Business
FAA to let Boeing sign off on 737 Maxes, 787s after years of restrictions
Boeing 737 Max planes sit at the airport in Renton, Washington.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
Boeing can sign off on some of its 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner planes before they’re handed over to customers, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday, the latest sign the manufacturer is regaining confidence from its regulator after years of safety crises.
The FAA stopped allowing Boeing to issue its own airworthiness certificates for 737 Max airplanes in 2019 after two fatal crashes. It made a similar decision for Boeing 787s in 2022 because of production defects.
Since the second Max crash, in March 2019, the FAA solely issued airworthiness certificates, which certify planes as safe to fly, for the Maxes. The FAA said that it and Boeing will issue the certificates on alternating weeks.
“Safety drives everything we do, and the FAA will only allow this step forward because we are confident it can be done safely,” the FAA said in a statement. “This decision follows a thorough review of Boeing’s ongoing production quality and will allow our inspectors to focus additional surveillance in the production process.”
Boeing didn’t immediately comment.
The company has been working for years to move past a series of safety and manufacturing issues. A midair blowout of a door panel from one of its new 737 Max 9s in January 2024 set those plans back further, with the FAA capping production of the Maxes and increasing scrutiny of Boeing, a top U.S. exporter.
“If Boeing requests a production rate increase, onsite FAA safety inspectors will conduct extensive planning and reviews with Boeing to determine if they can safely produce more airplanes,” the FAA said Friday.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took the helm just over a year ago, has said the company is focused on stabilizing its production rate of its Maxes at 38 month, and he has expressed optimism about evaluating an increase beyond that with the FAA.
“I feel pretty confident that we’ll be in a position here pretty soon to sit down with the FAA and go through what we call a capstone review, which is the process we go through to not just go through these [key performance indicators], but to look at our entire supply chain readiness, our continued production readiness and move forward with that,” he said at a Morgan Stanley investor conference earlier this month.
Boeing shares were up about 4% Friday.
Business
‘We need to fix India’: Howard Lutnick urges New Delhi to ‘play ball’ with Trump; ‘avoid policies that harm US’ – The Times of India
Donald Trump‘s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, on Sunday said India must “react correctly” to the United States, adding that “we need to fix a bunch of countries,” amid the ongoing trade tensions demanding an end to policies “harming” American interests.In an interview with News Nation, Lutnick stated that India must open its markets and avoid policies that could “harm” the US. “We have a bunch of countries to fix like Switzerland, Brazil, right? It’s got an issue. India, these are countries that need to really react correctly to America. Open their markets, stop taking actions that harm America, and that’s why we’re off sides with them,” he said.He added that while trade issues can be resolved over time, India must “play ball” with the US if it wants access to American consumers. “Those, I think, will be sorted out, but they take time. And these countries have to understand that if you want to sell to the US consumer, right? You’ve got to play ball with the president of the United States. So those are still coming. A bunch of countries left but the big ones maybe the big ones you know India we’ll sort it out over time,” Lutnick noted.He further claimed that, “2026 economy is Donald Trump’s economy.”The remarks come shortly after a high-level Indian delegation, led by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, visited the United States. The delegation engaged in productive discussions aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on September 26.
The construction of three new towns will begin before the next general election, Labour has pledged.
A taskforce has recommended 12 locations in England for development, with three areas – Tempsford in Bedfordshire, Leeds South Bank, and Crews Hill in north London – identified as the most promising sites.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed is expected to announce the plans in a speech on the opening day of Labour’s annual party conference.
Labour has put housebuilding at the centre of its vision of how to get the economy growing, promising to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029.
Tempsford is home to 600 people and currently has around 300 houses. Its parish council chairman David Sutton said residents had been kept in the dark about the potential plans, including how many new homes could be built.
“The biggest problem we’ve got at the moment is that even today, as an announcement’s being made, we’ve been given no idea whatsoever of the scale of what we’re being asked to live amongst,” he told the PA news agency.
“Nobody’s come to talk to us at all.”
The promise of a “new generation of new towns” was included in Labour’s election manifesto last year.
The 12 proposed developments range from large-scale standalone new communities, to expansions of existing towns and regeneration schemes within cities.
Sites in Cheshire, South Gloucestershire, East Devon, Plymouth and Manchester are among those which have been recommended for development.
The chosen sites will be subject to environmental assessments and consultation, with the government confirming the final locations and funding next spring.
Labour said each new town would have at least 10,000 homes and they could collectively result in 300,000 homes being built across England over the coming decades.
The government has welcomed a recommendation from the New Towns Taskforce that at least 40% of these new homes should be classed as affordable housing.
A New Towns Unit will be tasked with bringing in millions of pounds of public and private sector funding to invest in GP surgeries, schools, green spaces, libraries and transport for the new developments.
The taskforce has recommended new towns are delivered by development corporations, which could have special planning powers to compulsory purchase land, invest in local services, and grant planning permission.
This follows the model of the regeneration of Stratford in east London during and after the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “For so many families, homeownership is a distant dream.
“My Labour government will sweep aside the blockers to get homes built, building the next generation of new towns.”
In his speech, the housing secretary will promise to “build baby build”, while “taking lessons from the post-war Labour government housing boom”.
