The authors and supporters of the proposal will have to determine a fee amount that makes sense for all stakeholders, but this will be a relatively easy calculation in comparison to completing many of the plan€„¢s loftier priorities.
The Green New Deal starts by pointing out that human activity is “the dominant cause of observed climate change over the past century.” It then lists strategies to limit many of these human activities. The resolution specifically calls for projects that reduce the number of people driving fuel-intensive vehicles, polluting natural areas and ecosystems, and relying on fossil fuels.
It’s true that each of the aforementioned activities significantly damages the environment and threatens the future health of the planet. It’s also true that a single flight across the country generates approximately 20 percent of the greenhouse gases that a car emits over the span of a year. This latter activity, though, gets left off the list of human actions targeted in the Green New Deal.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-New York, and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, the resolution’s authors, need to fill the plane-shaped hole in the Green New Deal. A quick edit to the proposal can do just that. What’s more, this edit can fulfill the dual mandate of the resolution: reducing emissions while reducing inequality.
The Green New Deal should include a new fee on all air travel originating in the United States. The fee would increase based on your seat location (first and business class would pay more) and flight distance (the further you fly, the higher the fee). Revenue generated from the fund would go toward carbon offsets and climate change mitigation efforts in marginalized communities. This policy would simultaneously force fliers to internalize some of the negative environmental effects of their travel while providing additional funds to protect vulnerable communities.
Another strategy in the Green New Deal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions would receive the support of the science community; researchers partially attribute the increase in heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere and damage to coral reefs to human-generated carbon dioxide emissions. Many scientists label carbon dioxide-emitting activities such as air travel as people’s biggest environmental sin. Rep. Ocasio Cortez and Sen. Markey can help travelers repent by forcing them to pay.
The fee would receive support from other coalitions as well. Progressive organizations pushing for the proposal would support the progressive nature of the fee. Beyond adjusting the fee by proxies for wealth such as seat location and flight distance, the average attributes of airline passengers makes the fee inherently progressive. Individuals with incomes of more than $80,000 are six times more likely than those with less than $40,000 in annual income to identify as a frequent flier.
Academics and tourism agencies may even support (or at least not oppose) a small fee. Reducing airline-generated pollution need not decrease opportunities to exchange information and share life with others. Even a small fee would have a massive impact on contributing to the goals.
To see the revenue-generating potential of this fee, it’s helpful to look to a year of airline travel at PDX. In 2018, 812,544 passengers flew out of Oregon’s busiest airport. If PDX’s first-class passengers (approximately 5 percent of all passengers) paid a $20 fee and everyone else paid $10, then just PDX-based travel would generate $8.53 million in revenue; that’s a sizable contribution to the fight against climate change.
Skeptics of the Green New Deal have regularly derided its financial feasibility. These questioners rightfully point out that the goals have high costs. The financial and human capital required to realize the ambitious goals will only occur with substantial and sustainable sources of investment. The authors and supporters of the proposal will have to determine a fee amount that makes sense for all stakeholders, but this will be a relatively easy calculation in comparison to completing many of the plan’s loftier priorities.
The Green New Deal falls short of its potential to help America reduce its carbon footprint. Reducing air travel represents a long-unaddressed opportunity to move the United States closer to its green goals. Thankfully, Rep. Ocasio Cortez is not a fan of doing things in a traditional way. Let’s hope that holds true when it comes to taking on airline travel.
Beaverton native Kevin Frazier is a former executive assistant to Gov. Kate Brown. Reach him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
With a looming shortage of pilots and mechanics, the future of global air transportation could rest in the hands of kids like 8-year-old Malik Lake.
Malik, who lives a few miles from Orlando Sanford International Airport, wants to be a pilot someday. The idea was sparked a few years ago when a Southwest Airlines pilot let him see the cockpit during Malik’s first flight.
“The cockpit was like..it had a lot of buttons and I was so amazed,” Lake said, his eyes widening at the memory. “I just looked at all the buttons and I didn’t even know what to say at all.”
The aviation industry is banking on the next generation of potential pilots to maintain future air travel. An estimated 1.3 million new pilots are needed to fly current and new fleets for the two largest commercial jet manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, within the next 20 years.
Pilots and aviation experts say sweeping measures are needed soon to avoid a shortage that could increase seat demand and drive ticket prices up.
