The Icelandair Boeing 737 Max training simulator is seen at the TRU Flight Training Iceland in Reykjavik, Iceland on Jan. 17, 2020.
GEIRIX/Reuters
Airlines are scrambling to book time in 737 Max training facilities as far afield as Fiji, Iceland and Panama, operators said, after Boeing Co. recommended pilots be trained in one of the few simulators replicating the latest model.
That means thousands of pilots from more than 54 airlines need to squeeze into about three dozen 737 Max simulators around the world before they can fly the plane.
“Boeing is recommending that all 737 Max pilots undergo training in a 737 Max simulator prior to flying the aircraft in commercial service,” the company told Reuters on Tuesday evening, the first confirmation of its new policy.
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On Jan. 7, the company had recommended using a simulator but did not specify what type.
The 737 Max has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes and cannot return to service until regulators approve software changes and training plans.
The estimated 34 737 Max simulators in service, produced separately by CAE Inc and Textron Inc’s simulator and training division TRU, are less than a quarter of the number of older 737 NG simulators certified by U.S. and European regulators.
“I think that what a shortage of simulators will mean is the fleet of Maxes will start flying more slowly than what the airlines would like,” said Gudmundur Orn Gunnarsson, managing director of TRU Flight Training Iceland, a joint venture between Icelandair and Textron’s simulator and training division.
“In the beginning it was said that simulator training would not be needed,” he said. “This changes it totally.”
SIMULATORS SCARCE
Inside the Icelandair Boeing 737 Max training simulator in the TRU Flight Training Iceland in Reykjavik, Iceland on Jan. 17, 2020.
GEIRIX/Reuters
Gunnarsson said TRU Flight Training Iceland had more inquiries than usual from potential airline customers about the use of its 737 Max simulator since Boeing’s Jan. 7 announcement.
Boeing said on Tuesday it did not expect to win approval for returning the 737 Max to service until mid-year, longer than previous estimates, in part because regulators are working on new pilot training requirements.
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Many airlines did not order 737 Max simulators, assuming they could rely on the older 737 NG simulators because the types were so similar.
Simulators can cost C$10 million (5.8 million pounds) to C$20 million each, with the 737 Max at the upper end, CAE said. Hourly rates for simulator training can cost $500 to $1,000, it said.
High demand for 737 Max simulators has led the Montreal-company and its rival TRU to produce simulators for customers they have yet to line up.
“Customers are making increasing inquiries from all over the globe,” a TRU spokeswoman said.
South Korean low-cost carrier Eastar Jet, which does not have a 737 Max simulator, said it had already contacted Boeing, other airlines and training centres.
“With limited Max simulators available, we expect carriers will likely face challenges to book slots for Max simulators,” said an Eastar official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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SELLING TIME
Fiji Airways spent more than $10 million to buy a 737 Max simulator to help save on the costs and lost productivity of sending pilots to Singapore, Australia and the United States for training, said its chief operating officer, Paul Doherty.
The carrier uses its simulator 35% to 42% of the available hours to train its 70 737 pilots and had plans to sell the additional time. Now it is getting calls from airlines thousands of miles away.
“We have got interest … particularly from Asia,” Doherty said. “We are expecting some from the U.S. Our focus is to really develop our own pilots and to provide the best for Fiji Airways, but we are also very happy to help other airlines that need some time. That could be a real choke point, I think, for a lot of airlines.”
Panamanian carrier Copa Holdings SA, one of the few Latin American airlines with a 737 Max simulator, said it was seeing a lot of demand, although it was not authorized to disclose the interested carriers. Copa said its top priority was to train its own 245 pilots that will fly the 737 Max.
U.S. airlines have more simulators than many of their counterparts abroad, but they also have more 737 pilots to train, which could be done in stages.
Before Boeing’s recommendations for simulator training, Southwest Airlines Co, the world’s largest 737 operator, had estimated it would take about 30 days to train all of its roughly 10,000 737 pilots on the Max.
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On Tuesday, the Dallas-based carrier said it would be premature to make cost and timing estimates before regulators approved a training package.
The airline said it has three simulators in various stages of FAA certification and expects to receive an additional three in late 2020.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
