The airline industry recorded its eighth consecutive month of below-average global passenger traffic growth in September and the International Air transport Association (IATA) says there is no sign of the trend reversing in the near term.

Freight volumes also remained weak to register its 11th  consecutive month of year-on-year declines, the longest such period since the global financial crisis in 2008.

IATA pointed to declining world trade activity and tariff wars, rising political and geopolitical tensions and a slowing global economy as the primary problems.

READ: Document glitch doesn’t deter Boeing MAX hopes

“These are challenging days for the global air transport industry,’’ IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac said.

“Pressure is coming from many directions.

“In a matter of weeks, four airlines in Europe went bust. Trade tensions are high and world trade is declining.

“The IMF recently revised down its GDP growth forecasts for 2019 to 3.0 percent.  If correct, this would be the weakest outcome since 2009, when the world was still struggling with the Global Financial Crisis.”

September global passenger traffic still grew by 3.8 percent compared to a year ago.

Tighter control on capacity growth saw planes continue to fill and establish a new September global load factor record of 81.9 percent.

International passenger demand in September rose by 3 per cent as  the load factor climbed to 81.6 percent.

North American carriers led the way a 4.3 percent growth in international passenger demand supported by solid consumer demand and job creation. The load factor jumped 2.2 points to 83 percent.

Asia-Pacific demand increased to 3.6 percent from 3.3 percent in August amid US trade tensions and political unrest in Hong Kong. The load factor slid 1.1 percentage points to 78.2 percent.

Europe, on the other hand, posted its weakest performance for this year with a 2.9 percent rise but the region the highest international load factor of any region at 86.9 percent.

“In addition to slowing economic activity and faltering business confidence in many of the key European economies, the result was also affected by the demise of a number of airlines, along with pilot strikes,’’ IATA said about the European results.

September international traffic growth slowed compared to August in the Middle East (falling to 1.8 percent), Latin America (falling to 1.2 percent) and Africa (falling to 0.9 percent).

Growth on the domestic front was more robust in September at 5.3 percent compared to the previous year while the load factor grew 0.5 percentage points to 82.3 percent.

US domestic traffic surged 6 percent in September. IATA noted this was somewhat exaggerated by a softer demand environment in 2018 but still described the demand environment as “robust”.

Japan recorded a 10.1 percent growth but this was distorted by the weak outcomes in September 2018 due to Typhoon Jebi.

September freight volumes remained weak with demand falling 4.5 percent and capacity outstripping supply for the 17^th consecutive month.

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, North American and the Middle east all suffered sharp declines in year-on-year freight volumes growth.

“The US-China trade war continues to take its toll on the air cargo industry,” de Juniac said.

“October’s pause on tariff hikes between Washington and Beijing is good news.

“But trillions of dollars of trade is already affected, which helped fuel September’s 4.5 percent year-on-year fall in demand.  And we can expect the tough business environment for air cargo to continue.”

Boeing is sticking with its assumption the Boeing 787 MAX will return to service to in the fourth quarter of this year despite a request from regulators that it resubmit documentation relating to the jet’s software.

The manufacturer confirmed it had been asked to resubmit some technical documentation relating to changes it is making to the MAX flight control software aimed at preventing a repeat of two fatal accidents.

The airliner has been grounded since March after software known as MCAS was implicated in the tragedies involving Indonesia’s Lion Air and Ethiopian Airways.

The changes were among issues flagged during a weekend meeting between US Federal Aviation Administration and European Union Aviation Safety Agency officials, according to Reuters.

READ: Ryanair expects further delay in MAX deliveries to cut growth

A Boeing spokesman told AirlineRatings that the company had provided technical documentation to the regulators as part of the software validation process.

“The documentation was complete, and it was provided in a format consistent with past submissions,’’ he said.

“Regulators have requested that the information be conveyed in a different form, and the documentation is being revised accordingly.

“While this happens, we continue to work with the FAA and global regulators on certification of the software for the safe return of the MAX to service.”

There has been much speculation about when the MAX will get back in the air and US carriers have taken it out of their schedules until early next year.

The European regulator, which is also conducting an assessment of the changes to the software and training has also indicated it doesn’t expect to make a decision before then.

The Boeing spokesman said the current assumption involved a return to service in the fourth quarter of 2019.

“This assumption reflects our best estimate at this time, but actual timing of return to service could differ from this estimate,’’ he said.