“If it continues, I think it will [affect passengers] because there will be less planes in the air,” said Bill Botson, a regional pilot for CommutAir. Botson is also part-owner of the Orlando Sanford Flying Club, a pilot-training company based near the Sanford airport.
The Cause
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University projected a pilot shortage as far back as 1993, said Mike Wiggins, a professor of aeronautical science. The main reasons:
Federal Aviation Administration raised the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65, keeping veteran pilots in their positions longer.
Then, in 2009, a Colgan Air flight crashed into a home in western New York. That led the FAA to change safety regulations several years later, including one that required first officers — or co-pilots — to get 1,500 hours of flight time for a certification that required just 250 hours prior to 2013. This more than tripled the cost of pilot training.
Only co-pilots with military experience and college degrees from recognized institutions would require less than 1,500 hours. But they still need 1,000 hours of flight time.
Schools like Embry-Riddle have seen improved attendance as future pilots-in-training look to reduce their mandatory hours while getting an education.
“We’re pretty much maxed out in the last two years in my aeronautical science program, which has increased from about 1,170 students up to around 1,500 students,” Wiggins said.
The career path for most commercial airline pilots begins with training in smaller aircraft before ultimately qualifying for certificates to fly multiengine passenger planes. Generally, most start their careers with regional airlines, earning salaries ranging $20,000 to $40,000 a year, Botson said. Wages improve once co-pilots get enough experience to became a captain.
Regional airlines have been hit harder by the pilot shortage, often losing veteran pilots to major airlines like American, United or Delta where they can earn higher wages and fly more exotic routes.
But the problem to attract more commercial airline pilots usually starts long before their first job.
Why?
“Cost of training,” said Botson, who estimates his flight training cost about $90,000 dollars about 20 years ago. “And it’s a lot harder than what people think to do this training. They start it and they realize how hard it is and they just don’t continue. So it’s a combination of the two.”
Today, pilots might spend six-figures to train, which doesn’t include the cost of going to college.
Some pilots are able to cut the cost of training through personal connections — like having a family member who is qualified to train pilots. Most get their hours by becoming flight instructors.
The demand for commercial airline pilots is so great that it’s affecting the military. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson reported a a need for some 2,000 pilots to shore up its near 20,000 force of active and reserve pilots.
That’s because private sector salaries are becoming more competitive, and many military pilots move into civilian pilot roles for better pay.
The Effect
The pilot shortage will change airline operations, Embry-Riddle administrators say. In fact, many pilots are already feeling the impact.
Botson said it’s common for pilots in his company to get emails offering generous incentives to work an unscheduled shift.
“It’s a revolving door right now,” Botason said “They’re barely keeping up with the pilots that they’re losing and they’re losing a lot to United, a lot to JetBlue and other major carriers.”
Some airlines are cutting flights. Two years ago, Horizon Air — the regional carrier for Alaska Air — was forced to cancel 318 flights in the summer of 2017 because there weren’t enough pilots to fly the airplanes, according to the Seattle Times.
Canceled flights are a relatively small concern for Douglas Kidd, President of the National Association of Airline Passengers.
“My main concern is that they’re taking a look at this looming pilot shortage and saying, ‘Wow, this is a good time to automate. What do we need all these pilots for anyway,’” Kidd said. “That’s the thing that scares me.”
Kidd’s concerns aren’t far-fetched. Unmanned drones are a reality, and technology for self-driving cars is already being tested by manufacturers like Lexus, Tesla and Mercedes.
Boeing executive Steve Nordlund told The Independent in 2018 that he expects to see “more automation and aiding in the cockpit, maybe a change in the crew number up in the cockpit.”
Wiggins, however, believes single-pilot or automated passenger planes in the near future are unlikely.
“Aviation is a very complex system of systems, so the airplane is just one part of it,” Wiggins said. “The pilot is one part of the system, then you’ve got the air traffic control system, then you’ve got the ground system, the airport system, the baggage system, the taxiing system, the catering system, the fueling system. All these things come into play and just getting an airplane from point A to point B is a significant part of the issue but not the total thing.”
In April 2016, I was sexually assaulted on an overnight flight.
