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Reclaiming Maria Clara

SINGER-SONGWRITER Abby Asistio is back with a new song about reclaiming the meaning of the term “Maria Clara” for the Filipinas of today.

“I wrote this song for a full year before releasing it. It’s a song about my experiences and how I view myself as a woman who is not into a relationship just for the sake of it. I have values and I have standards,” Ms. Asistio said during a press conference on Nov. 6 at the Mecca Aesthetic Center in Quezon City.

“Maria Clara” is a term used to represent the “ideal” Filipina woman — demure, religious, gentle. It is the name of the character who embodied those traits in Jose P. Rizal’s ground-breaking novel Noli Me Tangere.

For her new song, which comes two years after her last song, “Darating Ka Rin,” Ms. Asistio combines the pop sound with the traditional kundiman (serenade). She sings in whispers and trills accompanied by claps and strings. She called her song, “modern kundiman.”

“Ngunit nalaman iba ang iyong kailangan, ang mga kagustuha’y hindi nagtatagpo. Panakip butas lang ako, pantawid oras lang sa’yo. Pwede bang ’wag na lang dahil aasa lang ako kung gusto mong maging tayo. ‘Di ako ganoon, may hinahanap rin ako,” Ms. Asistio sings.

(But I know that what you need is different, your wants are not being met. I’m just a substitute, just a way to while the time. Can we just not because I will hope you want it to be us. I’m not like that, I am also looking for something.)

The accompanying music video features Ms. Asistio wearing a terno and dancing with the Philippine All-Stars dance group. The music video is directed by Gorio Vicuna

“Women shouldn’t settle. I believe the right person will come at the right time,” she said.

Ms. Asistio said she continues to create music and is preparing for an album soon.

“Maria Clara” is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and on YouTube. — ZBC

Philex sees 4 MT/year copper-gold ore from Silangan by 2023

MANILA — Philex Mining Corp. said on Thursday it expects to produce up to 4 million tons per year of high-grade copper and gold ores from its $1.1 billion Silangan project in southern Philippines by 2023.

Silangan is a large-scale mine that the Philippine miner plans to fully develop within two-and-a-half years.

Philex is looking for a strategic partner for the project, which the miner aims to finalize within the first half of 2020 along with contracts that will pave the way for development.

“The mine is designed for four million tons per year,” Philex President and CEO Eulalio Austin said in a statement.

“We will start lower, then on the second year, that is in 2023, it will be a full four million tonnes per year,” Mr. Austin added.

Silangan will be Philex’s biggest source of revenue after the closure of its 61-year-old Padcal mine in northern Philippines possibly by 2022.

The Silangan project, which will use the underground sub-level cave mining method, and not the open-pit mining method as initially planned, is expected to yield ore grades of 0.63% for copper and 1.20 grams per tonne for gold.

Silangan, in Surigao del Norte province on the mineral resources-rich Mindanao island, was previously slated to begin production by 2018. However, the project was hit by a ban on open-pit mining introduced in 2017 as the government stepped up environmental protection.

Silangan consists of three deposit areas — Boyongan, Bayugo and Kalayaan — with the latter being a joint venture between Philex and Manila Mining Corp.

Boyongan, with an initial estimated mine life of 22 years, is expected to be the first to start operations in 2022.

Philex has earmarked around $750 million for the development of the Boyongan ore body, and has appointed J.P. Morgan for equity investment and Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group Inc for project financing. — Reuters

Should I stay or should I go?

Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo
Directed by Denise O’Hara

DENISE O’HARA’S Mamang — part Gothic character study, part memory play, part comedy of accommodation — was one of the best films of 2018, I thought. Her sophomore effort Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo (Dating Not Dating) is at first glance a slick exercise in the Philippines’ most popular genre of the moment (the romcom) that at second glance develops (nonfans might say “devolves”) into something messier, more troubling.

Talk about troubling or (rather) troublesome, there’s the question of film title: “tayo muna” is colloquial for “we’re an item” or alternately “we’re dating” — hence my stab at translation. I also like “placeholder” as a translation — captures the title’s whole idea, adding at the same time the rather insulting suggestion of being something convenient, utilitarian — a temporary duct tape patch till something better or at least more permanent comes along.