“This party built new towns after the war to meet our promise of homes fit for heroes. Now, with the worst economic inheritance since that war, we will once again build cutting-edge communities to provide homes fit for families of all shapes and sizes,” Reed is expected to say.
After World War Two Clement Attlee’s government planned the first wave of new towns, including in Stevenage, Crawley and Welwyn Garden City, to relocate people from poor or bombed-out housing, with development corporations assigned responsibility for building them.
The announcement comes as Labour members gather in Liverpool for the party’s annual conference.
It will be Reed’s first major speech since he took over from Angela Rayner as housing secretary, after she resigned for failing to pay enough tax on a flat purchase.
It has been a bruising few weeks for Sir Keir, who is facing questions over his leadership and the direction of his party.
With Labour trailing behind Reform UK in the polls, the prime minister has stepped up his attacks on Nigel Farage’s party.
Arriving in Liverpool on Saturday, he warned Reform would “tear this country apart” and said the conference would be an opportunity to set out his alternative to the “toxic divide and decline” offered by the party.
BBCA single dad-of-three said he was forced to move in with his parents and rely on a food bank when “things just went downhill quick” after losing his job.
Luke Harborne worked as a roofer up until December but admitted he did not know what he would do if he had no access to Worcester’s food bank.
“I don’t know what would happen, I really don’t,” the 30-year-old said.
“The people here are absolutely brilliant, they’re such lovely people and all of them have a heart of gold to do what they do.”
Mr Harborne had been in shared accommodation in Kingstanding, Birmingham, but when he became unemployed, he fell behind with his rent payments and lived on the streets before his parents in Worcester took him in.
“My mum and dad agreed to let me live back there but I’m just struggling at the minute,” he said.
“It’s very, very tough [providing for three children]. It’s hard to survive off benefits, it really is.”
Mr Harborne said he was even struggling while he was employed.
“I managed to cope with the wages I had coming in but all my money was going on rent and bills,” he said.
“The rest went on food but that didn’t last me until my next payday.
“I need to get myself back in employment and I am actively looking but it’s tough because I have to work around child arrangements so it’s hard to commit to a full-time job.
“You need a really good job, that pays really well just to get a one-bedroom flat. But I will get there. It’s just hard to survive.”
At the food bank, Grahame Lucas said he worked to “turn frowns upside down”.
“It’s a bit corny, I know, but people come here perhaps not feeling the most positive but they walk away with a smile on their face,” he added.
Mr Lucas has been manager of Worcester Foodbank since 2014 and said in that time the charity has “grown out of all recognition”.
“We started out feeding about 3,000 people a year and prior to Covid up to about 9,000 people and now we’re up to 18,000 people,” he said.
“We’re now braced for the autumn rush, when people start getting their energy bills on the doormat. This is by far the busiest period.”
Mr Lucas and his team provide about 250,000 meals annually, at a cost of £500,000.
The service also provides “cooking parcels”, which include herbs and spices, as well as a toiletries hamper too.
“Clients have said to us that we’re lifesavers and without us people have admitted they would be forced to shoplift just to survive,” Mr Lucas said.
Mr Lucas said the charity had served “all age groups” which “goes right through to people who are retired”.
“That group is much less because, what we find, the state pension system works well – whereas the benefits system is still deficient,” he said.
“I think the system is broken.”
The food bank manager said he sympathised with government and described changing the system as an “oil tanker moment” that would be a “long-term project”.
Susan Campbell, deputy warehouse manager at Worcester Foodbank, is responsible for greeting clients.
“The stories are really sad and you want to do more than just give them food,” she said.
“You hear all sorts and you just try to make them feel better about the whole thing.”
She added the numbers coming to them have “got much, much worse” and they were seeing more and more families.
“People tend to assume we’re serving the homeless but it’s just not true,” Ms Campbell said.
“Lots of people that come here are working and they just can’t afford to live.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson told the BBC it was “determined to tackle the unacceptable rise in food bank dependence”.
They added: “Our child poverty taskforce will publish an ambitious strategy later this year.
“We are also overhauling job centres and reforming the broken welfare system to support people into good, secure jobs, while always protecting those who need it most.”
I’ve Tested More Than 50 Cases for the iPhone 17 Lineup. This Is the Ultimate Case Guide
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle hint at new formula: ‘Less rigid’
‘Clog the toilet’ trolls hit Indian visa holders rushing to US
-
Tech1 week agoAmericans would dominate board of new TikTok US entity: W.House
-
Fashion1 week agoTrützschler set to showcase textile tech at ITMA Asia 2025
-
Tech1 week agoIraq’s first industrial-scale solar plant opens in Karbala desert to tackle electricity crisis
-
Tech1 week agoEU to finalize probes into tech platforms soon: Commissioner
-
Tech1 week agoThe Best Hybrid Mattresses for Every Kind of Sleeper
-
Tech1 week agoHow to Clean a Kid’s Car Seat the Right Way
-
Fashion1 week agoBanking woes threaten Bangladesh’s RMG export momentum
-
Tech1 week agoDonald Trump Is Saying There’s a TikTok Deal. China Isn’t