Tag: Secretary (Page 2 of 2)

Brazil to Lure Airlines to Fly Domestic, Taking Meetings with Three Carriers

October 27, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil is determined to lure airlines to operate domestic flights in Latin America’s largest aviation market, and is taking meetings with at least three carriers, a senior government official told Reuters.

“We are going to talk with Jet Blue, we are going to talk with Volaris, a Mexican group … we are going to talk with Sky Airline, which is Chilean,” Ronei Glanzmann, Brazil’s civil aviation secretary, told Reuters on the sidelines of the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum, an industry conference.

“These are conversations to introduce Brazil to them, they do not mean that the airlines are saying that they will come here,” he added.

Glanzmann said the meetings with Volaris and JetBlue Airways Corp <JBLU> will take place on Monday.

A representative for Sky said they had canceled their participation in the ALTA conference due to the civil unrest in Chile, but declined to comment on taking a meeting with the Brazilian government. Jet Blue and Volaris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brazil’s government has recently begun a push to open its aviation market, the largest in Latin America. Right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro has allowed foreign carriers to set up domestic carriers in the country.

Currently, Brazil’s domestic air travel market is highly concentrated among three airlines. Until earlier this year, there was a fourth player, Avianca Brasil, but the airline stopped operations in May after filing for bankruptcy operations late last year, highlighting the high risk and volatility of operating in Brazil.

Reaction to Brazil’s liberalization has been slow, but already Spanish airline group Globalia has declared its intention to operate a domestic airline in Brazil. But Glanzmann hopes others will too.

His strategy, he said, involves airlines dipping their toes in the Brazilian market first by operating international flights.

“We are working first with international routes, but we are already working so that those operations will become domestic operations in the Brazilian market,” Glanzmann said.

In the past year, four foreign low cost airlines have begun operating international flights to Brazil: JetSMART, which belongs to Indigo Partners, Sky Airline, Norwegian Air Shuttle <NWARF> and Argentina’s Flybondi.

Still, some industry watchers are skeptical that anyone will attempt to enter Brazil’s domestic market anytime soon.

“We don’t see anything changing in the short term regarding a new low cost airline operating domestically,” said Eduardo Sanovicz, who heads ABEAR, an industry group that represents Brazil’s two largest airlines. “For a company to start flying in Brazil, they will need to know that they will have the same costs as we do.”

Brazil’s carriers have long complained about high costs of operating in Brazil, especially value-added taxes on fuel that can be as high as 25%.

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Microsoft Beats Amazon for Pentagon $10 Billion Cloud Computing Contract

October 26, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp. has won the Pentagon’s $10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, beating out favorite Amazon.com Inc.

The contracting process had long been mired in conflict of interest allegations, even drawing the attention of President Donald Trump, who has publicly taken swipes at Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos. Trump in August said his administration was reviewing Amazon’s bid after complaints from other companies.

The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract is part of a broader digital modernization of the Pentagon meant to make it more technologically agile. Specifically, a goal of JEDI is to give the military better access to data and the cloud from battlefields and other remote locations.

Oracle Corp had expressed concerns about the award process for the contract, including the role of a former Amazon employee who worked on the project at the Defense Department but recused himself, then later left the Defense Department and returned to Amazon Web Services.

In a statement, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) spokesman said the company was “surprised about this conclusion.”

The company said that a “detailed assessment purely on the comparative offerings” would “clearly lead to a different conclusion,” according to the statement.

AWS is considering options for protesting the award, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Although the Pentagon boasts the world’s most potent fighting force, its information technology remains woefully inadequate, according to many officials.

Officials have complained of having outdated computer systems and being unable to access files or share information as quickly as they might be able to in the private sector.

“If I am a warfighter, I want as much data as you could possibly give me,” Lieutenant General Jack Shanahan, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, told reporters in August describing the importance of the contract.

Some companies were concerned that a single award would give the winner an unfair advantage in follow-on work. The Pentagon has said it planned to award future cloud deals to multiple contractors.

