Airbus racked up more aircraft orders at the Paris Air Show while rival Boeing’s tally remained at zero. Regardless, Boeing offi - cials were quick to dismiss the relevance of the order disparity. “Airbus and Boeing approach air shows in a different way,” Charlie Miller, Boeing’s vice president for international corporate communications, is quoted as saying by The Associated Press. “Boeing doesn’t save up orders to announce at air shows. That has been our policy for years. Our policy is to announce orders as soon as they are fi rm. And the tally is updated weekly.” As for Airbus, it announced fi rm orders from Vietnam Airlines (16 A321 jets and a memorandum of understanding for two additional A350-XWB jets) and Cebu Pacifi c, a low-cost carrier from

the Philippines. Cebu Pacific’s order included five A320 jets. Airbus also announced an order from Malaysian low-cost carrier Air Asia, which ordered 10 A350-900 jets and placed options for fi ve more, AP reports. Meanwhile, the Boeing-Airbus rivalry looked like it could expand on a second front at the Paris Air Show. That’s following comments from Airbus CEO Tom Enders in which he defended $15.2 billion in state fi nancing for the European manufacturer’s A350 XWB program. That fi nancing, Enders says, simply gives Airbus a “level playing fi eld” with U.S. manufacturer, Boeing. “The United States says EU subsidies have enabled Airbus to capture long-standing Boeing customers,” AP writes. “The EU counters that Boeing receives U.S. federal and state tax breaks, development funding and grants, as well as a large amount of military contracts,” AP adds. The news agency says the issue threatens to “re-ignite an old trade dispute” between the rival companies.

Can you envision this phone call. “Hi honey, its Joe, look, I’ll be getting home late tonight. There’s an airplane on the expressway and traffi c is tied up” Well, some commutes in Florida had that experience as an 83-year-old pilot was forced to land on a busy expressway after experiencing engine trouble. Ralph Squeglia, who has been fl ying since 1944, said he was careful to avoid moving cars as he landed the plane on a stretch of the Sawgrass Expressway. “It was a perfect landing,” he said as he stood near the plane waiting for Federal Aviation Administration offi cials to arrive on the scene to conduct an investigation. But it was not so perfect once he landed. “I was rolling straight and my tail wing broke, causing me to veer right,” he said. “Then the wing hit a light pole and I ended up here.” The homemade single-engine Hummelbird plane ended up on the side of the expressway as shocked drivers looked on. Squeglia was not injured. A Florida state trooper on the scene said Squeglia would not be cited for any traffi c violations. The FAA has yet to comment.

More than 250,000 frequent fl iers who pay $200 a year to speed through airport security lines lost that privilege late in June when a company that runs the expedited lines went out of business. Verifi ed Identity Pass, which operates its Clear program in 18 airports, said that it would shut operations at every airport by 2 a.m. ET today. The program started at Orlando International Airport in 2005 and grew to major hubs such as Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco and Washington Dulles. A statement on Verifi ed’s website said the company “had been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.” There was no information about whether enrollees would get refunds. The announcement is a huge blow to lengthy efforts by travel groups and Congress to ease airport screening for “trusted travelers” who clear a background check. “I don’t see any future in Registered Traveler,” said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, an airline trade group that had opposed the program. The push for faster screening began after the 9/11 attacks, when tightened security led to massive lines in airports and complaints from travelers. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) created the Registered Traveler program that lets companies establish exclusive security lines at airports.

The drugs with a street value of over $2M arrived from the Dominican Republic. Last Thursday, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) offi cers, from Newark Liberty International Airport, while conducting baggage inspections on a flight arriving from the Dominican Republic, discovered more than 45 pounds of cocaine in a duffl e bag. During a routine X-Ray inspection of bags arriving from foreign, an anomaly was detected on a large red and blue duffle bag. Further examination of the

bag revealed 35 brick shaped objects wrapped in gray tape. Upon probing and testing the contents of the brick it field tested positive to cocaine. The bag, which arrived from Santo Domingo, had no tags to identify passenger ownership.