Boeing Shares fell greater than 2% on Monday after South Korea ordered an inspection of all of its domestic airlines' 737-800 planes – the model involved in a fatal Jeju Air crash over the weekend.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok called on the Transportation Ministry to conduct an emergency safety inspection of the country's entire air operations system, while officials on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said they might conduct a “comprehensive special inspection” of the B737-800 .”

The exact circumstances of the crash, which killed 179 of 181 people, are uncertain on board the flight on Sunday. The plane landed at South Korea's Muan International Airport without proper equipment, skidded off the runway, hit a wall and burst into flames. The survivors were two crew members who were rescued from the rubble.

In a briefing on Monday, MOLIT said the plane's pilot mentioned a “bird strike” minutes after the airport's control tower issued a bird activity alert. The pilot also notified the control tower of a “go-around,” indicating an aborted landing attempt, and declared “mayday,” said Yu Kyung-soo, director of aviation safety policy at MOLIT, in accordance with a translation by NBC News.

Two black boxes were recovered from the aircraft and sent for evaluation. The US National Transportation Safety Board is now leading a team of American investigators, including the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing, to assist South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board investigate the crash. Engine manufacturer CFM International, a three way partnership between GE Aerospace and France's Safran Aircraft Engines, may even be involved within the investigation.

MOLIT officials said Monday that along with inspecting the 737-800s in South Korean airlines' fleet, they were also examining the concrete wall that the plane hit for a link to the accident.

Boeing's popular narrow-body aircraft has been in service for nearly three a long time, with development predating the US manufacturer's troubled 737 Max jets, a later version of the model. Aviation experts said it was unlikely that a design flaw played a task in Sunday's crash.

The Boeing 737-800 has a powerful safety record and is probably the most widely used aircraft, with about 4,400 aircraft in service, representing about 17% of the lively global jet fleet, in accordance with aviation data firm Cirium.

According to MOLIT, additionally it is widely utilized by South Korean low-cost airlines, with Jeju Air being the biggest operator with 39 jets. Other operators include T'way Air, Jin Air, Eastar Jet and Air Incheon, while Korean Air operates two of those models.

“We will check compliance with various regulations, including operational records, inspections and maintenance before and after flights,” Ju Jong-wan, director of the Aviation Policy Office at MOLIT, said on Monday, in accordance with NBC News translation.

“We plan to review stricter regulations regarding bird strikes, which have been identified as a potential cause of accidents, particularly for new airports under construction.”

A Boeing spokesperson told CNBC: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding Flight 2216 and stand ready to assist them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones and our thoughts are with the passengers and crew.”

Local media reported that one other Jeju Air plane of the identical model returned to South Korea's Gimpo Airport shortly after takeoff on Monday after problems were reported with its landing gear.

“The model and aircraft type have a very good safety record and over 200 airlines around the world have chosen to use the Boeing 737-800 in the last year,” said Paul Charles, CEO and travel analyst at The PC Agency, via email Email .

“Investigators need to go through all of Jeju Air’s 737-800 maintenance records to see if they provide further clues as to why the aircraft’s landing gear failed.”

At a news conference on Sunday, Song Kyung-hoon, head of Jeju Air's management support office, said the airline would support the victims and their families and that the plane was backed by $1 billion in insurance. in accordance with the news site Yonhap.

Song also denied that mechanical failures or inadequate safety precautions played a task within the crash.

“This crash is not about maintenance issues. There can be absolutely no compromise when it comes to aircraft maintenance,” Song said.

Jeju Air shares hit an all-time low on Monday, closing down 8.65%, in accordance with FactSet.

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Alaska Air Group expects profit growth of $1 billion by 2027 and plans to ride the wave of demand for high-end travel to realize this goal.

Alaska accomplished its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines in September, lower than a 12 months after signing the deal that offers it access to routes across the Pacific and wide-body aircraft just like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A330. The two brands operate individually from one another.

The airline will launch nonstop service between its home hub, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Tokyo's Narita International Airport using Hawaiian Airbus A330-200s in May, and between Seattle and Seoul's Incheon International Airport in October, Alaska said Tuesday with. Tickets for the brand new flights to Tokyo will go on sale on Tuesday, while fares for the latter route will go on sale in early 2025.

