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Boeing 737 MAX expected to stay grounded through early 2020


With help from Brianna Gurciullo, Stephanie Beasley and Tanya Snyder

Editor’s Note: This edition of Morning Transportation is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Pro Transportation subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 6 a.m. Learn more about POLITICO Pro’s comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, at politicopro.com.

Signs are pointing toward the FAA approving changes to the Boeing 737 MAX in February.

The FCC signed off on launching a proposed rule that would take away some of the airwaves reserved for vehicle safety.

A new Federal Highway Administration rule means that cities and states can use red pavement to mark bus lanes and stops.

HAPPY FRIDAY: Thanks for tuning in to POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports. Get in touch with tips, feedback or song lyric suggestions at smintz@politico.com or @samjmintz.

“Two trains / Two railroad tracks / One goin’ ‘n the other one comin’ back / There goes my baby on that ole train.” (h/t Robert Kirk).

LISTEN HERE: Follow MT’s playlist on Spotify. What better way to start your day than with songs (picked by us and readers) about roads, rails, rivers and runways.

THE 11-MONTH GROUNDING? The FAA could sign off on software changes and pilot training requirements for the MAX in February, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Air Current also reported that the FAA probably won’t unground the jet before then, partly because of “new concerns over the results of recent airline pilot evaluations of revised checklists.” Boeing had hoped the agency would rescind its grounding order this month and OK training requirements next month.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson met with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg on Thursday to talk about the MAX. An FAA official emailed lawmakers beforehand, saying Dickson was worried Boeing was pursuing “a return-to-service schedule that is not realistic.” Dickson also wanted to “address the perception that some of Boeing’s public statements have been designed to force FAA into taking quicker action.” After the meeting, a Boeing spokesperson said the company would “work with the FAA to support their requirements and their timeline as we work to safely return the MAX to service in 2020.” He added that Boeing “reaffirmed with the FAA that safety is our top shared priority.”

Also on Thursday, American Airlines announced it would take the MAX off its schedule through early April.

China speaks: China finally broke its silence on Boeing when a spokesperson for the country’s Civil Aviation Administration said Thursday that it has “important concerns on areas such as system reliability and safety assessment,” Reuters reported. China was the first nation to ground the MAX earlier this year, and the CAAC wouldn’t say when the plane might return to Chinese skies. Before the grounding, Chinese airlines were operating more MAX planes than any other country’s carriers, Reuters reported, citing Cirium Fleets Analyzer.

Something else that isn’t happening this month: Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said his panel won’t hold another hearing on the MAX until the new year.

THE FACE OF THE MODERN LABOR MOVEMENT IS A FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Sara Nelson, the fiery, progressive, anti-Trump president of the Association of Flight Attendants, is a rising star of the labor movement and poised for a potential run for the top spot of the AFL-CIO. A new profile of Nelson by POLITICO’s Ian Kullgren is full of juicy details — like the time she got louder applause than Sen. Bernie Sanders (earning a playful, profane whisper from another Democratic senator), and her involvement in a coup against a cancer-stricken union leader. The story also touches on Nelson’s role in one of the biggest transportation stories of the Trump administration: how an unofficial sickout by air traffic controllers ended the longest government shutdown in history. If that’s not enough to get you to click, let’s just say plainly: This story is worth a read.

DOC OF THE DAY: The NTSB released a final report on the fatal engine failure that happened on a Southwest Airlines flight last year.

IT’S OFFICIAL: The FCC voted unanimously on Thursday to “slice up 5.9 GHz auto safety airwaves to make room for Wi-Fi as well as new accident prevention technology, bucking DOT but thrilling advocates who have waited years for action,” writes Pro Tech’s John Hendel. The well-documented support and opposition have not changed since earlier this year when Chairman Ajit Pai announced he was considering such a move. Safety groups, as well as DOT, argue the spectrum should be reserved for transportation safety. Free market groups, cable companies and Ford Motor Company, which has invested in the CV2X tech that the FCC would make room for, are in favor.

NEW YEARS DATE: Remember the merger the Auto Alliance and Global Automakers recently acknowledged they’re “exploring”? It’s happening — Jan. 1, to be exact, according to sources in industry and Capitol Hill.

PAINTING THE TOWN RED: The Federal Highway Administration has approved the use of red pavement for bus lanes and stops and other transit uses, a change cheered by transit advocates and planners around the country. The agency had previously approved trial uses of red lanes in five cities, including D.C., but their use as a traffic control device had otherwise not been allowed. States or cities will now be granted the ability to paint lanes red if they write to FHWA asking for permission. “Positive operational effects have been noted in the experiments including the reduction of illegal occupancy of transit lanes by non-transit vehicles, travel time of transit vehicles, and illegal parking in transit lanes,” the agency said in its notice.

What it means: Corinne Kisner, executive director of the National Association of City Transportation Officials, said the new rule will pave the way for “transformative transit projects” that will now have much less bureaucratic gridlock to navigate.

CATCHING UP: The FAA’s secondary barriers working group will present its findings to the agency’s rulemaking advisory committee on March 20, working group members announced at a meeting Thursday. The group, which was formed by the FAA in September, will provide recommendations for an overdue mandate for secondary cockpit barriers on new passenger aircraft. An FAA spokesperson said that after the committee reviews and accepts the working group’s report, it will then submit the recommendations to the FAA. The original deadline for the agency to issue the secondary barriers directive was Oct. 5.

DOT BOOSTING RURAL FREIGHT, AND MORE: DOT announced a new pilot program on Thursday that aims to expedite low cost loans for short line and regional freight railroads. The Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Financing Express program (which is being built in to the existing RRIF) will offer quicker handling of loan applications and up to $26 million in additional finances for smaller operators. “This new financing program will strengthen the short line and regional railroad system, promote economic growth in rural communities, and boost America’s economic competitiveness,” said Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a statement.

Gus Maples, previously a Republican professional staff member on the Senate Appropriations Committee working on Transportation-HUD spending, is heading to the lobbying world to join Tai Ginsberg & Associates as director of government affairs.

Jill Blickstein has joined American Airlines from JPMorgan Chase to be managing director of ESG (environmental, social and governance).

— “Exclusive: Boeing delays plans for record 737 production until 2021 – sources.” Reuters.

— “Southwest Airlines reaches settlement with Boeing over damages from 737 MAX grounding.” USA Today.

— “Travelers hesitant to fly the Boeing 737 MAX, survey finds.” CNBC.

— “LAX embraces facial recognition tech, but Sea-Tac airport hits the brakes.” Los Angeles Times.

— “What’s the greenest way to travel?” Washington Post.

— “Delta pilots ask DOT to put conditions on proposed WestJet JV.” Air Transport World.

— “Delta steps back from luxury-jet flights in deal with wheels up.” Bloomberg.

— “Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium welcomes Volkswagen Group of America as its newest member, expanding its international expertise.” AVSC.

— “Lyft launches a car rental service with no mileage limit.” The Verge.

DOT appropriations run out in 7 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 1,388 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 293 days.





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