This week, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper removed himself from reviewing the deal due to his adult son’s employment with one of the original contract applicants, IBM Corp. IBM had previously bid for the contract but had already been eliminated from the competition.

Microsoft said it was working on a comment. IBM and Oracle did not immediately return requests for comment.

In a book slated for publication Oct. 29, retired Navy commander Guy Snodgrass, who served as a speech writer to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, said Trump called Mattis and directed him to “screw Amazon” by preventing it from bidding on the JEDI contract, according to an excerpt of the book seen by Reuters ahead of its release.

“We’re not going to do that,” Mattis later told other Pentagon officials, according to the excerpt. “This will be done by the book, both legally and ethically.”

Snodgrass declined to comment pending the release of his book.

In a statement announcing Microsoft as the winner, the Pentagon underscored its view that the competition was conducted fairly and legally.

“All (offers) were treated fairly and evaluated consistently with the solicitation’s stated evaluation criteria. Prior to the award, the department conferred with the DOD Inspector General, which informed the decision to proceed,” it said.

Microsoft shares were up 3% to $144.98 in after-hours trading after the news. Amazon shares were down 0.92% to $1,745.12.

The Pentagon said it had awarded more than $11 billion across 10 separate cloud contracts over the past two years.

“As we continue to execute the DOD Cloud Strategy, additional contracts are planned for both cloud services and complementary migration and integration solutions necessary to achieve effective cloud adoption,” the Pentagon said.

(Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco Reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Sonya Hepinstall and Lincoln Feast)

President Trump Bans Cuban Flights, Except for Havana

October 25, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

WASHINGTON/HAVANA, Oct 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. government said on Friday it would bar U.S. airlines from flying to all destinations in Cuba besides Havana starting on Dec. 10 as the Trump administration boosts pressure on the Cuban government.

The U.S. Transportation Department said in a notice it was taking the action at the request of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “further the administration’s policy of strengthening the economic consequences to the Cuban regime for its ongoing repression of the Cuban people and its support for Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.”

The move will bar U.S. air carrier flights to any of the nine international airports in Cuba other than Havana and impact about 8 flights a day.

The prohibition does not impact charter flights. There are no foreign air carriers providing direct scheduled flights between the United States and Cuba.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a tweet that his country strongly condemned the move and that it “strengthened restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba and its citizens’ freedoms.”

Rodriguez said sanctions would not force Cuba to make concessions to U.S. demands.

These flights carry almost exclusively Cuban Americans visiting home at a time when the Trump administration has drastically reduced visas for Cubans visiting the United States. Some 500,000 Cuban Americans traveled to Cuba last year.

The new measure takes effect soon before Christmas and New Year’s when Cuban Americans flock to the island for family reunions.

Further restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba would be aimed at squeezing the island economically and expanding Trump’s steady rollback of the historic opening to Cuba by Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama. The reversal, along with his pressure on Venezuela, has gone over well among Cuban Americans in South Florida, a key voting bloc in Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign.

Under Obama, the United States reintroduced U.S. airline service to Cuba in 2016. Pompeo said on Twitter on Friday that “this action will prevent the Castro regime from profiting from U.S. air travel and using the revenues to repress the Cuban people.”

According to U.S. officials, JetBlue Airways Corp flies to three destinations in Cuba in addition to Havana from Fort Lauderdale — Camaguey, Holguin and Santa Clara — and American Airlines flies to five Cuban cities beyond Havana from Miami — Camaguey, Holguin, Santa Clara, Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas/Varadero.

American Airlines said it is “reviewing the announcement and “will continue to comply with federal law, work with the administration, and update our policies and procedures regarding travel to Cuba as necessary.”

Jet Blue said it will “operate in full compliance with the new policy concerning scheduled air service between the United States and Cuba. We are beginning to work with our various government and commercial partners to understand the full impact of this change on our customers and operations.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; additional reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Chris Reese and Sandra Maler)

United Airlines Adding New Service to Tokyo Haneda Airport

August 18, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

CHICAGO, Aug. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — United Airlines today announced it will begin service between four of its U.S. hubs and Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, located approximately 15 minutes from downtown Tokyo. United will begin operating nonstop service between Chicago, Los Angeles, New York/Newark and Washington, D.C. and Haneda on March 28, 2020, subject to government approval. United currently offers daily nonstop service between San Francisco and Haneda. Tickets for United’s new Haneda flights will be available for purchase starting Saturday, August 17.

