CHICAGO - Boeing said on Tuesday it does not expect to win approval for the return of the 737 MAX to service until mid-year due to further potential developments in the certification process and regulatory scrutiny on its flight control system. Still, the planemaker had also positive news to share.»

DUBAI - Iran said it had asked the U.S. and French authorities for equipment to download information from black boxes on a downed Ukrainian airliner, potentially angering countries which want the recorders analysed abroad. The Boeing 737 flown by Ukraine International Airlines was shot down in error on Jan. 8.»

JOHANNESBURG - South African Airways (SAA) has cancelled "a few domestic flights," the state airline's spokesman Tlali Tlali said on Tuesday, adding that a statement would be issued shortly. SAA is running short of cash after the government failed to provide 2 billion rand ($137 million) of emergency funding. »

PRISTINA - Kosovo and Serbia agreed on Monday to launch direct commercial flights after a two-decade interval in a deal mediated by the United States in an attempt to push the two former foes closer to normalising relations. Lufthansa lowcost operator Eurowings is set to fetch the flight mandate.»

SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS - Brazilian planemaker Embraer is in the advanced stages of studying the launch of a new turboprop aircraft to be developed through a venture it is planning with Boeing, subject to necessary approvals, a top executive said on Monday.»

KUWAIT - Qatar Airways, Emirates and several other Gulf airlines still fly in Iraqi and Iranian airspace and to cities in both countries, even as other international carriers like British Airways and Lufthansa have rerouted planes since the United States and Iran traded military strikes.»

MANCHESTER - The quickest ever Transatlantic route from Manchester Airport is set for a summer 2020: direct flights to Halifax in June with Westjet will take only six hours. The link is offered four times per week on Boeing 737-700 with two classes and onward connectivity including Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton.»

JOHANNESBURG - South African Airways (SAA) said on Monday that its flights to all destinations were operating normally, after talks over the weekend on a bailout plan for the state carrier ended with no solution. Government officials are scrambling to work out how they can provide $138 million of funds. »

DUBAI -  Iran said on Sunday it was trying to analyse the black boxes of a Ukrainian airliner that its military shot down this month, denying a report that a decision had been taken to send the voice and flight data recorders to Ukraine. The regime in Tehram also mulled sending the recorders to France.»

MONTREAL - Why was the Ukrainian airliner mistakenly shot down near Tehran by Iranian forces last week for the loss of 176 lives even allowed to take off from a country that had just fired missiles towards its neighbour? And why didn't the airline just delay or cancel the flight?»

WASHINGTON - Boeing said on Friday it is addressing a new software issue discovered in Iowa last weekend during a technical review of the proposed update to the grounded Boeing 737 MAX, a development that could further delay the plane’s return to service.»

WASHINGTON - An expert committee on Thursday recommended the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) require Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers to adopt new safety management tools in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people. Delegation of parts of certification process can continue.»