I awoke to a male passenger grabbing my crotch repeatedly. He hit and blocked me as I yelled “no,” slapped his hands and scrambled to get away and alert the crew. Despite my efforts, and to my shock, no action was taken by the airline to identify the attacker or report the incident to authorities. In the weeks that followed, my shock turned to anger and then to action as I discovered the gaps in awareness, training and data.
As a result of my experience, I am in an ongoing lawsuit with the airline. But it isn’t enough to work for justice for myself. We need industry standards to train airline staff and standardized ways to report and address instances of sexual assault in the skies.
I can’t provide exact numbers on how often assaults occur at 37,000 feet, and neither can airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI, or anyone else — that’s a problem. The numbers we do have should be more than enough to spur real action, though.
Flying the unfriendly skies
According to the FBI, there was a 66 percent increase in cases of assault reported to the bureau between 2014 and 2017, but many cases go unreported.
In a survey conducted by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), nearly 70 percent of flight attendants surveyed were sexually harassed or assaulted on the job, but only 7 percent reported it for fear of backlash from their airlines. And 20 percent of flight attendants reported receiving reports of assault from their passengers, but didn’t know how to intervene or report it. As a consequence, less than 50 percent of those reported situations resulted in law enforcement meeting the plane on the ground upon arrival.
Read more commentary:
Airline pilot: Is it still safe to fly in a Boeing 737 Max? Don’t worry about it just yet.
Grounded Boeing 737 Max also grounds FAA reputation
FAA: We don’t allow companies to police themselves
Passengers and crew are sexually assaulted and harassed far too often. When they go unreported, the perpetrators, undeterred, are free to assault again. Airlines have failed to take the issue seriously.
Thanks to advocates, we are increasingly paying attention to sexual assault and harassment on college campuses, in our workplaces and our society at large. But air travel is still an outlier. It’s time to change that.
In response to survivors and advocacy organizations, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) introduced the Stopping Sexual Assault while Flying Enforcement Act of 2017. In September 2018, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 required that the Department of Transportation (DOT) create a National In-Flight Sexual Misconduct Task Force to address these issues.
In February, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the task force participants. Sadly, the list does not inspire confidence that change is coming.
Neither the AFA, representing 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, nor survivors of in-flight sexual assault have been named to the task force. Once again, the people most affected by this issue have been pushed out of the rooms where decisions will be made.
The DOT and FAA have a duty to ensure the aviation industry is held accountable for passenger safety, but scandals like ongoing sexual assault and the delayed grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 8, show that FAA leadership has all but abandoned that duty.
Simple, serious solutions to sexual assault
President Trump has finally nominated an FAA administrator — after the post was left vacant for more than a year. It is critical that the next administrator take immediate steps to demonstrate that he will regulate the industry — not protect it.
One simple, immediate step the next FAA administrator can take is by showing that the FAA is serious about deterring and addressing on-board sexual assault and harassment.
In the meantime, predators continue to assault passengers (including children) and crew. Late last month, Vancouver-based journalist Joanna Chiu wrote on Twitter about intervening to protect a minor who was sexually harassed in flight, thankfully the crew responded and the perpetrator was met by security.
It should not require federal legislation for airlines to take a stand against sexual violence and put procedures in place to deter crimes on their planes. While I applaud Alaska Airlines, which is leading the way with new training and in-flight messaging, changes and data reporting must be mandatory across the industry.
As it moves forward, the task force must ensure the following steps are in place: mandatory data collection of reported in-flight sexual misconduct; trauma-informed training for crew; and a zero tolerance statement in pre-flight videos and back-of-the-seat safety cards with clear guidance for passengers who experience or witness sexual misconduct onboard.
For the women, men and children sexually assaulted while flying who have demanded action, as well as those who suffer in silence, the DOT must do more than check a box. Sexual assault can no longer be treated as an inconvenience, it is a crime and must be treated as such.
U.S. airlines started returning to full service Monday morning after a disruption of data they needed for takeoff caused delays across the country.
The issue involved weight and balance information provided by AeroData Inc. that is needed for flight planning, the agency said in a statement. The interruption lasted for about 48 minutes starting at 5:24 a.m. in Washington, the FAA said. Mainline and regional carriers were affected to varying degrees.
