADR Jason Kelly President, Crisis Advisors Curt Lewis, PE, CSP Curt Lewis & Associates LLC Ricardo M. Martinez-Cid Partner, Podhurst Orseck Rocie Park Director Aviation Claims, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Tim Scorer Consultant, Ince & Co LLP Kathryn Ward Partner, DLA Piper UK LLP Diane Westwood Wilson Partner, Clyde & Co US Fitzpatrick Grand Central Official Hotel for AViCON 2012 Gather with our distinguished faculty and your fellow delegates before and after the conference. A limited number of rooms have been reserved for April 24th and 25th at the special rate of $209 per night plus tax for attendees of the AViCON 2012 conference. After you register to attend AViCON 2012 you will receive a confirmation email which contains the promotion code for the hotel. Reserve your room at the Fitzpatrick Grand Central by calling 212-351-6800 or at fitzpatrickhotels.com using the code. We look forward to seeing you there. The highly successful AViCON® 2010 held in London is set to return to New York. This Aviation Insurance Claim Conference, with its unique format, is gathering reputation and recognition on both sides of the Atlantic since first presented to the London market in 1998. Following are some of the testimonials received from attendees of AViCON 2010: "Excellent having so many professionals together defending their position sitting in the same room and explaining to the audience the consequences of their actions." "I completely enjoyed the whole presentation and found it very educational." "Brilliant!!!" "Very impressive in terms of content and organization." "A very interesting and informative day." This conference will be of interest to anyone involved in Aviation Insurance - underwriters, claims managers, lawyers, risk managers, insurance brokers, airline flight safety directors, airline board members with flight safety responsibility, claims investigators, and aircraft product manufacturers. Previous AViCON events have attracted well respected speakers and delegates from the legal profession and insurance market. Speakers have included aviation professionals, law partners, and associates from: Alimonti Law Offices, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, Blank Rome, Bryan Cave, Clyde & Co., Condon Forsyth, Cozen O'Connor, Cranfield University, Curt Lewis & Associates, Inc., DLA Piper, Ince & Co, Kenyon International Emergency Services, Podhurst Orseck, and Xchanging. AViCON 2012 will follow the same configuration whereby the speakers and delegates move along the timeline of an accident investigation to legal discovery, multi-party litigation, and resolution. Previous AViCON events have worked around the scenario of a new entrant airline buying a new technology airframe that suffers a survivable failure to an engine. This failure subsequently results in multiple fatalities due to a range of issues that include: * Organizational Failures * Crew Competence * Possible Bogus Parts * Defective Warning Systems All are et within an environment that includes many possible choices of forum and law. The 2012 accident scenario will be presented with state-of-the-art animation prepared by RTI's Magic Motion Studios and will highlight a fresh set of complex issues of current concern and debate within the aviation market. This event presents a unique opportunity, in a concise and effective format, for all those concerned with safety in aviation to gain a fuller understanding of the entire range of complexities involved in the resolution of multi-party claims that arise from a fictitious aviation accident. Taking just one day, the 2012 conference is based on a reconstruction of a very conceivable and carefully scripted air disaster that occurs when an airline transport aircraft crashes off the runway in bad weather. Causation is far from clear, and a number of parties may have contributed to the accident. The conference will show how such a disaster may be investigated and managed. It then goes on to illustrate the complex legal issues involved and the strategies that may be employed in settling the claims. After viewing the animation, experts in disaster management and accident investigation will lead the audience through the technical aspects of crisis management and the process and protocols of a formal investigation. The circumstances shown in the video and the results of the investigation lead to potential liability for a number of parties including: the airline, the aircraft manufacturer, and the airport authority. A group of leading lawyers and insurance executives will debate the issues that arise including: forum selection, punitive damages, fee considerations, evaluating claims, discovery, spoliation, mediation and dispute resolution, quantum of damages, and relationship with insurers. Register for AViCON® 2012 Go to: WWW.RTIAViCON.COM and select the 'Registration' link to view the Registration Application Form. Regular fee $795.00 * February 1, 2012 to April 25, 2012 Student $395.00 * Prior to April 25, 2012 * Must present law school, college, or university student identification at the door Government / Military $650.00 * Prior to April 25, 2012 * Must present government employee or active military identification at the door Retraining for Air Controllers By ANDY PASZTOR (WSJ) Federal officials said Wednesday they would require all air-traffic controllers to undergo