By 2030, Alaska plans to fly widebody aircraft from Seattle to a minimum of a dozen international destinations, transforming the airline.

The airline announced Tuesday that it had approved a $1 billion share buyback.

Alaska also forecasts pretax margins of between 11% and 13% in 2027 and earnings per share of over $10. In October, the corporate estimated 2024 earnings at $3.50 to $4.50 per share, including Hawaiian's results. The company raised its fourth-quarter profit estimates to 40 cents to 50 cents per share, after previously forecasting profit of 20 cents to 40 cents.

Alaska's stocks have gained nearly 40% to this point this 12 months, greater than the S&P 500, which has gained 27%. The airline's shares rose about 10% in premarket trading after it revealed its latest plans for the airline.

The carrier can also be launching a brand new “premium” bank card with its partner Bank of Americathe newest co-branding deal geared toward generating revenue from customers even after they don't fly.

Alaska is evaluating its premium seating offerings across the fleet. Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett told CNBC that the airline is on the lookout for upgrade options specifically for Hawaiian's Airbus A330 as more customers are willing to pay for more room and luxury while traveling.

“If you look at the last two or three years, most of the sales growth has been in those demand areas, and I think that's likely to continue,” Tackett said. “We have a really good main cabin base product… but more and more people want the option to move up to premium economy or first class and we need to meet that demand.”

Tackett said more seats than ever in top notch and premium economy could be purchased directly by customers quite than full of free upgrades.

Seattle's rival Delta Air Lineswhose domestic passenger market share of 24% is second only to Alaska's Seattle's 55%, has also noticed this shift in demand for top notch seats. However, Delta has a bigger share of international passengers from the airport.

Alaska said it plans to supply a brand new lounge at San Diego International Airport. On Wednesday, Delta announced it’s opening its Delta One lounge in Boston, its third after opening locations in New York and Los Angeles this 12 months, dedicated to customers traveling in the very best floor cabin.

Meanwhile, Tackett told CNBC that he expects further delays in Alaska's deliveries from Boeing.

A door plug popped off one in every of the nearly latest Boeing 737 Max 9s in Alaska in January after it left the manufacturer's factory without the important thing bolts in place. The near-disaster and tightened qc have disrupted Boeing's production and deliveries to airline customers corresponding to Alaska, United And southwest.

“I think they are making progress. This won't happen in a week. It will take time,” Tackett said of Boeing, whose latest CEO Kelly Ortberg is tasked with stabilizing the plane maker. “We are in a situation where we have to focus a lot on conveying to them that quality is the most important thing; It is much more important to us than the price.”

Boeing is scheduled to release its November aircraft orders and deliveries at 11 a.m. Tuesday. That tally is predicted to be hurt by a virtually two-month machinists' strike that brought production of most Boeing planes to a halt.

From Friday, residents from nine more countries can enter China with out a visa.

Ordinary passport holders from eight countries in Europe – Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein – in addition to South Korea can enter visa-free for as much as 15 days for business or personal reasons.

The visa exemption is scheduled to stay in effect until December 31, 2025.

South Korea is a vital tourism source marketplace for China. According to The Korea Times, around 4.3 million South Koreans visited China in 2019. The Korean Foreign Ministry reported fewer than 1.3 million visitors in 2023.

Share prices of well-known Chinese and Korean travel corporations rose after Beijing announced the expanded visa waiver program on Friday.

Shares of Trip.com rose greater than 5%, while budget airline Jin Air rose nearly 4%.

This is the newest round of nations joining China's ever-expanding visa-free program, which is meant to spice up inbound tourism, which has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.

In 2019, China welcomed around 49.1 million travelers – as of July this 12 months around 17.25 million foreigners had arrivedsaid the state media agency Xinhua.

China's visa waiver policy has been instrumental in attracting foreigners to go to. In the third quarter of 2024, 8.2 million foreigners arrived, a 49% increase from 2023 – with about 4.9 million using this system, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

Officials are also attempting to ease headaches for international visitors, including payment problems faced by foreigners within the country, in accordance with Chinese state media. For example, the federal government reportedly requires major tourist attractions to simply accept foreign bank cards and money.