(As it turns out, the title’s official translation is Waiting to Begin — accurate, but doesn’t really do anything for me)

Which is what Carlo (JC Santos) wants. He’s been burned before, he’s leery of being hurt again. Carlo’s an independent contractor who collaborates on occasion with ad executive Alex (Jane Oineza) and their work relationship — he comes up with the ideas, she the logistics — has developed into casual flirtation, developed in turn to a physical relationship with suggestions of commitment.

More or less. Trouble comes when Alex nudges Carlo into a DTR talk and doesn’t like what she hears; the rest of the film is the back-and-forth between the two as they deal with the fallout.

As simple as that, except it isn’t, not really. O’Hara starts the film in media res, cutting between a lonely Carlo pining away in his apartment (he turns a stray cockroach into a major domestic crisis) and a nervous Alex trying to encourage fitness fanatic Bernard (Victor Sy) into seducing her (more like encourage Bernard’s peacock display of physical prowess while she struggles to act interested). O’Hara cuts back and forth between the budding relationship and its later wilt, a few of the transitions cleverly staged (Alex delivering Carlo’s things in a trash bag, pounding on his door; cut to inside the apartment [only it’s hers] waking up beside Carlo in bed realizing she’s late for work; rushing out, having second thoughts, turning to charge back in the apartment [only it’s his] to dump the trash bag on the floor). We see both sides of the relationship (its development, its decay), their unhappiness at being without each other, their unhappiness at being with each other, and we wonder: What’s going on? Why don’t they just make up their minds and decide?

Which turns out to be what the film’s about after all: the difficulty in defining a relationship between two complex human beings. No, this isn’t as smoothly paced and plotted as a romcom, its vague frustrating refusal to commit one way or another (Is it a romcom? A breakup movie? A comedy of indecision or a tragedy of unfulfillment?) being its real subject. Even the leads while showing chemistry don’t quite gel perfectly — Oineza a healthy plump partridge of a woman not afraid to bark out laughing or chow down heartily on a meal, Santos a wistful daydream of a man who delivers comic lines in a wry whisper — and that’s all right, the raspy incompatibility of two people rubbing against each other trying to smooth out a compromise.

The film’s not perfect: I understand industry folks’ tendency to turn to advertising when they want to give their characters a profession — it’s their bread and butter too, the day job that allows them to maintain their very expensive mistress, cinema — but I’m not a fan of the trope. The couple seems to operate in a vacuum — we see them striding through an office with people in the background, extras with no dialogue looking on the quarreling lovers with barely any curiosity (could be a stylized thing — in Carlo and Alex’s world only they have any real existence; on the other hand, a best friend or co-worker could’ve added some texture to the relationship). Santos gives the funnier performance but Oineza is an equally capable comedienne (her opening scenes with Bernard the bodybuilder, where she can barely bring herself to follow the man’s relentless narcissist bragging, are hilarious) — too bad she mostly ends up as straight man to Santos’ punchlines.

Maybe my biggest plaint is this need to DTR anything at all. Discussing a relationship sounds less like a breath of fresh air and more like the wheezing of a terminal ward patient; you wonder if maybe younger folks are talking the fun out of relationships. In my time we just went ahead and dated without worrying if this is a thing or not, should it be, and why — but don’t mind me; I’m probably on the wrong side of history and this is strictly a generational thing.

I do like quite a few of the director’s touches: how without much fuss she has Alex live in financial independence, with a more prosperous-looking apartment; how Alex is Carlo’s boss without need to hide their relationship or even feel embarrassed (maybe there’s a professional ethics issue?); how Carlo prepares Alex’s packed lunch and coffee thermos, even tucks in her shirt before she runs out the door — baby steps not major steps forward and probably not the first time depicted onscreen, but, but, but…

O’Hara’s second feature doesn’t have the impact of her first, but then she doesn’t have a story whole and complete (between her uncle and her grandmother) and waiting for translation to the big screen. This isn’t the same story or even the same kind of story either, it has a different, more understated look, and it whets the appetite to see what she might come up with in her next film.

Fruitas prices IPO at P1.68 per share

FRUITAS Holdings, Inc. on Thursday priced its initial public offering (IPO) at P1.68 each, the low-end of its indicative range.

“The Company agreed to price the issue at P1.68 per share in order to ensure a healthy performance of the stock upon listing,” BDO Capital & Investment Corp. President Eduardo V. Francisco was quoted as saying in a statement.

BDO Capital together with First Metro Investment Corp. are the joint issue managers, bookrunners and lead underwriters for Fruitas’ IPO.