periodic retraining, as part of a broader shift to identify budding safety threats instead of launching investigations after close calls such as near-collisions. The Federal Aviation Administration's initiative to reduce controller mistakes increasingly will rely on voluntary error reports filed by employees and use computer systems able to flag instances when planes come too close to each other. The new push, described by agency officials as a "cultural change in air-traffic safety," seeks to analyze large volumes of data to spot hazardous trends, from potentially dangerous landing approaches to confusion over radio transmissions. FAA officials then hope to use the data to enhance safety through various procedural changes, safeguards and other measures. The initiative is intended to catch and mitigate systemic risks earlier than currently done-as airlines, plane manufacturers and other parts of the FAA have been doing for many years- instead of sticking with the air-traffic-control system's traditional approach of launching investigations after reports of near-collisions in the air or on the ground. In many cases, such techniques "identify discrepancies that would never have been identifiable" before, said David Grizzle, the FAA's traffic-control chief, because there weren't computerized detection systems and controllers were worried about being punished for reporting mistakes. In recent years, the FAA has instituted nonpunitive, voluntary reporting programs. The emphasis on prediction, Mr. Grizzle said, means the FAA is intent on confronting safety problems before accidents happen, and in making sure preventive steps are "translated into changed behavior that reduces risk." The FAA also announced that overall annual controller errors, as expected, stayed basically flat at 1,895 incidents nationwide through last fall. The comparable year-earlier number was 1,887. The closely watched statistic follows a 50% jump in total controller errors from 2009 to 2010, which FAA officials and controller-union officials say stemmed largely from more voluntary reports by controllers. The FAA said the total number of runway incidents in the U.S., when planes on or near the ground came closer to each than allowed by regulation, was 954 for 2011, versus 966 the year before. The agency said pilot mistakes accounted for the majority of those events in both years. FAA officials said they expect a major jump in controller-error incidents this year as more- effective reporting systems kick in. But some air-safety experts, including pilots and industry consultants, contend the FAA's statistics continue to dramatically understate the frequency of controller mistakes. They point to hundreds of additional airborne close calls each year, when planes were in danger of flying too near each other, and the problem was averted only because on-board warning systems issued alerts to pilots to change course. These flights, however, never lost the minimum required distance between aircraft, so they aren't included in the FAA's numbers. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, which independently collects such data, in fiscal 2011 there were more than 900 incidents when controller or pilot errors resulted in automated cockpit warnings to crews to take evasive action to increase separation between aircraft. FAA officials said such automated warnings are recorded by planes and routinely monitored by the agency. Back to Top FAA says new 'safety culture' will stress solutions, not blame Air traffic controllers have been working under a nonpunitive incident reporting system since 2008. Washington (CNN) -- It may seem counterintuitive, but federal aviation officials said Wednesday they will make the skies safer for air travelers not by punishing FAA employees who report making mistakes, but by protecting them from punishment. Federal Aviation Administration officials announced that as part of a new "safety culture" at the agency, they would fully embrace nonpunitive reporting systems, in an effort to generate information that could expose bigger dangers. "Make no mistake about it: We don't condone (errors)," said David Grizzle, the FAA's Chief Operating Officer. "However, we presume the good intent of our controllers and are more interested in the free flow of information than we are in punishing for errors." The FAA took a half-step in that direction in 2008, creating a nonpunitive reporting system for air traffic controllers. On Wednesday, the FAA said it was expanding the program to employees who maintain radar installations and other systems. And it changed longstanding FAA nomenclature. From now on, "operational errors" -- for instance, when an air traffic controller brings two planes too close together -- will be known as "operational incidents." TSA experiments with lighter screening of elderly The change will reduce the "stigma" associated with errors, Grizzle said, thereby increasing information and allowing the agency to make life-saving changes. The new system, paradoxically, will mean an increase in reported "operational incidents" in the short term, officials said. Incident reports "will certainly go up in the next few years with all of our additional reporting systems," Grizzle said. But risk will be going down, he said. Safety advocates have long touted the benefits of nonpunitive systems, and some welcomed the FAA's