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Airbus: October 2015 In Review

Contracts logged during October for 35 A350 XWB, A330 and A320 family aircraft raised Airbus’ total net bookings to 850 so far in 2015, and already above the company’s net order target for the entire year, while the month’s 49 deliveries involved jetliners from across its in-p...

Metrojet A321 Was Downed by Bomb, Black Box Analysis Indicates

The Russian airliner which crashed in the Sinai desert, killing 224 people, was downed by a bomb, analysis of the black box recorders indicates. Sources close to the investigation said an explosion could be heard on the recorder, and ruled out mechanical failure or crew error as explanations....


Russia suspends all Russian airline flights to Egypt

Russia has suspended  all Russian airline flights to/from Egypt, citing the ongoing investigation into the Oct. 31 Metrojet Airbus A321 crash. The sweeping suspension of flights to all of Egypt goes further than the UK and Ireland, which have banned flights to/from Sharm el-Sheikh, from which Metrojet flight 9268 took off bound for St. Petersburg before crashing in the Egyptian S...

Lufthansa cancels 290 flights on day 1 of week-long cabin crew strike

Lufthansa has canceled 290 out of 3,000 flights—including 15 intercontinental services—on the first day of a week-long strike by its cabin crew, which is represented by the UFO union. According to Lufthansa, 37,000 passengers have been affected. UFO called for the strike in Frankfurt and Dusseldorf after long-running (December 2013) talks over pay, retirement benefits and wo...

Russian Federal Security Service chief calls for suspending all Russian flights to Egypt

This is necessary until the true causes of what happened are established, Alexander Bortnikov notes. Alexander Bortnikov, director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), has called for suspending Russian flights to Egypt until the true causes behind the A321 crash are established. "So long as we do not establish the true causes of what happened, I think it would be reasonable to...

Minimising stress airport - welcome to Baku

Once again we are going back to 50skyshades visit to Baku. This time with our big discovery - minimising stress airport, we felt in love with after seeing so many different around the world. Discovering Heydar Aliyev International Airport we felt so comfortable, were impressed by so many things, that it was absolutely necessary to find out more and share with our readers. So let’s st...

It's been 100 years since one of the biggest game-changers in military aviation history

On November 5, 1915, a plane was launched from a ship by catapult for the first time in history. And, despite the prevaling ideas at the time that naval aviation was an outlandish endeavor, the flight was a success.    Naval History & Heritage CommandCurtiss AB-2 (C-2) Aircraft being catapulted from USS North Carolina (ACR-12) on 5 November 1915.  The p...

Airbus’ A350-1000 Trent XWB-97 engine begins flight-test campaign on A380 flying-test-bed

The A350-1000’s new engine – the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 – has successfully made its first flight-test aboard Airbus’ dedicated A380 “Flying-Test-Bed” aircraft. The aircraft took off from Airbus’ facilities in Toulouse and performed a flight of 4 hours, 14 mins during which the engine covered a wide range of power settings at altitudes up to 35,000ft. The...

Lufthansa Cabin Crews Set to Start Airline's Longest Strike

Deutsche Lufthansa AG faces its longest-ever strike after flight attendants rejected the airline's latest offer in a long-running dispute over savings efforts aimed at weathering competition from low-cost rivals such as Ryanair. Cabin crew are set to halt work Friday afternoon, the UFO labor union said in a statement Thursday, without specifying the exact time or routes and airports th...

Airbus sees Middle East as important market for its new ACJneo family

Airbus sees an important potential market for its new ACJneo Family in the Middle East, where private jets are well established as business tools for companies, billionaires and governments, helping them to be more productive and efficient. Airbus’ ACJneo Family initially comprises the ACJ319neo and ACJ320neo. The ACJ319neo will fly eight passengers 6,750nm/12,500 km – equivalent to...

Lufthansa Group airlines suspend all flights to Sinai until further notice

The airlines of the Lufthansa Group have suspended their commercial flight operations to and from the Sinai Peninsula until further notice. The precautionary action has been taken in view of the current Sinai situation. The Lufthansa Group will coordinate all its further actions in this regard in close consultation with the authorities. The action affects two planned weekly flights to and from Sha...

ANALYSIS: Gulf airports fight for share of rapidly rising demand

Airport investment is in overdrive at aviation’s busiest global crossroads, as the hubs of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways vie to keep pace with the growth of their flag-carriers, and with eachother to attract international air traffic. While Doha’s new Hamad International is about to embark on an expansion that will take throughput to almost 70 million pass...

Airbus eyes the wide game in China

Airbus expects strong demand for widebody aircraft in China, as Chinese carriers work on their fleet plans for the next five years. Speaking to Flightglobal in Beijing, Airbus China president Eric Chen says the boom in outbound traffic, coupled with the relatively small widebody fleet in the country, will drive airlines to look at larger jets. The continued bottlenecks at the country’s ai...

Latvia sells 20% stake in Air Baltic to German investor

Following lengthy deliberations, the Latvian government has agreed to sell a 20% stake in Air Baltic(BT,Riga) to German investor Ralf Dieter Montag-Girmes for EUR52 million (USD57.2 million). The official LETA news service says that alongside Montag-Girmes' investment, government will shore up the carrier's coffers with an EUR80 million (USD88 million) loan from the Latvian central bank...

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Top of the week

Jungheinrich & Deutsche Aircraft set a new standard in aerospace logistics with automated warehouse for next-generation regional aircraft production

In a landmark step towards next-generation regional aircraft manufacturing, Jungheinrich has delivered an advanced automated logistics centre to Deutsche Aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Supporting...

flyadeal arrives in Mumbai, strengthening air connectivity between India and Saudi Arabia

flyadeal, the fast-growing low-cost carrier of Saudia Group and one of the GCC's largest budget airlines, has expanded its presence in India with the launch of non-stop flights between Riyadh and...

