It’s a new year and as always, I expect it will be a busy year for aviation. Here’s what we’re going to be watching in 2016. 1. American Airlines has entered into labor talks with its largest union group, the Transport Workers Union/International Association of Machinists alliance who represents thousands of mechanics, ground workers and simulation technicians. America...
Thomas Flohr, Founder and Chairman of VistaJet, will receive the "Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year Award." In 2004, Mr. Flohr introduced a revolutionary aviation business model focused entirely around his customers and brand new, identical aircraft. With over 55 Global and Challenger jets, the company has assembled the largest privately owned Bombardier fleet. VistaJet is th...
Working in conjunction with Rockwell Collins, StandardAero’s Springfield, Illinois business aviation MRO facility, has completed its first Rockwell Collins TTR-4100 TCAS 7.1 Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for a Falcon 50EX aircraft. This new TTR-4100 TCAS processor replaces the aircraft’s existing TTR-920 processor and incorporates new 7.1 logic required to meet the Euroc...
Three Allegiant flights that departed from Orlando Sanford International Airport in the past week had to be diverted midflight. On Christmas Eve, 141 passengers on a flight to Youngstown, Ohio, were diverted to Jacksonville International Airport for an "engine problem," said a spokeswoman for the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. On Monday, a plane flying from Orlando Sanford to App...
In the world of inflight entertainment and connectivity, the industry has seen what could be considered a serious content play (Global Eagle Entertainment’s string of CSP-related acquisitions), a hardware/integration play (by LiveTV and later its acquirer Thales) and a capacity/service play courtesy of satellite operator ViaSat. The latter firm, whose regional Ka-band Exede service is poweri...
Bahrain carrier Gulf Air, has become the first airline in the world to be certified with Information Technology ISO certifications in the five areas of Quality Management, Environmental Management, Service Management, Information Security Management and Energy Management Systems. Following a comprehensive internal and external audit conducted by RINA Services, one of the oldest international ce...
Emirates and Airbus teamed up to search for the ultimate A380 fan in the UAE ahead of the Dubai Airshow in November. A Facebook competition, jointly organised by Emirates and Airbus, garnered over 1,000 entries in less than three days. To enter, participants had to express why they were ardent fans of the Emirates A380, in less than 380 words. The winner, Yves Heye, became the envy of...
Irkut Corp of Russia delivered more than 60 Su-30 and Yak-130 aircraft to the Russian Air Force and international customers in 2015. Irkut has fully implemented the commitments in 2015 under its state defense order as well as export contracts. In 2015, the new Su-30SM jet was delivered to the Republic of Kazakhstan and Yak-130 Combat training aircraft to the Air Force of the Republic of Belarus...
Russian Helicopters, part of State Corporation Rostec, announces that the new light multirole commercial Ansat with hydromechanical controls has received two Main Amendment Approvals for the helicopter’s VIP cabin and air-conditioning system from the Federal Air Transport Agency, which as of this month has taken over duties as Russia’s aviation certification authority from the Aviation...
The NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) has ratified a tentative agreement reached in October with NetJets over contract improvements. The referendum saw 75.43% of the 96% eligible members voting in favor of the referendum. “The unflinching resolve and dedication of the NJASAP Membership has brought us to today – the ratification of a contract that sets the bar...
JetSmarter and Jet Linx have formed a $150 million, five-year partnership. Jet Linx will offer JetSmarter customers extensive flight options with a fleet of 54 business jets across the US, at no cost for members, in cities including, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Washington D.C. and many more. With this joint venture, JetSmarter’s flight...
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft announced today that China Express Airlines (China Express) has placed a firm order for 10 CRJ900 regional jets, raising its total orders for this model of aircraft to 38. With this transaction, China Express has exercised eight previously acquired options for CRJ900 aircraft. To date, 20 of the CRJ900 aircraft ordered by China Express have been delivered. Based o...