“Given the attractive pricing, we look forward to more participation from the general investing public investors.” First Metro Executive Vice-President Daniel D. Camacho added.

The food and beverage kiosk operator will start its offer period on Nov. 18 and will last until Nov. 22. It will offer 533.66 million shares with an over-allotment option of up to 68.34 million shares, which will raise up to P1.01 billion for the company.

If Fruitas followed its maximum share price of P1.99 apiece as earlier announced, it would have generated up to P1.2 billion from the IPO.

Fruitas is scheduled to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Nov. 29 and will trade under the ticker FRUIT. If the offer maximizes the overallotment option, Fruitas’ public float will be 28.2%.

The company earlier said it plans to use the proceeds from the IPO for network expansion and store improvements (59.4%), acquisition and introduction of new concepts (15.2%), debt repayment (15.2%), commissary expansion (5.1%) and food park business expansion (5.1%).

Fruitas booked a consolidated revenue of P1.58 billion in 2018, 37% up from a year ago on the back of higher sales from its stores nationwide.

In an investors’ briefing last week, the company said it is planning to expand its network of stores, increase same-kiosk sales growth, improve sales margins, introduce new concepts, acquire more food service brands and grow its food park business.

Fruitas set to be the fourth company to hold an IPO this year, following Kepwealth Property Phils, Inc. in August, and Axelum Resources Corp. and AllHome Corp. in October. — Denise A. Valdez

Unions bracing for fight over salty-foods tax

By Gillian M. Cortez
Reporter

A MAJOR union has expressed its opposition to a proposed tax on salty foods, saying it adds to the burden on workers by rasing the cost of key goods while wages remain stagnant.

Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) Spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay told BusinessWorld this week that the proposed tax measure does not consider that many low-income workers have no choice but to eat salty food despite being aware of the health effects of food processing.

“The proposed measure to impose tax on salty food is not acceptable at this time. If the government begins to tax salty food with (workers’) current meager and inadequate salaries, government itself is putting its poor working people at further risk,” he told BusinessWorld.

TUCP has used the Pinggang Pinoy model of the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DoST-FNRI) as the basis for its wage petitions, arguing that current pay is not adequate to ensure nutritious meals for workers and their families. A computation made by the Ateneo Policy Center in May indicates that a P734.00 daily wage is needed for a family of four to afford food that meets Pinggang Pinoy’s nutrition minimums.

The average daily minimum wage for Filipinos in the private sector varies by region, and ranges from P270 and P537.

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III floated the idea of a salt tax last month as a means of reducing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), where excessively salty foods are a risk factor. He has adjusted his position, adding over the weekend that a salt tax is “anti-poor” but the government still needs to implement salt reduction schemes to discourage consumption.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that Filipinos consume more than double of the required daily sodium intake of five grams.

A recent study released by the DoH in partnership with the WHO, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Interagency Task Force (UNIATF) concluded that by investing P5 billion in measures to reduce salt intake such as new labelling rules over the next 15 years, the economy could generate a P163.1 billion return from increased productivity and prevent 164,251 deaths that would have otherwise taken place.

The Department of Finance (DoF) was tepid on the proposed tax in contrast to its usual eagerness to tax unhealthy behaviors. It proposed a more robust “health education” program to address salt consumption.

The DoF and DoH are currently studying the proposed tax measure with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Mr. Tanjusay said that the government should also offer healthier alternatives to the food consumed by most Filipinos if it is serious about minimizing combat diseases brought about by consuming salt.

Friends reunion may be in works

COULD Friends be getting back together, if only for a one night stand?

The Hollywood Reporter and Variety on Tuesday reported that preliminary talks were underway for an unscripted reunion special that would feature all six Friends actors and air on upcoming streaming service HBO Max, a unit of AT&T’s WarnerMedia.

HBO Max had no comment on the reports, which follow hints by Jennifer Aniston that something might be underway.

The talks are still in the very early stages and would not involve reviving the hit comedy series that ended in 2004, the two entertainment industry publications said, citing unidentified sources.

HBO Max secured the rights to all 10 seasons of Friends for its streaming service that is scheduled to launch in April 2020. The series has found a new lease of life on Netflix where it was the second most-watched show in 2018, according to Nielsen data. — Reuters

PAL operator’s losses widen

LOSSES of PAL Holdings, Inc. (PAL) ballooned in the third quarter, due to a decline in passenger and cargo revenues.