Chinese officials are also attempting to restore flight capability to pre-pandemic levels. Chinese airlines are starting flights to Europe this winter after major global airlines suspended flights to China as a consequence of low demand and ongoing operational problems brought on by Russian airspace restrictions.

North Korea will resume international tourism this winter, ending a travel ban in place as a result of the COVID pandemic, in accordance with tour operators organizing trips to the country.

Travel firms CT-G And Koryo Toursorganizing trips to North Korea said on Wednesday that their partners within the country had informed them of presidency plans to permit travel to some locations.

According to the businesses, travel to the North Korean city of Samjiyon will likely be allowed again from December, and other areas of the country could potentially be opened to travel as well.

“After waiting for this announcement for over four years, Koryo Tours is very pleased to see North Korean tourism reopen,” said Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based tour operator, in a opinion on its website.

North Korea has been largely closed to foreign tourists since 2020, although some international flights in and in another country resumed last yr. A small Russian group According to reports visited North Korea in February.

The country has been preparing for a more comprehensive reopening for a while.

According to Koryo Tours, North Korea has been working for years to develop and construct tourist facilities in Samjiyon, a mountain town near the Chinese border.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who visited town last month, praised it as “a model of a highly civilized mountain town,” with new hotels, attractions and a ski resort, according to North Korean state media.

Another important Tourism website is being built on the east coast of the country.

These efforts could help North Korea recover economically from the devastating effects of the global pandemic.

According to the Koryo Tours website, introductory tours to North Korea typically cost between 600 and 1,500 euros per person, depending on factors such as departure location, duration, group size and accommodation.

The only nationalities prohibited from traveling to North Korea as tourists are citizens of the Republic of Korea.

The US government has now strongly advised against travelling to the country“US passports will not be valid for travel to, in, or through North Korea unless specifically validated by the Department of State.”

It is likely that the opening of Samjiyon is aimed at attracting Chinese travelers, who made up the majority of international tourists visiting North Korea before the pandemic.

In 2019 Record of 350,000 Chinese Tourists visited North Korea, representing an enormous source of income for Pyongyang, reports NK News, a US website that gives evaluation on the country.

Russia and North Korea signed a brand new “comprehensive strategic partnership” on Wednesday, as Western politicians grow increasingly concerned concerning the impact of President Vladimir Putin's first state visit to the nuclear-armed state in 24 years.

Russian state media reported the signing of the partnership, which also features a mutual defense pact, just hours after Putin arrived in Pyongyang, where he received a red carpet welcome from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and attended a welcoming ceremony attended by hundreds.

At the lavish reception of the Russian president, there was praise from Kim, who, based on the state news agency Tass, expressed his full support and solidarity with Moscow, also due to its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

In return, Putin According to reports gave Kim one other recent Aurus (a Russian-built sedan), an admiral's dagger and a tea set, a gesture symbolizing the growing ties between the 2 countries.

Russian politicians had already hinted at plans for a strategic partnership before Putin's two-day trip. The recent document replaces previous agreements and reportedly covers cooperation within the fields of politics, economics, culture, humanities and security.

“The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement,” Tass quoted Putin as saying.

“The Russian Federation does not rule out military-technical cooperation with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in accordance with the document,” Putin added.

Earlier, the North Korean ruling party's official newspaper reported on Tuesday that Putin had promised to expand trade with the country and strengthen security across Eurasia. The article added that he supported North Korea's resistance against its “dangerous and aggressive” enemies.

Western countries, which impose heavy sanctions on each Russia and North Korea, are closely monitoring the developments of the visit and its possible impact on Russia's war in Ukraine and tensions on the Korean peninsula.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said joint press conference on Tuesday that Putin's trip confirmed “the very close cooperation between Russia and authoritarian states such as North Korea” in addition to China and Iran. Stoltenberg made these remarks along with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

US officials have said that Pyongyang has supplied Russia with dozens of ballistic missiles and greater than 11,000 containers of ammunition for the war in Ukraine and that Putin could use his trip to lobby for more weapons.

