Congress passes plan to ease flight delays

By Doug Palmer and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved a Senate plan to ease nationwide air-traffic delays caused by automatic federal spending cuts, seeking to calm irritated travelers but sparking a backlash from interest groups not spared from cuts.

The Senate had unanimously voted for the plan late Thursday and the House approved it by a 361-41 vote. White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama plans to sign the bill.

The legislation will give the Department of Transportation flexibility to use about $250 million in unspent funds to cover the costs of air traffic controllers and other essential employees at the Federal Aviation Administration who had been furloughed.

Congressional approval of the bill, barely four pages long, came as lawmakers looked to fly out of Washington for a week-long recess. It was not clear how quickly the air delays will ease once the bill is enacted.

Lawmakers were eager to stem the growing wrath of the traveling public, which had dealt with significant take-off and landing delays since the furloughs started on Sunday.

They had also faced anger from airline CEOs whose companies had mounted a grassroots campaign through a website called dontgroundamerica.com, encouraging Americans to send messages to Congress and the White House.

The quick legislative action marks a surprising bipartisan effort, especially after many Republicans had accused the Obama administration of manipulating funds to maximize the impact of the budget cuts and thus make Republicans look bad.

FRESH LOBBYING TO FOLLOW?

The move does come with the risk, though, of unleashing lobbying campaigns to ease other program cuts triggered by the controversial "sequestration" that took effect on March 1, requiring across-the-board spending cuts among most federal agencies.

Even as they lined up behind the bipartisan bill, House Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for what House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called "mindless" across-the-board spending cuts that brought the FAA furloughs.

Republican Representative Tom Latham of Iowa, who oversees transportation spending, accused the Obama administration of "shameful politics" by carrying out the furloughs, which the FAA said were required by the deficit-reduction law. "This is no way to run a government," he said.

Democrat after Democrat reminded Republicans that the Republican-controlled House had approved the sequestration in 2011. They complained that the FAA legislation fails to prevent 70,000 poor children from losing pre-school education, 4 million fewer meals from being delivered to poor, elderly people and stop the grounding of some military air combat units.

"Let's deal with all the adverse cuts, not just those that affect the affluent traveling sector," said Representative Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking House Democrat.

JOB 'WELL DONE'

Democratic Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland summed up the quick passage of the bill, as Congress hurried to start its recess, by saying: "Members of this House are going to run for the airports. They're all going to be flying home on airplanes. And, yes, they will make it easier for members of Congress to get through those lines. And they will pat themselves on the back and say job well done."

The plan for the budget cuts was originally hatched by Washington in 2011 as a way to force the White House and Congress to find an alternative budget deal. But policymakers failed to reach such a deal earlier this year.

The cuts aimed to trim a total $109 billion from federal spending through September of this year and affect a broad range of programs, from early education to medical research.

Congress faces yet another round of these automatic spending cuts that would start on October 1.

Some interest groups immediately cried foul at the FAA fix.

Cynthia Pellegrini, an executive at March of Dimes, a nonprofit that advocates for the health of mothers and babies, said she was troubled by Congress acting on a case-by-case basis.

"Over the next several months we feel there are going to be significant impacts on women, children and families," Pellegrini said in an interview. "This may not be as visible as longer lines at the airport. You can't see that a child's belly is emptier because her family couldn't get food assistance."

The U.S. Travel Association on Friday said it appreciated Congress' swift action, but said it was concerned that funds may be diverted from critical infrastructure projects.

"At a time when we should be modernizing our infrastructure to improve efficiency, capacity and U.S. global competitiveness, sequestration-related issues should not be solved on the backs of airports," the group said in a statement.

BAND-AID

Without the legislation, the FAA said it would have to furlough 47,000 employees for up to 11 days through September 30 in order to save $637 million that is required by the sequestration.

Of those 47,000 workers, almost 15,000 are full-time air traffic controllers or trainees.

While supporting the legislation, the White House on Friday said it falls short of broader action needed to address sequestration. "It will be good news for America's traveling public if Congress spares them these unnecessary delays," White House spokesman Carney said in a statement.

Carney said lawmakers need to take additional steps to alleviate the impact felt beyond the airline industry from the cuts, such as among poorer elderly people, defense industry workers and others brought on by sequestration.

"Ultimately, this is no more than a temporary Band-Aid that fails to address the overarching threat to our economy posed by the sequester's mindless across-the-board cuts," he said.

Transportation officials have made other cuts to their budget but furloughs of air traffic controllers began this week, prompting traveler backlash at major hubs like those in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

On Friday morning, departing flights at Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed more than an hour and 15 minutes, and Boston's Logan Airport had departure delays of more than 30 minutes, both due to staffing, the FAA said. Teterboro airport in New Jersey, which handles many corporate jets, also was experiencing delays of more than 90 minutes due to staffing.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Doug Palmer, Susan Heavey, Karen Jacobs and Alwyn Scott; Writing by Karey Van Hall; Editing by Bill Trott)

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Test flight for 787 by end of week: sources

SEATTLE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co plans to conduct two flight tests of its revamped 787 battery system, possibly as soon as the end of the week, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The 787 flights, the first since February, would mark another step toward Boeing's recently announced goal of returning the grounded jet to service in a matter of weeks, not months.

Regulators banned the plane from the skies in January after lithium-ion batteries burned on two 787s in quick succession that month. The Federal Aviation Administration gave Boeing permission for a single "ferry" flight on February 7 to move a jet to Washington state from Texas, carrying minimal crew and no passengers.

Boeing declined to comment.