In a regulatory filing, the listed operator of Philippine Airlines (PAL) doubled its attributable net loss to P5.16 billion in the third quarter, from P2.52 billion during the same period last year.

For the July to September period, revenues were down 0.28% to P36.7 billion, “due to the decrease in passenger and cargo revenues offset by the increase in ancillary revenue.”

Broken down, passenger revenues slipped 0.43% to P31.5 billion. Cargo revenues declined by 11.05% to P2.4 billion, but this was offset by a 13.32% rise in ancillary revenues to P2.71 billion.

Expenses were flat at P39.51 billion, but other charges surged to P3.45 billion from P706 million a year ago.

“‘Other Charges’ in total showed a significant increase of P2.7 billion, primarily attributable to higher financing charges by P1.76 billion as a result of the Group’s adoption of PFRS (Philippine Financial Reporting Standards) 16, Leases in 2019 and higher other charges by P0.99 billion as there were significantly less credit memos received from aircraft manufacturers,” PAL Holdings said.

In the nine months ending September, PAL’s attributable net loss widened 116.2% to P8.5 billion from last year’s P3.92 billion, as expenses and financing charges increased.

Revenues rose 5.6% to P117.92 billion, primarily as passenger and ancillary revenues increased due to additional frequencies and new routes which contributed to the growth in passenger volume.

However, expenses also increased 2% to P117.138 billion. Financing charges as of end-September ballooned 142% to P9.45 billion from P3.8 billion a year ago, which the airline attributed to the adoption of PFRS 16, leases and additional aircraft financing.

The higher passenger and ancillary revenues helped offset the 8% drop in cargo revenues to P6.89 billion. Passenger revenues increased 5.76% to P102.7 billion, while ancillary revenues went up 18% to P8.25 billion. — Arjay L. Balinbin

German automation talent powers Musk’s decision to move battery plant to Europe

FRANKFURT — To unclog bottlenecks last year at his Tesla Inc plant in California, Elon Musk flew in six planeloads of new robots and equipment from Germany to speed up battery production for its Model 3.

Now the Tesla CEO is trying to tap that German automation ecosystem directly with Tuesday’s announcement that the electric carmaker will build a European car and battery factory near Berlin.

So far, Musk has failed in his plans to create a factory so highly automated that it allows Tesla to make cars more efficiently than much bigger rivals. As a result, the automaker has struggled to meet production goals and been hit with defections of key staff members to rival firms.

The new German factory is designed to help change all that.

“Everyone knows German engineering is outstanding for sure. You know that is part of the reason why we are locating Gigafactory Europe in Germany,” Musk said at a prestigious German car awards ceremony in Berlin late on Tuesday.

BMW has a factory in Leipzig, where it builds its i3 electric vehicles and it will source battery cells from a factory in Erfurt run by China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL).

VW is retooling a plant in Zwickau to build 330,000 electric cars and German engineering giant Siemens AG, which has an industrial and technology hub in Berlin, last week said it met with Musk to discuss projects in the area of advanced manufacturing and car charging.

German carmakers and suppliers are tapping in to a 1 billion euro ($1.10 billion) fund set up by Germany to increase battery cell production and are further aided by a government-funded research facility to increase battery cell development know-how.

PRODUCTION GOAL
Tesla has yet to meet its goal of building more than 500,000 Model 3 cars by 2018. That goal was set back in 2016 and since then Tesla’s production guru, Peter Hochholdinger, a former Audi production expert, quit to joined rival Lucid.

This year Tesla expects to deliver 360,000 to 400,000 cars, a target that includes selling all models.

By contrast, the Volkswagen brand delivered 6.24 million cars last year and is readying its global production network to build 22 million electric cars by 2028.

To ramp up manufacturing, Tesla started making its Model 3 in a tent, but the California-built cars often failed to meet German quality standards.

In August, German car rental company Nextmove walked away from a 5 million-euro ($5.55 million) order for 85 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles, following a dispute over how to fix quality issues.

POTENTIAL FOR AUTOMATION
Although Tesla has chosen a high-cost location, there is higher potential for automation with electric cars since they are less complex to build than combustion engined vehicles.

A combustion engined car has 1,400 components in the motor, exhaust system and transmission. By contrast, an electric car’s battery and motor has only 200 components, according to analysts at ING.