In addition to United’s new Haneda flights, Tokyo’s Narita International airport will continue to be a hub for United with nonstop daily service between Narita and Denver, Guam, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark and San Francisco. With the start of these new routes, United will no longer serve Narita from its Chicago and Washington D.C. hubs, and will shift these flights from Narita to Haneda.

“Our new service to Haneda gives our customers more choice and connections to more than 65 destinations throughout Asia. With service beginning next spring, we look forward to providing convenient service for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and beyond,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of International Network. “United has offered nonstop service between the U.S. and Japan for more than 40 years and we are excited to expand our Japan network at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and continue to be the largest U.S. carrier to Japan.”

United commends the efforts of Secretary Elaine Chao, her team at the U.S. Department of Transportation and officials at the U.S. State Department in making additional services at Tokyo Haneda a reality starting spring 2020.

Every customer. Every flight. Every day.

In 2019, United is focusing more than ever on its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers’ best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today’s announcement, United recently announced that customers on all domestic flights can now choose from three complimentary inflight snack items, announced that luxury skincare line Sunday Riley will make products exclusively for United customers to experience in amenity kits, released a re-imagined version of the most downloaded app in the airline industry, introduced ConnectionSaver, a new tool dedicated to improving the experience for customers connecting from one United flight to the next and made DIRECTV free for every passenger on 211 aircraft, offering more than 100 channels on seat back monitors on more than 30,000 seats.

About United

United’s shared purpose is “Connecting People. Uniting the World.” We are more focused than ever on our commitment to customers through a series of innovations and improvements designed to help build a great experience: Every customer. Every flight. Every day. Together, United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,900 flights a day to 356 airports across five continents. In 2018, United and United Express operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 158 million customers. United is proud to have the world’s most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 783 mainline aircraft and the airline’s United Express carriers operate 561 regional aircraft. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United’s parent, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol “UAL”.

U.S. Arms Makers See Booming European Demand

June 23, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport

PARIS (Reuters) – U.S. arms makers say European demand for fighter jets, missile defenses and other weapons is growing fast amid heightened concerns about Russia and Iran.

The U.S. government sent a group of unusually high-ranking officials including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to the Paris Airshow this year, where nearly 400 U.S. companies were showcasing equipment as the United States and Iran neared open confrontation in the Persian Gulf.

Lockheed Martin, Boeing and other top weapons makers said they had seen accelerating demand for U.S. weapons at the biennial air show despite escalating trade tensions between the United States and Europe.

“Two Paris air shows ago, there weren’t a lot of orders,” said Rick Edwards, who heads Lockheed’s international division. “Now … our fastest growth market for Lockheed Martin in the world is Europe.”

Many European nations have increased military spending since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014, bolstering missile defenses and upgrading or replacing ageing fighter jet fleets. NATO members agreed in 2014 to move toward spending 2% of gross domestic product on defence.

Eric Fanning, chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association, said the NATO pledge and European concerns about Russia were fueling demand. “I do think it reflects the increasing provocations of Russia,” he said.

Industry executives and government officials say growing concern about Iran’s missile development program is another key factor. Tehran’s downing of a U.S. drone came late in the air show, but executives said it would support further demand.

“Iran is our best business development partner. Every time they do something like this, it heightens awareness of the threat,” said one senior defence industry executive, who asked not to be named.

Edwards said Lockheed’s F-35 stealth fighter, selected by Belgium, is poised to win another new order from Poland, while Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania are also working to replace Soviet-era equipment.

Edwards and other executives say they see no impact from the ongoing trade disputes between U.S. President Donald Trump and the European Union.