The FAA on March 12 approved Boeing's plan to test a redesigned battery system, to prove it is safe. The FAA-approved plan includes a rigorous battery testing standard Boeing helped develop but did not previously use.

Boeing said last week that it was one-third of the way through the testing, and expected to finish in a week or two. Boeing's prediction drew skepticism from some regulators and industry experts, who said it was too early to say when the Dreamliner would fly again with the root cause of the battery overheating still unknown.

The testing regimen set by the FAA requires one flight test. But Boeing plans to conduct two flights: One for its own purposes and a second to gather data to submit for FAA approval, according to the sources, who spoke on condition that they not be named.

The flights could still be delayed by weather or other factors. Flight plans for the events had not yet been filed with the FAA.

The flights would depart from and return to Paine Field, an airport adjacent to the factory in Everett, Washington, where the 787 Dreamliner is made.

(Reporting by Alwyn Scott in Seattle and Andrea Shala-Esa in Washington; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

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Man accused of slapping child on flight pleads not guilty

By David Beasley

ATLANTA (Reuters) - An Idaho man accused of slapping a child and using a racial slur on an airplane pleaded not guilty to federal assault charges in Atlanta on Wednesday, his lawyer said.

Joe Rickey Hundley of Hayden, Idaho, is accused of striking a 19-month-old boy in the face on board a Delta Air Lines flight on February 8, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

The boy's mother, who was seated with her son, said in interviews that the child was crying as the plane from Minneapolis descended into Atlanta.

An attorney for Hundley, 60, said he used a racial slur when the child started crying because of ear pressure, but she denied that Hundley struck the boy.

The baby is black and his adoptive mother, Jessica Bennett of Minneapolis, is white. Hundley also is white.

In a statement on Wednesday, Hundley's lawyer said he had been traveling to Atlanta to decide whether to remove his son from life support. Twenty-four hours before the flight, Hundley was told his son had overdosed on insulin and was "in a coma for life," attorney Marcia Shein said.

"On the flight, he was in distress, upset and grieving," Shein said.

In media interviews, the child's mother has said Hundley was belligerent and seemed intoxicated during the flight.

Hundley was fired from his executive position at AGC Aerospace & Defense after the alleged slapping incident, his attorney said. The Oklahoma City-based military technology company issued a statement describing the executive's behavior as "offensive and disturbing."

Hundley's son, whose age was not given, died the day after the flight, Shein said.

Hundley "has paid a terrible price for his hurtful words," the lawyer said.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Lisa Shumaker)

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United removing Boeing 787 from flight plans

(Reuters) - United Continental Holdings said on Thursday it was taking Boeing Co's grounded 787 Dreamliner out of its flying plans through June 5, except for a Denver-to-Tokyo route scheduled for a tentative launch in May.

United's decision came as a Japanese investigation of a fuel leak on a Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL) indicated the cause to be a coating around the mechanism that controls fuel movement between tanks.

Japanese officials launched the investigation after two fuel leaks on the JAL 787, just days before authorities around the world grounded the new lightweight passenger jets over battery failures that sparked fires on two planes in January.

Japanese authorities still have not found the cause of the battery issue.

Airlines operating 787s are setting schedules for coming months while still uncertain about when the plane will be able to resume service following the fleet's grounding five weeks ago.

Boeing is due to meet with the head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Friday to present measures designed to prevent further battery failures, a source told Reuters, even though the root cause of the electrical problem has not been determined.

United spokeswoman Christen David said in a statement on Thursday that the carrier's Denver to Tokyo Narita International route, originally set to start March 31, had been postponed to May 12.

The launch would ultimately depend on a successful resolution of the safety incidents that have grounded the 787. Other service with the 787 won't resume until after June 5, David said.

"We are taking the 787 out of our schedule through June 5, except for Denver-Narita, which will tentatively launch on May 12," United's statement said.

MAINTAINING DIALOGUE

Boeing said it was maintaining communication with United as the plane maker develops a plan to resume 787 service. "We deeply regret the impact the recent events have had on the schedule for United and their customers," Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said in an emailed comment.

United's statement doesn't mean that the 787 won't be ready to fly again before June 5, said Carter Leake, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets.

Rather, it means United will not put the jet into service before then. If the plane is available sooner but United cannot use it on its scheduled routes, Boeing likely would have to pay United compensation that Leake estimates at about $800,000 a month, based on lease rates.

"This does not tell you that Boeing's plane is grounded until June," he said. "It tells you that Boeing's costs to United could be as if it's grounded until June."

A "superbox" to contain the battery or some other fix "might come sooner, but United is not paying" to have the jet until after June 5, he added.

In a similar move, Poland's national airline LOT said last week that it would not use the 787 before October and that it is seeking compensation from Boeing .

"Airlines don't make money while their planes are on the ground," said Morningstar airline analyst Basili Alukos.

United is the only U.S. carrier currently operating the 787 and has six of the planes, worth $207 million apiece at list prices. JAL and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have nearly half of the 50 jets delivered to airlines so far.

Japan's Transport Ministry said it believed the manufacturing process led to deficiencies in the way electrical-insulating coating was applied to the mechanism that opened and closed the fuel-tank valve.

Investigators also found foreign matter on a switch that operated the same mechanism, causing it to send a signal that the valve was closed when it was still half open -- leading to the leak.

The ministry said four Dreamliners in Japan, two from JAL and two from ANA, might be affected by the manufacturing process.

(Reporting by Karen Jacobs; Additional reporting by Alwyn Scott and James Topham; Editing by Bernard Orr and Stephen Coates)

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