announcement. "It's a good, positive step," said Michael Goldfarb, a former FAA chief of staff who now heads a consulting business in Washington. "Mistakes happen and we need to learn from our mistakes." Goldfarb said the FAA was correct in expanding the system to include the agency's technicians. "The technicians are the forgotten part of aviation," he said. "They're the ones out there 24/7 keeping things working. They don't get the attention the air traffic controllers do." In announcing the new reporting systems, the FAA cast itself as a victim of its success. FAA officials said they used to be able to measure risk by counting accidents. The fewer crashes, the better the agency was doing. But with the commercial aviation accident rate at historically low levels -- there has not been a fatal commercial crash in three years -- the agency needs to look at other data to identify risky behaviors and incidents, and to address them. One measure has been "operational errors," or instances in which controllers deviate from established protocols. Currently, 99.9 percent of operations occur completely according to procedures, Grizzle said. Grizzle said the FAA is activating sophisticated software that will monitor operations and will bring more errors, or incidents, to light. The FAA said the voluntary reporting system for controllers has provided nearly 10 times the data during the past three years compared to the traditional reporting system. It also led to the FAA's issuing scores of corrective actions, making aviation safer in the United States. It also helped the agency to identify the top hazards, and to focus on those hazards. Officials said there are safeguards to protect employees from abusing the nonpunitive reporting system. After a mistake is reported, the incident is reviewed by a three-person panel, with representatives from management, the union and an oversight organization. The panel can ask for additional information, launch an investigation or take other action as appropriate. If an error was intentional, the FAA can take action, officials said. Back to Top TSA set to test new screening protocols for elderly Under new TSA guidelines, passengers deemed to be 75 or older will be subjected to less rigorous screening. (CNN) TSA changes some screening rules TSA spokesman Greg Soule said the agency is trying to "move away from the one-size-fits-all approach" to security screening. The changes will manage risk, but not eliminate it, he said. FAA changes safety reporting culture At the selected checkpoints, passengers 75 and older will be allowed to leave their shoes and light outerwear on. If the full-body scanner detects an anomaly, the passenger will be allowed a second pass through the machine to resolve the issue. If the matter is still unresolved, the TSA screeners will be able to use other methods, such as an explosive trace detection test, before subjecting the traveler to a physical pat down. Passengers may be required to remove shoes and may still undergo a pat-down if anomalies persist. TSA officers will make a visual assessment to determine which passengers are 75 or older, the agency said. The TSA said the new procedures will allow officers to better focus on passengers who may be more likely to pose a risk to transportation while expediting the screening process. Back to Top Jury to decide $177 million lawsuit in helicopter crash that killed 9 firefighters Lawyers offered opposing reasons Wednesday for why a helicopter crashed in August 2008 in California, killing nine firefighters, including eight from Oregon: It was either a well-known engine flaw or an overloaded craft. The theories came in closing arguments in the weekslong trial of a $177 million lawsuit against General Electric, maker of the helicopter's engines. It was filed by surviving pilot William Coultas, his wife and the estate of another pilot who died, Roark Schwanenberg. The jury is expected to begin deliberations Thursday in the case in Multnomah County Circuit Court. GE knew for at least six years there were problems with a fuel control valve in the commercial engines the company built for Sikorsky N-61 helicopters, said the plaintiffs' attorney Greg Anderson. The valve failed in the Sikorsky that was carrying the firefighters, shutting power to one of its two engines, he said. "GE knew about the problem and they had a history of knowing," Anderson told jurors. He showed them internal GE emails documenting the company's awareness, including emails to helicopter companies operating the aircraft and to Sikorsky, the helicopter manufacturer. GE told them the problem was a service issue, and not a problem with the engine's design. "They played the issue like a service issue, but it was something much more," Anderson said. "They rolled the dice and people died." Anderson also pointed to a GE email on Aug. 6, 2008 -- the day after the crash -- detailing problems with the size of the fuel filter, which filters contaminants as small as 10 microns in the military version of the GE engines in the Sikorsky, but only filters contaminants as small as 40 microns in the commercial version of the GE engines. But GE attorney Kevin Smith said the crash was caused because the helicopter was more than 1,400 pounds overweight at takeoff, and that the pilots were relying on inadequate weight data and inadequate power data of the helicopter's lift capacity provided to them by Grants Pass-based Carson Helicopters, which owned and operated a firefighting helicopter. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the helicopter weighed 19,008 pounds at takeoff, which was actually 3,168 pounds heavier than recommended for safe flight. Smith said investigators found that the helicopter was at full power when it hit the first tree and remained at full power when it hit a second tree based on sound spectrum analysis from cockpit recorders. "It was overweight and it clipped a tree and lost a blade tip" from the main rotor, Smith said. "This crash had nothing to do with the engines." The helicopter went down moments after lifting off a hillside in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in the early evening of Aug. 5. After crashing about 150 yards from a helipad on the 5,945-foot mountain, the helicopter quickly filled with dense black smoke. Four men managed to escape before fire consumed the helicopter. The crash, known as the Iron 44 incident, is considered the deadliest air tragedy of working firefighters in U.S. history. Killed were Schwanenberg, 54, of Lostine; 63-year-old Jim Ramage, a forest service employee from Redding, Calif.; Shawn Blazer, 30, of Medford; Scott Charlson, 25, of Phoenix, Ore.; Matthew Hammer, 23, of Grants Pass; Edrik Gomez, 19, of Ashland; Bryan Rich, 29, of Medford; David Steele, 19, of Ashland; and Steven "Caleb" Renno, 21, of Cave Junction. Injured were Coultas of Cave Junction; Richard Schroeder Jr., of Medford; Jonathan Frohreich of Medford; and Michael Brown of Rogue River. The families of eight men who were killed and three who were injured reached out-of-court settlements with three of five defendants in multiple lawsuits filed after the crash, including Carson Helicopters and Sikorsky. In December 2010, the NTSB said the crash was the result of a cascade of failures by virtually everyone involved in assuring a safe flight. The problem, the NTSB inquiry found, "was compounded by pilots who failed to account for the helicopter operating at the limit of its performance." http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest- news/index.ssf/2012/03/jury_will_decide_damages_in_17.html Back to Top Countermeasures for Driver Distraction Forum NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD Attentive Driving: Countermeasures for Distraction Forum The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will convene a forum, Attentive Driving: Countermeasures for Distraction, which will begin at 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 27, 2012. NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman will serve as Chairman of the forum, and all five NTSB Board Members will serve as members of the Board of Inquiry. The forum is open to all and attendance is free (no registration). The forum will be streamed live via Webcast. Webcast archives are generally available by the end of the next day are archived for a period of 3 months from the date of the event. Distracted driving is a serious safety risk on our highways, as evidenced by both accident data and laboratory research. The purpose of this one-day forum is to examine countermeasures that can mitigate distracted driving behaviors. Forum panels will consider the findings of distracted driver research and will promote ongoing and future efforts to promote attentive driving and eliminate distracted driving accidents. Specific countermeasures to be addressed include distracted driving laws and enforcement, changing attitudes and behaviors through education and outreach, and technology and design countermeasures. Expert panelists will include representatives of safety advocacy groups, vehicle manufacturers, law enforcement, government, and the research community. Below is the preliminary agenda: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Opening Remarks Panel 1: Attention to Non-Driving Tasks Panel 2: Distracted Driving Laws and Enforcement Panel 3: Attentive Driving: Changing Attitudes and Behaviors Panel 4: Technology and Design Countermeasures Summary and Closing Remarks The full agenda and list of participants can be found at: www.ntsb.gov/attentivedriving The forum will be held in the NTSB Board Room and Conference Center, located at 429 L'Enfant Plaza E., SW., Washington, DC. The public can view the forum in person or by Webcast at www.ntsb.gov. Individuals requesting specific accommodations should contact Ms. Rochelle Hall at (202) 314-6305 by Friday, March 23, 2012. NTSB Media Contact: Mr. Terry Williams, (202) 314-6403 (Washington, DC), williat@ntsb.gov. NTSB Forum Manager: Ms. Deborah Bruce, bruced@ntsb.gov. Back to Top Back to Top Book catches fascinating flight of Indian aviation Hyderabad : Did you know that as many as 10 private airlines were operating in India in 1948? Or that the air ticket between Calcutta and Delhi cost Rs.126 at that time? Or that the Indian Airlines got its first woman pilot in 1956? Such nuggets of information have been brought out in a book published by the ministry of civil aviation to commemorate 100 years of civil aviation in India. The coffee table book, "100 years of Civil Aviation in India", released at India Aviation 2012 here, catches the evolution of India's civil aviation sector from the first commercial flight Feb 18, 1911 to its emergence as the ninth largest market