Tecnam unveils the FAR Part 23-certified P2008JC NG in the United States, redefining efficiency in next-generation pilot training

Tecnam introduces the P2008JC NG to the United States market, bringing flight schools a certified, next-generation training aircraft designed to dramatically reduce operating costs while maximizing fl...

Cessna Skyhawk Veris VR flight training device set for NBAA-BACE debut in Las Vegas

TRU Simulation + Training Inc. will showcase its Veris Virtual Reality Flight Training Device (FTD) for the Cessna Skyhawk at NBAA-BACE 2026, marking the simulator's first appearance at the indust...

British Airways unveils new Terminal 5 lounge, marking the next phase of Heathrow transformation

British Airways has unveiled the next phase of its Heathrow lounge transformation programme, marking the beginning of a significant investment aimed at modernising every lounge across the airport in t...

Corsair takes to the skies in pink this October

  For the fourth consecutive year, Corsair is reaffirming its commitment to the fight against breast cancer by partnering with the association "Les Hôtesses de l’Air cont...

IADA sees strong demand and constrained inventory shaping the global preowned aircraft market

The International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) has released its 2026-2027 Current Market Portrait & Forecast, offering an in-depth analysis of the global preowned business av...

Travel leaders unite behind EU Digital Omnibus to advance the future of secure biometric travel

A new travel industry coalition is urging EU policymakers to adopt a balanced and proportionate approach to biometric travel, ensuring passengers can benefit from secure and seamless journeys while ma...

Etihad Airways and Ibom Air launch interline partnership linking Nigeria to Etihad’s global network

Etihad Airways has signed an interline agreement with Nigerian airline Ibom Air, enabling travellers to connect seamlessly beyond Lagos and Accra to five destinations across Nigeria on a single t...

PAL-V, AVION and FLYVE announce strategic partnership to scale global FlyDrive training infrastructure

PAL-V has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with AVION, a specialist in advanced flight training devices, and FLYVE, a developer of FlyDrive ecosystems for professional and government operator...

FACC unlocks new growth opportunities through strategic funding

Rising production rates and the launch of new aircraft programs are driving increased demand for manufacturing capacity across the aerospace industry. To support this growth, FACC plans to i...

Emirates arrives in Helsinki for the first time

  Emirates has officially inaugurated services to Helsinki, marking a significant milestone in connectivity between Finland and the United Arab Emirates. The new daily route is the only year-r...

Tecnam expands U.S. presence with Finnoff as exclusive Western Region distributor for the P2012

Tecnam has announced a landmark strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the growth of its P2012 aircraft family across the United States. Under the agreement, Finnoff has been appointed the exclus...

KLM marks fleet milestone with delivery of its first Airbus A350-900

Dutch flag carrier KLM, part of the Air France-KLM Group, has welcomed its first Airbus A350-900, marking a significant step in the airline’s long-haul fleet modernization strategy. The arrival...

From first call to final mission: Helicopter Alliance’s Black Hawks excel throughout fire season

UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters operated by Helicopter Alliance played a vital role in combating wildfires across Central and Southern Europe during the aerial firefighting season that has now concluded....

GE Aerospace names FL Technics Indonesia as first MRO partner for avionics support

FL Technics Indonesia, the first MRO in Indonesia to be appointed as a GE Aerospace avionics support partner, has signed a service support agreement with GE Aerospace covering Boeing 737 and Airbus A3...

SkyDrive eyes Osaka’s rooftops for a new generation of eVTOL vertiports

Following the successful public flight demonstrations at Expo 2025 Osaka, SkyDrive announced plans to undertake a feasibility study exploring the conversion of Osaka City’s existi...

Azerbaijan Airlines continues fleet modernisation with delivery of another Airbus A321neo

Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), part of AZCON Holding, has taken delivery of another Airbus A321neo, increasing its fleet to 31 aircraft as the carrier continues its long-term modernisation strategy. The...

Ethiopian Airlines grows cargo ambitions with Boeing 777 and 777-8 freighters

Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines have announced a new cargo fleet expansion agreement, with the African carrier ordering eight 777-8 Freighters and two additional 777 Freighters. The investment will enab...

Textron Aviation helps shape tomorrow’s workforce through Kansas’ first aviation youth apprenticeship initiative

As the first aviation company in Kansas to introduce state-registered youth apprenticeships through the Kansas Office of Apprenticeships, Textron Aviation is taking a leading role in workforce develop...

FLYONE Armenia orders two Airbus A321neo

FLYONE Armenia, the country’s leading airline, has finalised an order with Airbus for two A321neo aircraft, marking a significant milestone in its fleet modernisation strategy. The agreement was...

CAA Malaysia advances air traffic controller recruitment strategy with Airways International’s SureSelect

Airways International has entered into a new five-year partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), extending the use of its SureSelect air traffic control (ATC) candidate assessm...

ATP Flight School hosts Alumni Career Expo featuring 20 airline and industry partners

On October 1, ATP Flight School will welcome nearly 500 aspiring airline pilots to its Arlington, Texas training center for an exclusive career expo featuring 20 airline and industry partners. Attende...

Airbus A350F freighter successfully performs its maiden flight

The Airbus A350F freighter (MSN 700), the first of two flight test aircraft, has successfully completed its maiden flight. Equipped with dedicated flight test instrumentation, the aircraft spent 4 hou...