The intermittent problem lasted about two hours, according to American Airlines Group Inc., which experienced delays at some of its regional affiliates. Delta Air Lines Inc., Southwest Airlines Co. and United Continental Holdings Inc. also were affected. Delta also said that only its regional flights were affected.
United said 150 flights by its United Express regional carriers were delayed. “Some flights that were affected have departed, and we’re working to get all affected flights back on schedule,” the carrier said in a statement. Delta said it didn’t expect any cancellations among the Delta Express flights delayed by the outage.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport was experiencing arrival delays an average of 31 minutes, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware early Monday morning. The airport showed 56 delays and one cancellation between 6-10 a.m, FlightAware showed.
Airport officials said they had no additional information on the disruption.
Assembling the wing from thousands of tiny identical pieces could make aircraft lighter and more energy efficient.
How it works: Inside the wing there is an open, lightweight lattice framework covered with a thin layer of polymer material. It looks like thousands of matchstick-type struts welded together in small triangle shapes. This design lets it adapt and deform so that it is the perfect shape for the different stages of flight—takeoff, landing, cruising, and so on. It is also far lighter than conventional wings, and would therefore use much less energy. The manufacturing process incorporates 3D printing and robotic assembly.
The promise: A wing made this way could allow future aircraft wing designs to become far more flexible, according to the scientists at NASA and MIT who worked together on the research. The design was tested in a NASA wind tunnel.
Other applications: As well as aircraft, this sort of design could be used to improve wind turbines, spacecraft, and even bridges one day, the team says.
Sign up here to our daily newsletter The Download to get your dose of the latest must-read news from the world of emerging tech.
Welcome to the March 4 Monday Business Briefing, your weekly business intelligence digest from Insider Louisville.
GLI bookends events and introduces GLIDE trip to Silicon Valley and beyond
Thomas Frey | Courtesy GLI
The local chamber of commerce has air travel on its mind. First, at the Greater Louisville Inc. annual meeting last Monday, the futurist Thomas Frey predicted disruption in air travel by drone taxis, self-driving cars and mini airports. One outcome for the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport: fewer parked cars and less revenue for the airport authority, Frey suggested.
During a top investor event on Friday morning about nonstop flights, Dan Mann, executive director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, noted that even with the airport’s routinely packed parking lot, a new $40 million parking garage wasn’t the answer. “I said no, I don’t think we should do that. In seven or eight years, I think shared rides, and driverless cars will have an impact.”
Speaking of nonstop, two years ago, there were 21 nonstop destinations from SDF. Now, there are 33 nonstop destinations and growing, GLI noted. On the wish list are Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Toronto. “That’s a big, tall order,” said Chuck Denny, PNC Bank regional president, who introduced the panel on Friday. “But I know we can make it happen. Let’s all take a flight to Los Angeles, many times.”
The nonstop service to Los Angeles on American Airlines starts April 3. As of Sunday morning, basic economy seats were available for $347 round trip, $407 in the main cabin and one first-class seat was available at $878.
GLI last week also introduced GLIDE 2019, Sept. 8-11 in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Sonoma County, which coincides with the chamber’s year of technology, where the goal is to “gain insight into how to fast-forward our approach to” attracting big companies and talent, said Deana Epperly Karem, vice president for regional economic growth, on Friday. The trip, which tends to sell out, is open to top investors and board members first, then to members after April 30. —Mickey Meece
Wine industry responds to bourbon’s demand for equal treatment in SB99
Kentucky is one of five states that don’t allow direct winery-to-consumer shipping. | Courtesy of Free the Grapes!
On Wednesday, Insider brought you the story about the new wine shipping legislation, Senate Bill 99, which has passed the Senate and could possibly be called up to committee this week. The controversy of the bill, which would allow direct out-of-state shipments of wine to Kentucky consumers, is that it doesn’t give the state’s bourbon industry equal footing, so says Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.
After that piece ran, we received an email from Jeremy Benson, executive director of Free the Grapes! — a national grassroots coalition that endorsed SB99, since Kentucky is one of five states that doesn’t allow shipping of wine — with a few points his group would like to make:
Adding spirits to SB99 would not increase the ability of Kentucky distillers to ship directly to consumers in other states. To the contrary, it would allow Kentuckians to order spirits from all over the country to compete with Kentucky bourbon. The key point that gets lost is that a consumer’s ability to receive shipments from U.S. distillers, wineries or brewers is determined by state laws covering the destination of the shipment, not its origin.