in the world today. The 200-page book with photographs and illustrations gives a gripping account of the sector's journey from pre-independence era to nationalisation of the sector after independence and its transformation under the 'open skies' policy of 1990. The book takes one back to the times when cities like Karachi, Bhuj, Ahmedabad, Bombay, Goa, Bellary, Cannanore, Trivandrum, Trichinopoly, Colombo, Dacca, Rangoon, Madras, Hyderabad, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Delhi were all on the route map of different airlines. While it was Feb 18, 1911 that French pilot Henri Pequet flew a Humber Bi-plane from Allahabad to Nain, a distance of six miles, it was only in 1932 that J.R.D. Tata, who was the first to get a pilot license, started the first domestic airline Tata Sons. It started weekly air services between Karachi and Madras, touching Ahmedabad, Bombay and Bellary en route, connecting with the weekly Imperial Airways flight from London to Karachi. Operating with two second hand De Havilland Puss Moths, Tata Sons accumulated a profit of Rs.10,000 in the first year. The next year saw airlines like Indian Trans Continental Airways (ITCA), Madras Air Taxi Services and Indian National Airways (INA) commencing their operations. INA started a weekly service between Calcutta and Rangoon and between Calcutta and Dacca for carriage of passengers, mail and freight. Hindustan Aircraft Ltd was set up in Bangalore while Nizam's State Railway, Tata Sons and the public jointly floated Deccan Airways in Hyderabad. Himalayan Air Transport Company in 1935 introduced a flight between Hardwar and Gaucher, a pastureland along the river Alaknanda. It was the first pilgrimage air link in India. Tata Airlines converted into a public company and re-named Air India Ltd in 1946. Air India International was incorporated in 1948 and it inaugurated a weekly flight between Bombay and London, via Cairo and Geneva. It was in 1953 that the government formed two nationalised corporations: Indian Airlines Corporation and Air India International. Eight formerly independent domestic airlines, Deccan Airways, Airways India, Bharat Airways, Himalayan Aviation, Kalinga Airlines, Indian National Airways, Air India and Air Services of India, merged into Indian Airlines Corporation. The book also highlights the significant milestones like Prema Mathur becoming the world's first woman commercial pilot with Deccan Airways, Hyderabad in 1951 and the induction of Durba Banerjee as the first woman pilot of Indian Airlines in 1956. The year 1960 marked a landmark in Air India's history as it ushered in the commercial jet age by ordering the Boeing 707 jetliner. Air India extended its Bombay-London service to New York. India's aviation sector underwent a major transformation in 1990 with the 'open-skies' policy. The same year Air India entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest evacuation effort by a single civilian airline. It airlifted 111,711 Indian workers from the Gulf during 59 days by 488 flights during the Gulf war. In 2003, low-cost carriers came into India, and Air Deccan started its services. Modernisation of airports was taken up and new Greenfield airports came up in Hyderabad and Bangalore. http://twocircles.net/2012mar15/book_catches_fascinating_flight_indian_aviation.html Back to Top Lufthansa Considers Selling Austrian Airlines FRANKFURT (WSJ)-Deutsche Lufthansa AG LHA.XE -3.47%on Thursday said it would consider selling its Austrian Airlines unit if it can't turn the struggling carrier around amid a wide- ranging plan to cut costs to combat high fuel prices and sluggish growth in Europe. "It isn't possible to say when Austrian Airlines will break even," Chief Executive Christoph Franz said. "We will stick with Austrian Airlines until we no longer see prospect for profit," Mr. Franz said. "We still see this prospect," he said, though the business is in a critical condition and needs drastic restructuring. Lufthansa has agreed to sell loss-making U.K. unit British Midland Ltd.-known as bmi-to British Airways IAG.LN -0.81%and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines Group. It said Thursday it has signed a letter of intent to dispose of its 25% stake small Chinese unit Jade Cargo to China's Unitop. "We have to respond to the change in our industry with flexible structures that enable us to remain Europe's number one [carrier] in the future," said Franz. The German airlines group, which carried 100 million passengers for the first time in 2011, said it would increase capacity by less than initially planned this year as well as reduce purchasing, administrative, and payroll costs as part of a €1.5 billion ($1.95 billion) three- year savings plan. Despite the cost-saving initiatives, Lufthansa said it expects a sharp decline in operating profit in 2012, depending on market conditions, to around €500 million, which the airline described as "the mid three-digit million euro range," down from €820 million in 2011. Last year's operating profit fell nearly 20% as a 26% rise in the carrier's fuel bill to €6.28 billion offset a 8.6% rise in revenue to €28.73 billion. "Although the operating profit for 2011 is generally pleasing in itself, the operating margin is not," Mr. Franz said. Last year's operating margin was 3.4%. Lufthansa has previously said it would generate a margin of 8% in