“We continue to work with civil aviation authorities on the 737 MAX’s safe return to service, and these authorities will determine the timing of return to service.”

Airbus expects the first A350 finished in China to roll off the final assembly line in 2021 as part of “a deepening and broadening” of aviation industry cooperation.

A  Memorandum of Understanding was signed in  Beijing this week by He Lifeng, the chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China and Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury that would see both sides agreeing “ to take practical and effective measures for new initiatives regarding both Airbus single-aisle and widebody aircraft”.

The signing, in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and visiting French President Emmanuel Macron, was in marked contrast to the tense relationship between China and the US.

Airbus is the process of boosting its A320 family production rate of 63 aircraft per month in 2021 and said its Tianjin A320 final assembly line (FAL Asia) remained on track to ramp up its production to six aircraft per month by the end of 2019.

READ: Air France CEO slams obsolete, problem-prone A380

This is 50 percent more than the facility’s original design expectations

“A350 XWB capabilities will be extended into the Airbus Tianjin wide-body Completion and Delivery Centre (C&DC) from the second half of 2020,’’ it said.

“The C&DC is scheduled to deliver its first A350 aircraft by 2021 from Tianjin.”

While China is no doubt happy to flaunt its relationships with Europe in the current US trade war, Tianjin is no Johnny-come-lately.

The A320 family final assembly line has been operating since 2008 and has delivered 450 aircraft to Chinese and Asian customers.

The Tianjin CD&C, the first Airbus widebody center outside Europe, was inaugurated in 2017.

It has concentrated on A330 completion activities such as cabin installation, aircraft painting and production flight tests, as well as customer acceptance and aircraft delivery.

“We attach great importance to our long-term strategic partnership with China and its aviation industry,” Faury said in the announcement. “Airbus is committed to serving this growth sector with the diverse portfolio it has to offer and we are committed to working with our Chinese partners to shape the future of the industry.”

As Airbus points out, China’s domestic market is set to become the world’s biggest and international traffic to and from the populous nation has nearly doubled over the last 10 years.

The Airbus Global Market Forecast predicts China will need about 7,560 new aircraft over the next 20 years.

Singapore Airlines is expecting passenger bookings to be stronger in the coming months compared to the same time last year and says yields will be supported by premium cabin traffic.

However, it warns that headwinds persist in terms of intensifying competition in key operating markets and the uncertain global economic outlook.

The somewhat optimistic outlook comes as the Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) saw its first-half net profit increase by 5.1 percent to $S206 million ($US152m)  in the first half of the financial year.

Group revenue rose 5.3 percent to $8.32 billion while higher fuel costs pushed up expenditure by 5.8 percent to $S7.91 billion.

READ: Virgin cuts capacity in sweeping network review

An 8.2 percent rise in passenger flown revenue and 7.6 percent growth in traffic helped the overall result as well as an operating profit for the parent airline company — mainline Singapore Airlines — that rose 11.2 percent to $S465 million.

However, SilkAir continued to be adversely affected by the global grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and recorded an operating loss of $S19m, up from $S3m in the first half 2018-19.

Low-cost offshoot Scoot saw an increase in revenue but its operating loss widened to $S77m from $S10m a year ago on lower yields, declining cargo revenue and other revenue falls.

It was a brighter story at SIA Engineering, which posted a 76 percent increase in operating profit to S37m.

SIA warned in its outllok that fuel prices were expected to remain volatile as a result of geopolitical and economic risks but said 75 percent of fuel requirements were hedged.

The airline is also entering the final lap of a three-year transformation program and said it ” remains committed to enhancing customer experience, improving operational efficiency and boosting revenue by strengthening digital capabilities”.

“The recent expansion of the KrisConnect program is one significant milestone,” it said.

“Utilising technology enablers such as NDC (New Distribution Capability), and APIs (Application Program Interface), KrisConnect facilitates integration and exchange of content between the Group and its partners, enabling customers to access personalized offerings across more distribution channels in addition to traditional owned channels.

“KrisShop, the airline’s flagship travel retailer, has been restructured to become a premium omnichannel e-commerce retailer.

“It will continue to expand its range of products and services through its themed concept stores and official brand stores on the new website.”

A diversion by a Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330 to Alice Springs has prompted a call by Australian safety investigators for a mandatory modification to engines powering some versions of the jet.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has issued safety recommendations to the US  Federal Aviation Administration and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney calling on them to “maximize”  a modification that would prevent a component failure of the PW4170 series engine.