SB99 is based on what the wine industry calls the “model direct shipping bill,” which was the culmination of negotiations back in the late 1990s. It never included beer or spirits companies, only wineries. So to suggest that it’s not right because of “equal treatment” … is very odd. I can’t think of a state that has ever combined wine and spirits direct shipping into one bill. Here’s a link to the model bill language.
HB400 never worked for wine lovers in Kentucky — FedEx and UPS are not shipping.
We took Benson’s concerns to Gregory and the KDA, and they remain firm on their stance against this legislation.
Gregory added: “I’m not sure how they do things in California, but in Kentucky, we strive for fairness, parity and equal treatment between alcohol sectors. They’re right that other states probably haven’t combined wine and spirits shipping because no other state has the tremendous economic and tourism impact from spirits — not to mention 200 years of rich history — like Kentucky. We are the birthplace of bourbon, and for out-of-state wine interests to think we would not seek equal treatment for our $8.6 billion signature industry is preposterous.”
If SB99 passes out of committee this week, it’ll go into effect with Gov. Bevin’s signature, but if it doesn’t get called into committee, it’ll likely disappear with the angel’s share. —Sara Havens
The company also owns the Hilton Garden Inn, which is where 8UP is located — well, eight stories up from the ground floor — and Hilton’s Home2Suites in NuLu.
First Hospitality plans to focus on service and building up a steady stream of regulars as well as making slight tweaks to the menu, including improving classic dishes and adding new options like foie gras mousse and scallops. They also plan to bring back the popular dry-rub chicken wings.
8UP opened in 2014 and was initially run by Concentrics Restaurants based in Atlanta. —Sara Havens
Air Devil’s Inn benefit raises more than $4,000
Check out the new awning. | Courtesy of Air Devil’s Inn
Last month, Insider brought you the news that Air Devil’s Inn, a beloved Bowman Field-area bar, was in need of some desperate help. The 85-year-old bar is on its last leg trying to keep up with repairs on a building that dates back to 1857.
Co-owner Kristie Shockley reached out to us late last week to share the good news that the bar was able to raise more than $4,000 with one benefit party held Sunday, Feb. 16. Another one is planned for Saturday, March 9.
“We are estimating 500 people attended,” said Shockley, who helps run the bar with her husband, Russell. “We raised $4,115, which was deposited into an account designated for repairs.The first things to be addressed will be our men’s room, the sagging floors and some other small things.”
A GoFundMe page also was started, and so far it has raised $465 on a $5,000 goal. Several people offered free plumbing and repair services, and a new awning was donated by River City Distribution. —Sara Havens
Spalding starts Kentucky’s first school of writing
Nineteen years ago, Spalding University created Kentucky’s first Master of Fine Arts writing program, which has been attended by many of the state’s leading authors, poets and scribes. Now, the Louisville university is starting Kentucky’s first school of writing — more specifically, the School of Creative and Professional Writing.
The school says it will incorporate Spalding’s existing graduate writing programs — the MFA and a post-baccalaureate certificate in creative writing — as well as a newly created Master of Arts in Writing program.
“With our existing programs in creative writing, Spalding is already one of the most innovative and affordable graduate writing programs in the U.S.,” said Kathleen Driskell, the current MFA program director who will step into the role of chair of the school, in a news release. “With the addition of the MAW and our new status as a school of writing, Spalding becomes one of the most innovative, comprehensive and affordable low-residency graduate writing schools in the country.”
Pending approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the first application deadline is Aug. 1. —Sara Havens
So long, Google Fiber, we hardly knew ye
Tax day will have a new wrinkle for a few neighborhoods in Louisville. Google Fiber reminded customers that its super fast internet service was ending here April 15. “Please begin finding another internet provider now,” read the notice that hit mailboxes last week. On the bright side, Google Fiber, started in Louisville in 2017, is free until then and customers do not have to return the Google Wi-Fi and Nvidia Shield devices that came with installation, it said, adding that a factory reset is recommended. —Mickey Meece
Old Louisville clinic offers substance abuse treatment
All Around Healthcare grand opening Feb. 27 at 1151 S. 4th St., Suite 100. | Courtesy of All Around
A clinic has opened in Old Louisville to provide basic health care services to the public and help people who are trying to break free from opioid addiction and alcohol abuse.