the longer term. Lufthansa said it would limit passenger capacity growth in 2012 to 2% on the year compared with 3% previously as part of various measures to reduce costs. They include centralizing procurement, better coordinating flight plans within the group and trimming administrative and management staff. Lufthansa announced a hiring freeze last week. The German flag carrier, like Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM AF.FR -1.46%and northern European carriers SAS AB SAS.SK 0.00%and Finnair Oyj, FIA1S.HE +1.30%are struggling with difficult market conditions, among them soaring fuel prices and fierce competition from no-frills airlines on short-haul routes and Middle Eastern airlines making inroads in European and intercontinental traffic. Europe's sovereign debt crisis and political upheaval in North Africa and the Middle East have slowed growth in air traffic. Lufthansa said the planned sale of bmi should enable the group to swing back into the black this year after a €13 million net loss in 2011. The group, which announced preliminary earnings figures March 7, reported net profit of €1.13 billion in 2010. Lufthansa said bmi made a €155 million after-tax loss in 2011. Austrian Airlines recorded an operating loss of €62 million in 2011. Jade reported a net loss of €38 million. Lufthansa shares fell on the Frankfurt stock exchange as the severity of the problems at Austrian Airlines took investors by surprise, traders said. The stock was down 1.1% at €10.40 around 1 p.m. GMT. Lufthansa shares have declined around 19% over the past 12 months, underperforming the German blue chip stock index DAX over this period. The DAX was up 0.3% Thursday. Back to Top Boeing has China deals for 30 more 777s, Albaugh says Boeing has won fresh orders for 30 of its star 777 widebody jets from various Chinese airlines, Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Jim Albaugh said Wednesday. Boeing has won fresh orders for 30 of its star 777 widebody jets from various Chinese airlines, Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Jim Albaugh said Wednesday. The sales are worth nearly $9 billion at list prices. Based on market-pricing data from aircraft-valuation firm Avitas, the estimated purchase price after standard discounts is just less than $5 billion. Speaking at the J.P. Morgan aviation conference in New York, Albaugh said the deals were struck while he was in China last week. On that visit, he met with airlines and also signed a collaboration agreement in Beijing with Chinese airplane-maker COMAC. Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel afterward clarified that the 30 orders are not yet finalized. The figure includes 10 7770inRs for China Southern Airlines, a deal announced Feb. 28. In China, after an airline signs a deal with a jet manufacturer, the government must still approve the funds. That hasn't happened yet in this case, Birtel said, and until it does the Chinese 777 sales won't be formally listed on the Boeing order book. The Boeing order boost from China comes as rival European jet-maker Airbus is concerned about losing sales because the Chinese government has strongly objected to the European Union's imposition of its Emissions Trading System (ETS) on all airlines flying into European airports. The ETS, seen as a unilaterally imposed carbon-emissions tax, is opposed by other countries besides China, including the United States. But China has been the most vocal opponent. Last week Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders - along with the chief executives of five European airlines and two European jet-engine companies - sent a letter to the heads of government of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Spain, expressing concern that the quarrel over the ETS will put jobs at risk in Europe. The letter said approval for $12 billion worth of Airbus orders for Chinese airlines has been suspended until the dispute is resolved. Separately at the J.P. Morgan conference, Albaugh commented on a report from India that a government official told reporters that Boeing has agreed to pay state-owned Air India $500 million in compensation because of delays in delivering 27 Dreamliners ordered in 2005. "I think if we settled for $500 million, somebody would have told me," Albaugh said, "We don't comment on deals that we've done, but I can tell you that we're not writing anybody a check for $500 million." Albaugh's denial that this amount of cash is changing hands nevertheless leaves open a more likely option - that Boeing compensates the airline for the delays in other ways, such as reducing the payments due on delivery of the 787s, or price breaks on ancillary services such as training and aircraft support. Birtel said "mitigation can take many different forms" and that Boeing "works with its customers to address contractual requirements as they take delivery of their airplanes." Air India is expected to take its first 787 next month. Last year the airline, which is in financial distress, issued a formal request for loans to complete the purchase of its first seven Dreamliners, pegging the cost of each at $110 million. The U.S. Export-Import Bank offered lenders a guarantee for 85 percent of the loan. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2017747280_boeingchina15.html Back to Top Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC