The first public flight of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron TP unmanned air vehicle (UAV) happened almost nine years years ago. The maiden flight of the Elbit Systems Hermes 900 occurred nearly seven years ago. Yet, since 2009, neither of Israel’s largest UAV makers have released a new design for a large clean-sheet UAV on the export market, appearing to end a two decade stre...
Airbus Helicopters plans to deliver the first upgraded H225 heavy twin (formerly known as the EC225e) at the end of this year. In the cockpit, the optional Rig’N Fly GPS-navigation-assisted software program aims to make oil rig approaches safer, thanks to a reduction in pilot workload. The system, which is retrofittable, has just beenEASA certified. The helicopter...
Serbia’s flag carrier introduces customer-centric software solutions from Sabre. Air Serbia, the national airline of the Republic of Serbia, is introducing a new technology platform to support its growth strategy and enhance the Air Serbia travel experience. To support this vision, Air Serbia has selected global technology provider Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR) to provide a full sui...
The first A350-900 for Singapore Airlines yesterday completed its maiden flight over the skies of South West France. The aircraft, featuring the airline’s iconic livery, will now enter the final phase of production, including further ground checks and test flights, before being prepared for delivery in the coming weeks. The all-new A350 XWB will form the backbone of Singapore Airlines&rsq...
Russian company UpperTwo opened an office in Tallinn. As commented in UpperTwo, Tallinn, as well as Riga, is moving forward, offering more interesting opportunities to solve financial problems of airlines and aircraft owners. The geographical location of Estonian capital is an important factor too. Flight times takes a little over an hour, which is very convenient fo...
Movers and shakers in the business aviation industry in Europe and beyond congregated in Vienna’s Palais Coburg on Friday for an annual gathering hosted by Jet Aviation. The brainchild of Oliver Bergsch, Jet Aviation's vice president of MRO sales for Europe, Middle East and Asia, the invitation-only event attracts top-level executives to Austria. Jet Aviation president...
Dornier Seawings is to relaunch its Seastar amphibian at the Singapore air show later this month – 25 years after the programme was halted – and has selected Diamond Aircraft Industries (Canada) to manufacture the twin-engined turboprop's all-composite airframe. Dornier, headquartered in Wuxi, China, says the Seastar will re-emerge with a new propeller and landing gear, details...
St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) has emerged as a key hub for Caribbean private aviation traffic, especially during the peak winter season. Unlike other nearby Leeward Islands–such as Anguilla, Dominica, Saba, St. Bart’s, St. Eustatius and Tortola–St. Maarten’s airport can accept larger aircraft and thus offers far greater operational fl...
Mohammed Ibrahim Yassin, the chief executive of Somalia’s Daallo Airlines, has confirmed that an apparent explosion struck the company’s Airbus A321 earlier today on a flight from Mogadishu to Djibouti. Yassin said that the cause of the incident is “still unclear,” but that the aircraft in question (MSN 642) has never had any technical faults during its three years of se...
A large commercial aircraft spent Monday morning circling low over the historic center of Spanish resort Palma, scaring crowds and leading to all sorts of social media speculation. In the end, the flight turned out to be just a peaceful training exercise. The Spanish airport operator Aena said that Swiss Air had asked for permission to conduct a training flight that would continue for several d...
Air Vanuatu says an independent report of the runway conditions at Bauerfield Airport has determined it is safe to operate jet flights into and out of Port Vila. The airline says it is “satisfied the condition of the runway is safe to continue jet operations” based on the independent assessment from Australian-based ACG. “The report found no sign of any foreign object debri...
Hong Kong Airlines is currently restricted to secondary Australian destinations such as the Gold Coast, Cairns and Darwin as Cathay Pacific has utilised all available traffic rights for Hong Kong-based carriers to the four major Australian ports of Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney under the current bilateral air services agreements between the two countries. A recent CAPA – Centre fo...
