Commercial helicopter company “Silk Way Helicopter Services” LLC (SWHS LLC) received a status of the official service provider for external cargo sling on offshore and onshore oil and gas platforms according to Oil &Gas Producers Standard (OGP). The main direction of these services is focused on flare tip change outs on oil and gas platforms, as well as the wide range of service...
EasyJet is reportedly making a surprise takeover bid for rival British budget airline Monarch, it was reported on Sunday, 17 April. A takeover would signal a further upturn in the ailing British aviation company's fortunes after it came close to collapse in 2014, due in part to an "outdated business model" and stiff competition from rival budget airlines. Monarch –...
We first saw the Innovator, a blended-wing, two-place composite pusher, when it was displayed as a scale model at Sebring’s Sport Aviation Expo little more than a year ago. Wide and sleek with a twin-boom tail, its projected performance numbers were as attention-grabbing as its appearance. Now a full-scale flying model is on display here at developer Commuter Craft’s exhibit. The Innov...
The Latvian airline airBaltic today, on April 18, relaunches direct flights between Tallinn, Estonia and Vilnius, Lithuania, significantly strengthening its positions in the Baltic region. The 10-weekly service will help consolidate the Baltic market and reinforce its connectivity with 60 destinations in Europe, the Middle East and the CIS. Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBalt...
Russia’s Defense Ministry has received since 2013 as many as 550 new and 700 modernized helicopters and airplanes, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said on Friday. "Undoubtedly, the domestic aviation industry has achieved strong performance at present, and the involvement of the Russian Defense Ministry has played a significant role in this. Over the past three years, in...
MTU Maintenance, one of the world’s leading engine maintenance providers, has signed an exclusive 5-year contract with the Mexican low cost carrier VivaAerobus for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the airline’s seven leased V2500-A5-powered aircraft. The German-based service provider for commercial aero engines has already performed more than 4,000 shop visits for the V2500 e...
Qantas’s shares have tumbled sharply after the airline group announced putting a brake on domestic growth in response to weaker-than-expected demand. On the domestic front, Qantas said it would cut capacity in the three months to June 30 2016, compared with the prior corresponding period, in response to the airline posting negative revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK – an ind...
The FAA wants people to stop shooting drones. At least 12 drones have been shot out of the sky in five U.S. states and the Federal Aviation Authority says it’s a federal crime, according to a report in Forbes. Even if they’re over your house. Even if they’re carrying running chainsaws. The FAA says you can’t shoot them down and you can’t disturb or interfere with s...
An Air France passenger plane landed in Tehran international airport Sunday, marking the resumption of Paris-Tehran flights. The Sunday flight is the first Air France jet to land in Iran in eight years, following a landmark nuclear deal reached with world powers that went into effect in January. The resumption of international flights to Tehran's Imam Khomenei International Airport i...
A helicopter crashed on rail tracks near Baltimore/Washington International Airport on Saturday, sparking a brush fire and delaying Amtrak train service along a major passenger route, officials said. The crash, which injured three on board, resulted in delays to Amtrak service between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., according to the railroad's statements and social media posts. An Amtrak...
Airbus Group has not expressed an intention to take a stake in Russian Helicopters, an Airbus spokesman said on Sunday. Russian economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on Friday that the European aerospace company was interested in the privatization of the state-owned Russian Helicopters for which Russia is looking for a strategic partner. "Airbus Group naturally follows potential change...
The concept The Escatek concept offers a new way to register, pass security and make immigration checks in airports and other travel hubs. These three steps could be completed in less than a minute during the escalator ride to the departure gates. The background My wife Pascale had the idea for the Escatek concept. We travel quite often and she recently asked me if it was possible...
Newcastle Airport has been closed and flights cancelled after a sudden deluge of water caused a partial collapse of the roof on Sunday afternoon. At around 1pm, shortly before the Bureau of Meteorology issued a heavy rainfall warning for the Newcastle area, gutters in part of the Williamtown airport terminal were overwhelmed with water, causing a sec...
Police are investigating a pilot’s claim that his plane was struck by a drone as it approached Heathrow airport. The Metropolitan police said they were contacted on Sunday afternoon by the pilot, who landed the plane safely at Terminal 5. No one has been arrested, officers said. The flight, BA727, was coming in to London from Geneva, carrying 132 passengers and five crew. British Ai...
Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest discount airline, is pushing further into Eastern Europe than it previously planned, heightening competition with Wizz Air Holdings Plc, the area’s leading low-cost operator. Since January, Ryanair has announced new bases in Sofia in Bulgaria, Vilnius in Lithuania, Bucharest and Timisoara in Romania and — last week — the Czech...
Ka-band satellite communications are latest air-to-ground link. Airbus Corporate Jets has won its first contracts to retrofit ACJ aircraft with Ka-band satellite communications – from Comlux and an undisclosed customer – paving the way for ACJ operators to have a faster and more capable internet access, via the latest technology. Both deals are for widebody aircraft. Ka-band&rsqu...
All big projects have their crunch moments, and these pinch points will very often define the people involved. For the Solar Impulse team it came over the northern Pacific Ocean in mid-summer last year. Their pilot Andre Borschberg was in the midst of trying to make a crossing from Japan to Hawaii - the longest non-stop solo aeroplane flight in aviation history. Although a routine journey...
Thai Airways first Airbus A350 moves closer to the flight line as the first plane left the Airbus paint shop in Toulouse. Thai Airways have four Airbus A350-900 planes on order – this being the first of them. The A350s will replace some of the existing Boeing 777-200 fleet. And Thai Airways purple tail fin looks especially pretty on the Airbus A350 (but then, I’m a su...
Most of you probably remember the Asiana Airlines flight between Seoul Incheon and San Francisco which crashed back in mid-2013. The plane stalled on final approach, and ended up crash landing on the runway. Three people died, including one person who actually survived the crash but was hit by a rescue truck. The cause of the crash was ultimately determined to be pilot error. While the crash ha...
Shares of Canadian airplane maker Bombardier are surging after reports surfaced indicating Delta Air Lines is close to placing a major order for the company's C-Series airliner. Bombardier stock is up more than 11% today. According to Bloomberg's Michael Sasso, Julie Johnson, and Frederic Tomesco, a source familiar with the situation said that Delta is about to...
Last September, American film pilot Alan Purwin and Carlos Berl of Colombian were killed when a plane used for the Tom Cruise film Mena crashed in Colombia. Now his widow, Kathryn Purwin, has filed a wrongful death suit against producers on the project. According to court documents obtained by EW, Cross Creek Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Vendian Entertainment, and Quadrant Pictures are name...
