Boeing is leaning toward increasing production rates for the 737 and 777 families with decisions expected by mid-year, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh said yesterday. The current 737 build rate is 31.5 units per month and the company expects to make a decision in June on whether to raise it. Last week, Airbus announced it was taking the A320 rate to 36 per month from 34 as of December (ATWOnline, March 10).

Boeing agreed to pay Air India $145 million in compensation for the delay in its 787s, the Indian government announced. AI parent National Aviation Co. of India had requested $710 million. It has 27 787-8s on order and has seen first delivery pushed back from the originally scheduled May 2008 to April 2011.

US FAA is issuing an Airworthiness Directive this week mandating a software fix for autopilot flight director computers on 777s to prevent runway overruns on takeoff, Boeing confirmed. "Boeing had received operator reports of flight crews inadvertently engaging the autopilot while on the ground," the company told the

Air Berlin yesterday announced the cancellation of 10 firm 787 orders worth a combined $1.7 billion at list prices, along with five options, "to account for a change in market conditions and in order to meet. . .specific operative requirements."

AWAS delivered a fifth A330-300 to Singapore Airlines. Aircraft will serve Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Male and Kuwait City beginning this month, with Fukuoka and Taipei added in April and Colombo in May.