While the average combustion engine takes 3.5 hours to make, and the average transmission requires 2.7 hours of assembly, an electric motor takes only about 1 hour to assemble, consultants at Alix Partners said in their Global Automotive Outlook study.

“Personnel is not a high cost factor in the production of electric cars,” Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said.

Today the biggest cost factor is still battery packs, which amount to between 30% and 50% of the cost of an electric vehicle.

QUALITY VS SCALE
By adding the “Made in Germany” quality, Tesla could significantly boost sales of its electric cars, which are already class-leading.

On Tuesday Tesla’s Model 3 was awarded the “Golden Steering Wheel” by Germany’s Auto Bild magazine, with jury member Robin Horning saying the Model 3 had beaten the new BMW 3 series and the Audi A4 in “mid and premium class” category.

Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess congratulated Musk on winning the prize.

“I want to congratulate you. With all this competition in Germany it is a great achievement,” he said at the awards ceremony. “I thank you for pioneering, for pulling us and pushing us. Elon is the innovator.” — Reuters

DBP net profit slips on higher operating expenses

State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines’ (DBP) net earnings slipped in the third quarter due to higher provisions for impairment losses and taxes as well as growing operating expenses.

In a press release on Thursday, DBP said its net profit went down 1.56% to P4.42 billion in the July-September period from the P4.49 billion it booked in the same quarter last year.

“DBP remains confident of reaching its financial targets for this year. We have already achieved 75% of our net income target for 2019 due to a realization rate of 103% on our net income target for the third quarter,” DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa was quoted in the statement.

Mr. Herbosa said DBP, which is the country’s official infrastructure bank, saw its loan portfolio increase by 33.8% in the third quarter to P329.1 billion from P246 billion in the same period a year ago.

Of this total 40% or P152 billion went to the infrastructure and logistics sector, followed by loans to social services worth P67.33 billion, credit for environmental projects worth P44.6 billion and loans to micro, small and medium enterprises totalling P24.6 billion.

He said the credit growth was driven by the bank’s “aggressive lending activities” via its 22 lending centers that have streamlined credit application processes.

“DBP will continue with its drive to promote economic inclusion and remain a relevant and responsive partner of the national government in promoting sustainable development particularly in the countryside,” Mr. Herbosa said.

Meanwhile, the lender’s gross income climbed 28.6% to P24.2 billion in the third quarter from P18.9 billion from a year earlier.

As of end-September, its total deposits went up by 12.1% to P502 billion from P447.8 billion from a year ago “backed by aggressive deposit generation activities.”

The bank’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 14.7% as of end-September, relatively higher compared to the industry average of 12.2%, the bank said.

The projects it funded in the infrastructure and logistics sector include energy, water resources, information and communication technology, transportation, construction, and manufacturing initiatives in Central Luzon, Davao, Central Visayas as well as in the regions of Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon or CALABARZON and the National Capital Region.

As for social infrastructure projects, Mr. Herbosa said that among the DBP-funded ones are health care, education, housing, and solid waste management initiatives, especially in underserved provinces and municipalities nationwide.

DBP is the eighth largest bank in the country in terms of assets with P700.9 billion on record as of end-September. It targets to become a P1-trillion bank in terms of assets by 2022.

So far, the bank has 137 branches including 10 branch-lite units and a total of 833 automated teller machines spread across the country. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Score free tickets to U2’s Joshua Tree Tour

THE JOSHUA TREE TOUR is the first ever concert of the iconic Irish rock band U2 in the Philippines. The concert will be held at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan on Dec. 11. Smart subscribers have a chance to attend the concert for free via the new Smart MVP Rewards program: download the MVP Rewards app in the App Store or Play Store and register your details; enroll your Smart account to start earning stars (open to all Smart subscribers, prepaid and postpaid); click on your stars to visit the Marketplace to click on the U2 raffle icon and participate for free. All customers who click on the U2 raffle icon will only have one e-raffle ticket for the entire promo duration. Entering the Smart MVP Rewards U2 Raffle Promo gives customers a chance to win two tickets to the U2 The Joshua Tree Tour concert, plus access to the Smart Music Live VIP Lounge during the concert proper. The promo is ongoing until Dec. 5. Winners will be drawn on Dec. 6. and Smart subscribers can only win once.

VIP, mass gaming segments drive Bloomberry’s Q3 profit surge

BLOOMBERRY Resorts Corp. reported its attributable net income surged 246% to P3.92 billion in the three months ending September, on continued growth in gaming revenues.

