Restoring financial regulation of the airline industry will be put before Congress if the Justice Department approves a proposed merger of United and Continental airlines, two key House members said Wednesday. At a hearing on the merger, Reps. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Jerry Costello, D-Ill., chairman of the panel's aviation subcommittee, expressed concern about the impact the proposed deal could have on consumers and airline workers. Deregulation has been credited with making airline travel affordable for the average American. But Oberstar pointed to the $2.7 billion the airlines earned in baggage fees in 2009 as evidence that consumers are no longer benefiting from the system. He said he believes there's support in the House for re-regulation. "Hardly a day passes where I don't walk out on the (House) floor that someone asks me, 'When are we going to re-regulate the airlines?'" Oberstar told reporters after the hearing. The legislation would impose federal regulation of airline pricing and re-establish a government gatekeeper role similar to that played by the old Civil Aeronautics Board prior to deregulation in 1978, Oberstar said. The board set standards for companies trying to enter the airline market and decided on a case-by-case basis which companies should be granted permission to fly passengers. Deregulation worked for a while, bringing new, lower-cost carriers into the market and driving down fares, said Oberstar, who — as a junior congressman — voted in favor of deregulation. Most of those air carriers — as well as several "legacy" carriers dating back prior to deregulation — are gone. The CEOs of United and Continental, who testified at the hearing, complained that competing against a steady influx of lowcost carriers who drive prices artificially low and then go bankrupt has weakened the airline industry.

Boeing will increase 737 production to 35 a month in early 2012, up from a previous plan to go to 34 month from a the current 31.5, the company announced Tuesday. "Our customers continue to show their preference for the Next-Generation 737 by exercising order options as well as by placing new orders," Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh said in a news release. "We've managed our current backlog efficiently and increasing rate is the product of our comprehensive planning and preparation.

Cathay Pacific Airways and Air France- KLM Group have begun introducing seatbelt- mounted airbags in their economy-class cabins as authorities tighten regulations aimed at reducing the risk of fatalities in plane crashes. All aircraft built in the U.S. since October must conform to standards designed to keep passengers conscious through an impact involving deceleration at 16 times the force of gravity so that they can escape any subsequent fire. The same rules will be introduced in Europe by the end of next year, European Aviation Safety Agency spokesman Jeremie Teahan said. While many seats comply with the socalled 16g rule without needing airbags, which are installed in about 2 percent of seats, manufacturer AmSafe Inc. predicts they'll become standard by 2020 amid heightened awareness of safety issues. The devices cost about $1,200 apiece, versus $25 for a regular seatbelt. "The problem with our economy seats is that they have rigid shells and a head impact is more difficult to handle," Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Tony Tyler said in an interview in Berlin. "Therefore we need airbags." About 80 percent of plane crashes are survivable, and a study of 25 impact-related accidents by the U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in 2005 concluded that stronger seats and better restraints could have averted 62 fatalities. The world's airlines have a total capacity of 2.8 million seats, according to Dunstable, England-based OAG, which gathers statistics on the global aviation industry.
Jumbo Exempt
Safety rules for seats introduced in the U.S. in 1988 and Europe in 1992 applied only to new models, exempting planes including the Boeing Co. 747 jumbo jet and Airbus SAS A320 that were introduced earlier but are still in production today. Under the stricter rules, all new-build planes must be 16g compliant, with seats crash-tested for deceleration from at least 44 feet per second to zero in no more than 0.09 seconds. AmSafe's airbags are stored in the seatbelt and inflate within 90 milliseconds of a crash, expanding up and away from the passenger to accommodate head movement in all directions. The Phoenix-based company, which also makes 95 percent of all aircraft seatbelts, introduced the technology in 2001 and says it has been sold to more than 50 carriers including Singapore Airlines Ltd., US Airways Group Inc., Emirates, Japan Airlines Corp. and Swiss International Air Lines AG.
Bulkheads, Galleys
Airbags are required for standard berths where there is no seat in front to cushion against an impact, such as those facing bulkheads, galleys and lavatories, and for premium- class layouts where seats are angled to face into the aisle, Bill Hagan, the president of AmSafe's aviation unit, said in an interview.

This summer's air travelers will find heightened security and longer waits at checkpoints as they file in, likely in slightly greater numbers than last year, through the nation's airports. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has more on its plate now, from installing new screening technology to dealing with the evolving threat from homegrown extremists. Screening the increasing volume of carry- on baggage is the TSA's biggest hands-on challenge, says Christopher Bidwell, VPsecurity and facilitation at Airports Council International-North America. The TSA has noted a 20% jump in carry-on bags at airports where airlines are charging fees for checked baggage. "With the additional contents in the bags, screeners need to look at additional images to discriminate those that...