United Continental Holdings Inc. won a partial victory in its quest to cement the merger of its two legacy airlines, as U.S. regulators gave it more time to complete essential safety-related tests on its aircraft fleet.
The largest U.S. airline group by traffic aims to secure a single operating certificate, by year-end, a grant from regulators that will allow it to start meshing the aircraft and crew from its United and Continental units.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a regulatory filing it turned down United Continental' request to skip retaking two essential safety tests--a partial aircraft evacuation and simulated water ditching--on three plane types.
The company plans to use Continental's operating certificate, which would see the transfer of three aircraft types that it doesn't fly--United's fleet of Boeing Co. (BA) 747s, 767-300s and Airbus A320-family planes. It had argued that since United already flew the planes--and Continental used to fly the 747--there was no need to retake the tests.
The FAA ruled it would have to complete the demonstrations, but said this wouldn't delay the grant of a single certificate and gave the company until June 1 next year to complete the requirements.
Continental, the launch customer for the Boeing 787, will also have to perform the two tests when the first of the planes arrives in the second half of next year.
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