In a regulatory filing, the listed company said consolidated revenues rose 49% to P13.2 billion in the third quarter from P8.8 billion a year ago.

Bloomberry, in a separate statement, said total gross gaming revenues at Solaire Casino and Resort Manila increased by 46% to P17.11 billion, “driven by higher hold in VIP and strength in the mass gaming segments.”

Bloomberry said VIP volume dropped 5% to P198.655 billion, although revenues jumped 117% to P8.65 billion as the hold rate went up to 4.35% in the third quarter from 1.91% a year ago.

Solaire’s mass table drop and electronic gaming machine (EGM) coin-in rose to record levels of P13.48 billion (up 10% year-on-year) and P66.9 billion (up 23% year-on-year) during the July to September period.

Revenues from mass tables inched up 2% to P4.2 billion, while those from slot machines jumped 19% to P4.25 billion in the third quarter.

At Solaire Korea, gross gaming revenues slumped 44% to P109 million “due to an unfavorable hold percentage at Jeju Sun.”

Enrique K. Razon, Jr., Bloomberry Chair and CEO, noted the company recorded strong profit growth in the third quarter “despite incurring higher interest expenses and foreign exchange losses.”

Bloomberry logged foreign exchange losses of P59.48 million, and interest expense of P1.39 billion in the three-month period.

“We are now in the last stretch of 2019 and we look forward to delivering a strong set of full year results,” he was quoted as saying in a statement.

For the first nine months, Bloomberry posted a 28% rise in attributable net income to P8.16 billion, on the back of a 24% jump in revenues to P35.36 billion.

Nine-month gross gaming revenues went up 20% to P42.65 billion, driven by a 32% increase in revenues from VIP tables to P20.8 billion “as a result of higher VIP win rate.” Revenues from mass table rose 6% to P12.2 billion, while those from slot machines went up 18% to P12.2 billion.

Solaire reported its mass table drop rose 13% to P37.4 billion and slot coin-in grew 17% to P187.1 billion. Volume from the VIP segment slipped 5.3% to P561.6 billion as of end-September.

The Manila casino attracted 4.9 million visitors in the first nine months, 0.7% lower than the same period a year ago.

Southwest pilots union says Boeing may be trying to hasten 737 MAX return

WASHINGTON — The head of the Southwest Airlines Co. pilot union Wednesday sharply criticized Boeing Co. and questioned whether the manufacturer was trying to speed up the timeline for the 737 MAX’s return to service.

Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX has been grounded since March, after two deadly crashes in five months killed 346 people, and it has come under harsh criticism from US lawmakers.

Jon Weaks, who heads the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), said in a note to pilots Wednesday, reviewed by Reuters, that “Boeing is increasingly publicizing that they may have to shut down their production line due to running out of room to store completed MAX aircraft. There is some concern that this is simply another tactic to push the (return to service) timeline up.”

He added doing so would “force operators to resume making payments on MAX aircraft, and transfer some costs, logistics, and responsibilities of storing and restoring the MAX to revenue service to respective operators.”

Boeing did not immediately comment late Wednesday.

Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Brandy King said the airline is “confident in the work being done to return the MAX to service and continue to await additional guidance from Boeing and the FAA regarding timing and next steps.”

On Monday, Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe told Reuters that “we expect the Max to be certified, airworthiness directive issued, ungrounded in mid-December.” He added that the company expects “pilot training requirements to be approved in January.”

Boeing noted that the “FAA and other regulatory authorities will ultimately determine return to service.”

Two federal officials told Reuters this week that Boeing’s timetable is aggressive and far from certain, citing hurdles yet to be cleared.

Boeing still must complete an audit of its software documentation before it can schedule a key certification test flight.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Steve Dickson on Tuesday said the agency was not “delegating” anything to Boeing in its review and offered no ungrounding timetable, saying it “will be based solely on our assessment of the sufficiency of Boeing’s proposed software updates and pilot training.”

On Friday, Southwest and American Airlines extended Boeing 737 MAX cancellations until early March, just shy of the one-year anniversary of an Ethiopian Airlines crash that led to a worldwide grounding.

Last month, SWAPA sued Boeing, saying it had “deliberately misled” the airline and pilots. The grounding wiped out more than 30,000 Southwest Airlines flights, causing over $100 million in lost wages for pilots, the union said. — Reuters

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