All Around Healthcare held a grand opening Wednesday at the South Fourth Street facility, where patients can receive primary care and urgent care for common illnesses and injuries.
But the substance abuse treatment is what has led the clinic to partner up with Louisville Metro Department of Corrections. The clinic offers Vivitrol, a monthly shot that’s intended to be given as part of a treatment plan that includes counseling after detox, according to the product’s website.
Corrections “sends their released inmates to both our locations for immediate addiction treatment,” All Around Chief Executive Montez Malone said in an email of Shively and now Old Louisville. “Since our new location has opened closer to downtown Louisville, these unique services will have even more of an impact on inmates with addiction being released from incarceration from the downtown Louisville Metro Corrections facility.” —Darla Carter
In Brief
Endeavor Louisville is accepting entry applications for Endeavor Entrepreneurs; AAF-Louisville announced over 100 ADDY Awards; Pizza Hut is testing the FedEx SameDay Bot delivery service in Memphis this summer, AdAge reports; and to own a home in Jefferson County, you’ll need 26 percent of your annual income, according to the March RealtyHop Housing Affordability Index.
Barron’s Penta profiles the serial entrepreneurs Joe and Lesley Heron of Copper Kings. “The reason we’re in Kentucky is we make American brandy with a capital A and a capital B,” Joe Heron says in the article. “Being anchored in Kentucky gives us a rational anchor on that.”
Amazon, which bought Whole Foods in 2017, is working on three grocery formats, the first of which could open this year, reported The Wall Street Journal.
“At that distance, swimming would be out of the question. And Jet Skis are notorious gas-guzzlers. No, all residents of Hawaii would be left with … is this,” Lee said, tongue firmly placed in cheek as he pointed to a large poster of Aquaman.
The 737 Max is flown by airlines around the world for short trips.
Analysts say the initial impact of the grounded jets will be contained, but may escalate if the fleet is not permitted to fly for a longer period.
Boeing grounds entire crash aircraft fleet
Ethiopian Airlines crash: Six charts on what we know
Which airlines use the Boeing 737 Max 8?
How popular is the 737 Max?
The 737 Max has been the fastest-selling aircraft in Boeing’s history, with more than 4,500 ordered by 100 different operators globally.
But the model still only accounts for a small proportion of travel around the world.
Globally, airlines were scheduled to fly just under 700,000 commercial flights this week, data from flight consultancy OAG shows.
Of those, 6,548 were due to be operated by a Boeing 737 Max variant.
“We are talking about just 1% of global flights planned for the aircraft this week,” said OAG’s John Grant.
Which regions will be most affected by the grounded jets?
The Boeing 737 Max 8 – the model involved in the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday – is generally used for short-haul and domestic flights.
Analysts say North America will face the most disruption as Southwest Airlines, Air Canada and American Airlines are the three largest operators of the 737 Max aircraft in the world.
Ellis Taylor, Asia Finance Editor at Flight Global, said the grounding of the aircraft “will have some impact” on US schedules.
Still, even if the grounded jets prompts some flight cancellations, analysts expect airlines will be able to accommodate passengers by putting them on other flights, using alternative aircraft or putting old jets back into action.
“There is plenty of capacity available globally to accommodate this capacity loss for quite a long period of time,” OAG’s Mr Grant said.
Flight Global’s Mr Taylor said the scheduled 737 Max flights in the US will mostly run using other jets, but there may be “some inconvenience over the next couple of days as the airlines implement their contingency plans”.
What will happen next?
The level of disruption will depend on how long the 737 Max aircraft are forbidden to fly.
That will turn on how long the investigation into what caused the Ethiopian Airlines crash takes, and what the cause is determined to be.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has a team investigating the Ethiopian Airlines crash site, has drawn parallels between the two disasters.
Flight Global’s Mr Taylor said it now looks more likely the grounding “will extend at least a few weeks, and potentially into a few months, but it all depends on what safety issues are identified”.
This week on MusicThinkTank, contributors weighed in on the FAA’s new ruling for musicians traveling by air, how to pick your first guitar, five fantastic songwriting apps, and more!
