Air travel might be a hassle, at times, but in many important ways it’s getting better.Really.We found ten innovative trends that reveal a better future for the industry, and are set to make air travel more pleasant for passengers in 2016 and beyond. 1. Launch of A350 Aircraft and 787-9 Dreamliners While we don’t want to go all avgeek on you, there’s no flying without...
Scandinavian Airlines parent SAS AB returned to full-year profit as it benefited from lower fuel prices and a sharper focus on business travel, sending the stock to its biggest gain in 11 months. Earnings before tax and nonrecurring items recovered to 1.17 billion kronor ($140 million) in the year ended Oct. 31, from a loss of 697 million kronor a year earlier, the Stockholm- based company said...
Northrop Grumman has scheduled flight tests of three new payloads for the RQ-4B Global Hawk fleet next year. The tests are made possible by the development of a universal payload adaptor jointly funded by Northrop and the US Air Force. In its original form, the RQ-4B lacked the payload attach points to fit two sensors carried by the Lockheed Martin U-2S, the reconnaissance aircraft the Globa...
Future British military operations will require more stand-off or remotely-operated weapons to counter a spread of advanced technologies among its enemies that will make today's conflicts appear "relatively simple" by comparison, according to a Ministry of Defence research paper. “The proliferation of technology and advanced weapons systems will provide many more states with...
Russia's Technodinamika holding company, involved in the manufacture of aviation units and power supply systems, is ready to join a Russian-Chinese heavy helicopter project, the company's head Maxim Kuzyuk said. Earlier on Wednesday, Russia's Rostec deputy CEO Dmitry Shugaev said the company expected to sign a contract and an intergovernmental agreement on the heavy h...
When Boeing introduced the 747 jumbo jet more than 40 years ago, almost every aspect of the aircraft was unique. It was the largest plane of the day, it covered the longest distance and it marked the start of a new era in aviation. Its upper deck lounge and spiral staircases wowed passengers. Airlines across the world made a beeline to Boeing’s door to get the plane into their fleets. In...
Airbus Group said it’s still pondering whether to upgrade the A380 superjumbo to help end a sales drought, with production rates for the double-decker set to dip below 30 planes this year as output is slowed to help manage a dwindling backlog. Chief executive Tom Enders said that commercial-aircraft head Fabrice Bregier is “working on the business case” for an A380 revamp with...
Alitalia, Italy’s leading carrier, and Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, have enhanced their codeshare agreement to provide Italian air travellers with unprecedented access to Seychelles. Beginning December 19, Alitalia will place its “AZ” flight code on three weekly flights operated by Air Seychelles between Paris Charles de Gaulle and...
Rolls-Royce is today announcing a new senior management structure as the first step in the wide-ranging restructuring announced on 12 November 2015. The move will simplify the organisation, drive operational excellence and reduce cost; ensuring Rolls-Royce is better placed to deliver long-term profitable growth. The current divisional structure of Aerospace and Land & Sea will end, removing...
Qatar Airways will launch new services between Doha and Durban on Thursday, December 17, 2015. The four-times-weekly service to Durban further complements the airline’s existing daily flights to Cape Town and double daily flights to Johannesburg, and is an expansion of the airline’s operations in South Africa. Travellers can now choose from a total of 21 flights a week to South Afri...
Qatar Airways yesterday announces a ban on battery-powered personal vehicles commonly known as 'hoverboards' on all aircraft as it continues to put the safety of passengers and crew first. Effective immediately, the ban applies to all small vehicles powered by lithium batteries as both checked-in baggage and as cabin baggage on all Qatar Airways flights. The ban applies regardless of th...
Progress toward an all-European medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAS remains very slow, despite last week’s announcement that Germany would take the lead in the unmanned aircraft program and that Spain had joined. France and Italy are the other two nations that have agreed to fund a project definition (PD) study by an industrial partnership among Airbus Defence and Space; Dassault Aviat...
Turbomeca has received EASA type certification for its Arrius 2R engine with fadec that powers the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X. Officially launched at the 2013 Paris Air Show alongside the Bell 505, the Arrius 2R has followed a brisk development schedule. Since the first ground run in April 2014, the engine has logged more than 2,500 ground test hours. The flight test campaign started in November 201...
Pilots at Flexjet and Flight Options have narrowly voted in favor of representation by the International Local Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). Polls closed on the election yesterday following a three-week voting period. A little more than 51 percent of the 644 pilots who voted (330) voted for representation. Approval is decided by a simple majority of the votes. A total of 663 pilots were eligible...
Landmark Aviation’s Milwaukee charter certificate has obtained the Charter Evaluation and Qualification (CHEQ) Platinum Rating from ARGUS International, Inc. (ARGUS). This achievement means that Landmark’s entire charter operation, encompassing four Part 135 certificates, have now earned a Platinum rating. “Achieving the prestigious ARGUS Platinum rating is another means fo...
On November 9, 2010, the European Commission decided to fine SAS Cargo and the SAS Group, alongside 11 other airlines, for participation in a global cartel in the air cargo sector. SAS was finedMEUR 70.2, but appealed the decision in January 2011 to the European Court of first instance, the General Court. Today, nearly five years later, the European Court has ann...
Delta Air Lines will add up to 20 Embraer 190 and 20 new Boeing 737-900ER jets acquired through a new agreement with The Boeing Co. The agreement is part of the airline’s continued strategy to improve its efficiency by adding additional 737-900ERs and upgauging its mainline fleet with the nearly 100-seat, twin-engine E190 jets while reducing the use of small regional aircraft. The...
Today the Commission adopted new rules for flight recorders, underwater locating devices and aircraft tracking systems, addressing the issues raised by the accident of AF447 and the disappearance of MH370 A week after the adoption of the new Aviation Strategy and the update of the EU Air Safety List, today the Commission took further action to boost Air Safety by adopting new rules on aircraft...
Qantas is adding further capacity to Asia from April 2016 with an extra three flights a week between Melbourne and Singapore. The new services arise from Airbus A330s being freed up from the upgauging of three Melbourne-Hong Kong flights from the Airbus twin to Boeing 747s and continues Qantas’s renewed push into Asia in recent times. It will give Qantas 10 flights a week between the Vict...
Sydney has welcomed a new Airbus A380 operator with the start of Korean Air’s seasonal service with the double decker superjumbo. The Skyteam alliance member is operating the A380 to the NSW capital over summer, with the aircraft to feature on the Seoul (Incheon)-Sydney route from December 1 to March 26 2016. Korean Air usually flies either the Airbus A330 or Boeing 777 aircraft to Syd...
Mitsubishi Aircraft is reviewing the development schedule for the MRJ regional jet, following the commencement of flight-testing. The airframer says the “entire schedule” from testing to initial delivery is being examined, in co-operation with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Mitsubishi has not specifically stated whether this review is an indicator of possible further delays to...
