Industrial Goods News

LONDON, March 19 (UPI) -- British Airways said contingency plans were in place to continue some service if flight crews began their strike, as scheduled, at midnight Friday in Britain.

Talks continued to avert a strike of 13,000 workers, the Daily Telegraph reported.

BA said it had leased charter planes with crews to handle some flights. Trained crew members from other airlines would handle other flights. The airline expected to carry about 65 percent of the passengers it would have carried without a strike, the newspaper said.

If a Friday agreement was reached, it would be too late to recover all the cancellations. The strike has already cost BA about $38 million in lost business, officials said.

OTTAWA, March 19 (UPI) -- Inflation in Canada grew 1.6 percent on an annual basis in February, driven largely by gasoline prices, Statistics Canada reported from Ottawa Friday.

The increase came on the heels of a 1.6 percent increase in January, which was also linked to gas prices, the report said.

"In February, prices at the pump were 15.3 percent higher than they were in February 2009," StatsCan said. "As well, prices for traveler accommodation rose 16 percent in February, affected by the (Vancouver) Winter Olympics."

Six of the eight major components of the consumer price index recorded increases in the 12 months to February with the exceptions of housing and clothing and footwear.

Consumers paid 7.9 percent more for passenger vehicle insurance premiums in February and prices for passenger vehicles rose 3.5 percent, the report said.

Food prices also increased 1.2 percent in February following a 1.4 percent increase in January.

SEATTLE, March 19 (UPI) -- U.S. industrial giant Boeing said the market for planes had improved to the point where it would "accelerate" a production push for two commercial aircraft.

"Our customers recognize the great capability and value of the 777 and 747-8," Jim Albaugh, Boeing commercial airplanes president and chief executive officer, said Friday in a statement.

Boeing said it would "accelerate planed rate increases on both the 777 and 747 programs," reflecting "increasing customer demand."

The company said it would produce seven 777 planes a month, a jump from the current rate of five per month, in mid-2011, as opposed to a previous plan of pumping up production in early 2011. It would push production of the 747 from 18 a year to 24 a year in mid-2012, a year ahead of the production schedule previously announced.

"We see 2010 as the year of overall economic recovery within the industry and 2011 a year where airlines return to profitability. As a result, we anticipate an increase in demand for airplanes in 2012 and beyond," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing's commercial airplane division.