“We are of course also concerned about the potential support Russia is providing to North Korea when it comes to supporting its missile and nuclear programs,” Stoltenberg said.

Victor Cha, senior vp for Asia and Korea on the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed in an interview with CNBC's “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday that North Korea's arms sales to Russia might be reciprocated by supporting the Kremlin's nuclear program.

“The question is how much Putin believes he needs the ammunition from North Korea to survive and win the war,” Cha said. “That could lower the bar for what he is willing to give North Korea, especially if Kim pushes through a hard deal.”.”

Early last year, Kim ordered the “exponential” expansion of his country's nuclear arsenal and the development of more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reported.

“The leading provider for this [expansion] will most likely be Russia,” Cha said. “For the United States, this is a real problem … The Ukraine war is pretty much the best thing that could have happened to Kim Jong Un.”

The White House warned that any Russian support for North Korea's weapons program could have an effect on South Korea.

On Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press conference that growing relations between Russia and North Korea “should be of great concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.”

However, Cha said the US could also be limited in its ability to slow the flow of weapons between Russia and North Korea without risking outright war.

“[The Biden administration] is paying more public attention to the issue, but on the political side I don't see any real indication of what they are trying to do in this regard,” he said.

At a trilateral summit in Seoul on Monday, China called on Japan and South Korea to reject “protectionism” and maintain free trade.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said he was against turning economic and trade issues into “political games or security issues.” Chinese state media reportedwhen he met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Li said the three countries should view one another as “partners and development opportunities.” Xinhua reported this.

This is the ninth trilateral summit of its kind between China, Japan and South Korea, but the primary in greater than 4 years. During this summit, the 2 countries aim to revitalize their economic and security relations.

In a Joint statement In a press release released after the summit, the three heads of state agreed to “institutionalize” the tripartite cooperation by holding regular trilateral summits and ministerial meetings.

They also agreed to proceed talks to “accelerate negotiations” on a free trade agreement that may be “fair, comprehensive, high quality and mutually beneficial.”

The summit is crucial for stabilizing relations between the three countries, even when it would not “result in a concrete initiative,” said Stephen Nagy. Professor on the International Christian University in Tokyo.

China desires to lure each South Korea and Japan away from US initiatives, he told CNBC's “Capital Connection” on Monday.

“Under President Biden, there have been tremendous successes in bringing Seoul, Tokyo and Washington together through the Camp David principles,” he said, adding that China was suspicious of this cooperation and desired to drive a “wedge” between the United States, South Korea and Japan.

The summit comes at a time when regional security is on the forefront in light of nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. Shortly before the summit, Pyongyang announced plans to launch a missile.

The three countries jointly called for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and promised to make “positive efforts for a political solution” to the difficulty.

Both Japan and South Korea are aware that China has “very little influence over North Korea,” Nagy said.

“If there is to be any kind of cooperation in curbing weapons proliferation from North Korea, it will not come specifically from China,” but through cooperation amongst themselves and with the United States, he added.

In economic terms, the countries agreed to create a level playing field for trade and investment worldwide.

“We agree that communication in the area of ​​export controls must continue,” the statement said.

China is a large marketplace for each countries that they can’t ignore, says Tobias Harris, deputy director of the Asia program on the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

“It's a big market and I don't think any of them are in a position to give up China as a market,” he told CNBC's “Squawk Box Asia” ahead of Monday's meeting, adding that it would be a challenge going forward.

On the eve of the summit, Li held bilateral talks with the heads of state and government of South Korea And Japan. He also called on each countries to keep up an unhindered supply chain and protect the worldwide free trade system.

Japan's Kishida He said he had raised “serious concerns” with Li during their talks over the weekend about issues corresponding to the situation within the South China Sea.

He also stated that Japan is closely monitoring relevant developments in Taiwan, including China's military activities near the island. The Japanese Prime Minister stressed that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are extremely vital to the international community, including Japan.

Both Beijing and Tokyo are attempting to seek out a method to keep their relations stable, Harris said.

However, given Japan's increased support for Taiwan and its cooperation with the United States, the safety situation makes it “very difficult to decouple economic relations between Japan and China from all these developments,” he added.