READ: Qantas grounds three 737NGs with cracks.

The recommendations stem from a January 18, 2018 incident in which a Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-300 flying from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur diverted to Alice Springs in Central Australia due to a malfunctioning left engine.

ATSB investigators found that elevated temperatures had caused part of the third stage outer transition duct (OTD) to distort and fracture.

The large fractured section caused a blockage within the engine that created turbulent airflow, partially blocking a low-pressure turbine vane inlet stage and causing an increase in exhaust gas temperature.

The higher temperature led to low-pressure turbine blade failure, high vibration and compressor stall/surge events.

The ATSB found there had been 16 similar events globally within the past four years, all attributed to an increased thrust modification for the PW4000-100 engines called “Advanced 70”. This included five involving Malaysia Airlines aircraft.

Pratt & Whitney ceased producing the PW4000-100 series engines for the Airbus A330 in July 2017 but it has redesigned the OTD to withstand higher temperatures and the new hardware is available from this month.

Service bulletins will recommend the installation of the new ducts at the operator’s discretion but the ATSB would like to see the modifications made mandatory.

ATSB Director Transport Safety Stuart Macleod said that the ATSB welcomed the availability of the redesigned OTD

“This incident is an example of an engine modification that had undesirable consequences, and Pratt & Whitney has taken timely and significant safety action to redesign the outer transition duct,” ATSB director transport safety Stuart Macleod said.

“We have issued safety recommendations to Pratt & Whitney and to the United States Federal Aviation Administration, urging them to take action to maximise the fitment of the improved components,” Macleod said.

“If fleet-wide replacement is implemented, we expect this will address the safety issue.”

Malaysia Airlines told the ATSB it was conducting scheduled inspections to identify problems with the engines and would upgrade its fleet with the new OTD in stages.

The ATSB said the incident was also a reminder to pilots that the safest action when confronted with significantly abnormal indications in most instances was to land as soon as possible.

“Recognising that the crew’s response to the elevated temperature shortly after take-off was in accordance with the ECAM (electronic centralised aircraft monitoring) procedure, this occurrence highlights that significantly abnormal indications are often symptomatic of a developing problem,” Macleod said.

“In such circumstances, crews should give serious consideration to returning and landing the aircraft rather than continuing with the flight.”

Boeing has proposed using one rocket launch to deliver an integrated lunar lander system to lunar orbit as part of US plans to return to the moon under the Artemis program.

The aerospace giant says the approach reduces the complexity and risk of sending multiple elements into space on a number of launches and reduces the number of “mission-critical” events to five from the 11 it says are required by other strategies.

It says its integrated lander also can carry itself from lunar orbit to the surface without an additional transfer stage or “space tug,” further reducing launches and simplifying the steps to a successful landing.

READ: Boeing’s Starliner passes crucial test.

“Using the lift capability of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1B, we have developed a ‘Fewest Steps to the Moon’ approach that minimizes mission complexity, while offering the safest and most direct path to the lunar surface,” said Jim Chilton, senior vice president of Space and Launch for Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

US President Donald Trump issued a policy directive in 2017 directing NASA to return astronauts to the moon before heading to Mars.

The administration wants to land humans by 2024 and NASA has indicated it intends to land the first woman on the moon as part of the program.

Artemis has several components including the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, a space station around the moon that would be accessed by the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle designed to take astronauts beyond Earth orbit and capable of carrying up to six astronauts.

Several private companies, including Space X and Blue Origin, are also competing for the project.

Boeing proposes using the giant SLS rocket currently in production at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), arguing it has “unmatched lift capability that builds on proven flight components”.

This approach shortens development time and lowers risk, enabling NASA to safely land on the moon’s surface by 2024, it says.

It argues the lander’s flexible design allows for the fastest path to lunar flights while providing a robust platform that can perform NASA’s full range of exploration missions.

The spacecraft will be able to dock with the Gateway lunar orbiter or directly with NASA’s Orion to eliminate the need for an additional spacecraft.

The aerospace giant is promising advances in the design that include innovations in its engines, composites, and automated landing and rendezvous systems.

It says key technologies are based on its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, which recently passed a crucial abort test will be fully demonstrated during a flight to the International Space Station planned for December.

Boeing partnered with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, and Kennedy Space Center and says it will collaborate closely with NASA to integrate, certify, and operate its system.