U.S. Army Lieutenant General Charles Hooper, director of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), said Europe accounted for nearly a quarter of the $55.7 billion in foreign arms sales his agency handled in fiscal 2018.

Hooper said the U.S. government was making concerted efforts to speed arms sales approvals and boost sales to help arm allies with U.S. weapons.

Ralph Acaba, president of Raytheon Co’s’s Integrated Defense Systems business, said the company was boosting automation and working to deliver the Patriot missile system and other weapons in half the five-year period previously typical.

“Europe is really big for us now, and that’s a big change in just the last few years and even the last 18 months,” he said.

In addition to wooing new Patriot customers, Raytheon is upgrading existing systems for customers like Germany, which is likely to finalize a contract worth potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to the company in coming months.

Thomas Breckenridge, head of international sales for Boeing’s strike, surveillance and mobility programs, is eyeing contracts wins for Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets in Germany, Switzerland and Finland.

“There’s a huge appetite in Europe for defence as a whole,” he said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Jan Harvey)

FAA Convenes Review Board for Boeing Software Fix

May 7, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday it had convened a multi-agency Technical Advisory Board to review Boeing’s proposed software fix on the grounded 737 MAX.

The board consists of experts from the FAA, U.S. Air Force, NASA and Volpe National Transportation Systems Center that were not involved in any aspect of the Boeing 737 MAX certification. The board’s recommendations will “directly inform the FAA’s decision concerning the 737 MAX fleet’s safe return to service.”

The plane was grounded worldwide in mid-March after two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in October and March killed 346 people.

Boeing, which has yet to formally submit the software fix to the FAA for approval, did not immediately comment Tuesday on the new review.

Some in Congress have urged the FAA to conduct an independent review into the anti-stall system at the center of investigations into two deadly plane crashes before allowing the planes to resume flying.

The board known as TAB will assess Boeing’s proposed fix to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), the FAA said.

“The TAB is charged with evaluating Boeing and FAA efforts related to Boeing’s software update and its integration into the 737 MAX flight control system. The TAB will identify issues where further investigation is required prior to FAA approval of the design change,” the FAA said.

The world’s largest planemaker, facing its worst crisis in years and the worldwide grounding of its top-selling jetliner, has said its software upgrade and associated pilot training will add layers of protection to prevent erroneous data from triggering MCAS.

The system activated in the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March and also during a separate Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October.

There are a number of other reviews ongoing, including a blue-ribbon committee appointed by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao looking at the FAA’s aircraft certification process.

Federal prosecutors, the Transportation Department’s inspector general and lawmakers are investigating the FAA’s certification of the 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

A separate joint review by 10 governmental air regulators started last week and is expected to last about 90 days, but the FAA has said that a decision on ungrounding the plane is not contingent on that review being completed.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

U.S. Names Experts to Boeing Certification Review Panel

April 22, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said on Monday she named four experts to a blue-ribbon committee to review the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) aircraft certification process after two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes killed nearly 350 people.

Chao said she was naming NASA’s former aviation safety program director Amy Pritchett and Gretchen Haskins, chief executive of HeliOffshore Ltd, an international expert in aviation safety and a former U.S. Air Force officer.

She also named Kenneth Hylander, chief safety officer at Amtrak and a former senior safety executive at Delta and Northwest airlines, and J. David Grizzle, chairman of the board of Republic Airways and a former FAA chief counsel.

The committee is “specifically tasked to review the 737 MAX 800 certification process from 2012 to 2017, and recommend improvements to the certification process.”

U.S. lawmakers have criticized the FAA’s program that allows Boeing Co and other manufacturers to oversee the process that ensures air worthiness and other vital safety aspects of new aircraft.

Chao said last month the panel would be co-chaired by retired Air Force General Darren McDew, the former head of the U.S. Transportation Command, and Lee Moak, a former president of the Air Line Pilots Association.

Federal prosecutors, the Transportation Department’s inspector general and lawmakers are investigating the FAA’s certification of the 737 MAX 8 aircraft. A joint review by 10 governmental air regulators is also set to start April 29.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown)