CFM International, a joint-venture between France's Safran and General Electric of the United States, has delivered the first LEAP-1A engine to be used in the Airbus A320neo jetliner, Safran said on Friday. The delivery is a key milestone for 42-year-old CFM, an unusual French-American venture which has survived decades of trade tensions between the two countries but which now fac...
The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario has announced a $4.87 million finance injection into Flying Colours the Canadian aviation services company that deals with aircraft refits. Maryam Monsef, Canadian minister of democratic Institutions, and Navdeep Bains minister of innovation for science and economic development, announced the deal. A global aviation services compan...
Bernie Sanders took a private jet to the Vatican to address a conference on wealth inequality on Friday, hours after attacking Hillary Clinton over her stance on fossil fuels. The Democratic candidate is believed to have flown with fewer than 50 people aboard the Delta 767, a jet that can carry between 211 and 261 people. Joining him on the more than 8,500-mile round trip flight w...
At first glance, a commercial jet engine may look like an engineering outlier. Nearly everything else we see on planes has gotten smaller and more streamlined over the years. So why have engines continued to grow? Turns out it’s because they wouldn’t be as efficient any other way, according to the Minute Physics video above. The core of a modern jet engine is actually pretty smal...
Italy’s ANSV air accident investigation board has opened an inquiry after an accident involving an SD-150 Hero unmanned air vehicle at Siena’s Ampugnano airport. Manufactured and operated by Sistemi Dinamici and bearing the registration I-UASC, the Hero was damaged in the 12 April incident while performing a test flight, says ANSV. However, it does not provide additional details...
Airbus Group SE formally accepted the first series-production engines built by CFM International for its A320neo narrow-body jet -- a model that entered service this year using rival powerplants from Pratt & Whitney. The Leap-1A engines were handed over by CFM ahead of schedule and will be fitted to an aircraft that should reach its buyer by the middle of this year, the joint venture of&nbs...
Belgium’s transportation minister resigned Friday in the wake of revelations that she failed to act on a secret report that had warned of inadequate security measures at Brussels Airport a year before last month’s suicide bombings there. The report, prepared by European Union airport security inspectors last April, found serious deficiencies in the way surveillance, passenger and lu...
Oman Air said it’s poised to begin talks with Boeing Co and Airbus Group SE over an order for the latest generation of wide-body jets to replace 12 older A330 planes. The Gulf carrier will open negotiations in coming weeks, with the focus on Airbus’s A350-900 model and the 787-9 or -10 from its US rival, Chief Executive Officer Paul Gregorowitsch said at a briefing in London. Whi...
The Russian aviation industry will deal with development of a new strategic airlift aircraft for the Armed Forces and the civilian market, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said on Friday. "We will have to seriously work on a promising aircraft system; I mean an extra heavy airlift aircraft," the deputy minister said. "We will have to think how to develop an aircraft enjoyi...
Washington has vetoed any further sales of Israeli-made unmanned air vehicles to Russia. For several months Russian companies have contacted Israeli manufacturers in an attempt to reach joint venture agreements. However after checking with the Israeli defence ministry about the potential of formalising any such pact, it became obvious the US administration would be very strongly opposed, and wo...
George Neal, declared as the world’s oldest active pilot by Guinness until he hung up his helmet and goggles last year, has died at the age of 97. He passed away peacefully on April 4 in the house in North York, Ontario, in which he was born and lived all his life. “We have lost a pioneer in Canadian aviation,” said Tom Appleton, chairman of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame....
The third edition of the Nigerian Business Aviation Conference (NBAC) took place this month in Lagos, Nigeria. Organized by local player EAN Aviation, the event attracted 150 delegates and sparked intense discussion among attendees, spawning new working groups and further collaboration between industry and government. The Nigerian business aviation market is expanding, not only in terms...
Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, today announced it has enhanced its sales relationships with existing channel partners Africair Inc. and Absolute Aviation Group so that both now offer the complete Beechcraft and Cessna product lines throughout their territories in Africa. Africair has been a Cessna authorized sales representative for more than 40 years throughout central and no...
The U.S. Department of Transportation has today issued an order proposing to grant a foreign air carrier permit to Norwegian Air International.When made final, the permit will allow Norwegian Air International to begin operations to the U.S., including the first-ever service between Boston and Cork, Ireland. “A final approval, based on the Open Skies Agreement between the U.S. and EU, wil...
British Airways, operated by Comair, is preparing to be the first airline to fly scheduled flights to St Helena. Flights will depart Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport to St Helena and return each Saturday. “We’re proud to have been selected to provide an airline service to the St Helena. This is an important addition to our existing routes in South...
Etihad Airways is marking the 5th anniversary of the opening of its Al Ain Contact Centre by celebrating the achievements of its 160 Emirati female employees. One third of the centre’s employees are working mothers, reinforcing the airline’s commitment to empowering women, and in particular UAE nationals, by providing a wide range of training and development opportunities to ensure...
Tonight, Corporate Angel Network (CAN) will complete its 50,000th flight by transporting one-year-old cancer patient Baron Yerbe and his parents from New York-area Teterboro Airport to Atlanta. Yerbe, who was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer at three months old, had been receiving treatment at New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital. The flight is being provided by Atlanta-...
Police were called to board an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Shanghai after a passenger apparently had a meltdown over her in-flight meal. TVNZ reporter Katie Bradford said in a Twitter post that the woman "nearly caused a riot when they didn't have the meal she wanted". Air New Zealand said in a statement police met NZ289 on arrival in Shangh...
Boeing Co. on Thursday said it had won a U.S. Army contract valued at about $1.5 billion to remanufacture 117 AH-64D Apache helicopters to the new AH-64E model. The agreement brings the total number of AH-64E model Apaches under contract for the Army to 290, with an additional 400 helicopters likely to be ordered in coming years. The agreement modifies an existing contact between Boeing...
Honeywell Aerospace (Booth P122) has signed a distribution agreement with Vibratech International, which is already a Honeywell-licensed maintenance services and technical support provider, to expand the distribution network for Honeywell’s health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS). The link-up will help provide better support for helicopter operators in China, the companies said....
Pratt & Whitney secured a $1 billion contract this week to fund the first 66 of 167 F135 propulsion systems being purchased by the US government to power the growing domestic and international fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35s. The government reached a handshake agreement with P&W for low-rate initial production lots nine and 10 in January, and the contract announced on 11 April is th...
