Emirates close to buying 30 Boeing 787 as it reviews fleet: sources

DUBAI -- Emirates and Boeing were poised on Wednesday to seal a compromise deal that would see the Dubai carrier order around 30 787 Dreamliners, paving the way for a reduced order for delayed 777X jets, people familiar with the matter said.

Emirates tentatively ordered 40 Dreamliners in 2017 but "tough" last-minute talks to finalize the order this week have hinged on negotiations over the fate of a massive separate order for 150 777X after the latter ran into delays, they said.

A restructuring of the 777X order may, however, not be highlighted officially at the Dubai Airshow, where Emirates plans an announcement for 0700 GMT on Wednesday (3 p.m. in Manila).

Emirates and Boeing declined to comment.

Sources cautioned talks were still going on in Dubai and the number of aircraft ordered could be subject to last-minute adjustments, but said it was unlikely Emirates would take all 40 787 jets announced at the largest Middle East air show in 2017.

One source said the order could involve as many as 35 787s.

Emirates has been looking at reducing part of its 777X order, which the airline's president Tim Clark said on Tuesday could be influenced by the delays and in turn determine whether it went ahead with a 787 deal.

Emirates says it no longer knows when it will receive its first 777X, which was supposed to be delivered next year. Boeing has said the 777X will be delivered in 2021.

Easing an eight-month-old crisis over the grounding of its smaller 737 MAX, Boeing had earlier at the Nov 17-21 show won tentative or firm orders for 60 of the grounded MAX jets.

But industry sources had warned that Boeing had risked leaving Dubai without resolving the critical set of interlocking deals with Emirates, the industry's largest customer for wide-body jets and the backbone for the 777X program.

A high-profile order announcement on Wednesday would also effectively deliver a message of support from Dubai for the troubled US planemaker, whose ongoing MAX crisis has harmed Emirates sister carrier flydubai, analysts said.

The United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, is a close ally of the United States, which has poured support into the region amid tensions between Iran and Gulf Arab states that provided a tense backdrop to the Middle East industry event. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Cell phone catches fire onboard Canada flight

Ottawa, Canada - A passenger was burned when her cell phone caught fire onboard a Canadian domestic flight Thursday morning, officials said.

The incident occurred at 7 am (1200 GMT) as Air Canada flight 101 was preparing to depart the Toronto airport for Vancouver.

"The fire was immediately extinguished by crews and there was no damage to the aircraft, however, the owner of the phone suffered injuries and was treated by emergency services who attended the aircraft," Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said.


He said the woman was able to walk off the plane in order to be treated for minor burns, but her condition was not immediately known.

The Boeing 787 jetliner with 266 passengers, meanwhile, took off after a two-hour delay.

Joe Cressy, a Toronto city councilor who was one of the passengers on the flight, praised the Air Canada crew and Pearson fire crew for the quick response to the cellphone fire. 

The make and model of the phone was not made public.

amc/ch

source: news.abs-cbn.com