- Adding capacity is the last thing the airline industry and its investors want, but that is exactly what American Airlines plans to do, and analysts are not happy about it. Also, they might not have financing for their soon-to-be-delivered 777-300ER. [Dallas Morning News]
- Does the US Air Force really need a new $55 billion bomber program? [Center for Public Integrity, via Huffington Post]
- US Customs agents at Miami International Airport found jars filled with human fetuses were in the luggage of two women returning from Cuba. [Associated Press]
- Airliner leasing maven Steven Udvar-Hazy says the Boeing 737 MAX is not a long-term solution for narrowbody flying. [Flightglobal]
- The US FAA is keeping carriers from the Phillipines on their “black list” due to safety shortfalls. [Associated Press, via BusinessWeek]
- The recent spurt of massive aircraft orders from airlines like Lion Air and American Airlines is “proof that there are still a number of egos running airlines around the world,” says ILFC CEO Henri Courpron. [Wall Street Journal]
- China won’t let Lufthansa begin flying Airbus A380s to Shanghai due to the EU’s new emissions trading scheme. [Air Transport World]
- Meanwhile, in Russia… A helicopter pilot got the scare of his life when his chopper was hijacked and he was forced to fly to a prison to pick up an escaping murder convict. Despite guards’ attempts to shoot down the chopper and the pilot getting bound and gagged when they landed, no one was injured. The escapee hopped a ride in a taxi cab, only to be recaptured at a police roadblock. [Gawker]