Boeing...
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY March 1 - 15, 2019
FROM PAGE 4
737 Max 8 and Max 9 a few hours
after Canada’s decision.
Garneau said Canada alerted the
U.S. to the safety notice on Wednesday
morning.
According to Reuters, the Federal
Aviation Administration held urgent
meetings on the issue after Canada
announced it would become the latest
major country to ground the jets.
Air Canada, which already had
cancelled multiple scheduled flights
to and from London in response
to the U.K. closing its airspace
yesterday, said it’s working to rebook
passengers.
“Air Canada’s cancellation and
rebooking policies are in place with
full fee waiver for affected customers,”
said a spokesperson.
Singapore, Malaysia, China, Fiji,
and New Zealand are just some of the
countries that suspended the use of
the B737 MAX8, while South American
countries are evaluating shutting their
airspace to the said aircraft.
Concerns have been raised over
the safety of the B737 MAX 8, following
the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed
157 people onboard last March 10.
The flight flew from Addis Ababa
to Nairobi but reportedly crashed six
minutes after take-off.
The same type of aircraft also
crashed in October 2018, killing 189
people on board a Lion Air flight.
According to reports, the crash also
happened minutes after take-off.
The B737 MAX 8 is among the
variants of the Boeing 737 MAX, an
American narrow-body aircraft series.
The first delivery of MAX 8 was in 2017
to Malinda Air.
“It’s a (relatively new) type of
aircraft, and we still don’t have it
among our local carriers,” CAAP’s
Apolonio said, adding that an airline
would likely wait for about two years
to get the aircraft it has purchased.
He said one local carrier is waiting
for the delivery of a B737 MAX 8. He,
however, declined to name the airline
and to say how many units of B737
MAX 8 were ordered.
Executives of Philippine Airlines
(PAL), Cebu Pacific (CEB), and AirAsia
Philippines told PNA they don’t have
the B737 MAX 8, and that most of the
aircrafts of budget carriers are Airbus
models which are designed for low-
cost travel.
PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna
said the flag carrier does not have a
B737 MAX 8 on its fleet.
“What we have on our fleet is the
B777, which we deploy on our trans-
Pacific routes to the US,” she said.
China and Indonesia have also
grounded the use of the B737 MAX 8
since March 11.
Governor General of Canada to visit New York City
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today
announced that Her Excellency the Right
Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of
Canada, will travel to New York City, from March
15 to 16, 2019.
During the visit, the Governor General will meet
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
António Guterres. This meeting will be a chance
for Her Excellency to acknowledge the important
work of the United Nations in responding to today’s
most pressing global challenges.
The Governor General will also meet with
Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives
to the United Nations in New York to showcase
Canada’s contribution in several different areas of
international collaboration, including promoting
gender equality and advancing science and space
exploration.
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