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...
Lithuania’s three largest gateways, Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga, which operate under the same Lithuanian Airports state enterprise, have joined together to mark remember their symbolic beginning. The construction of Lithuania’s first airport – Vilnius – began 100 years ago in December 1915 on the same site as today’s facility. A statement from the airport operator sa...
AirBlue (PA, Karachi Int'l) has announced plans to resume longhaul flights to Europe following a near two-year long hiatus. In an announcement made via social media, the Pakistani carrier said Manchester Int'l would be among its first destinations. AirBlue dropped flights to Birmingham Int'l and Manchester Int'l in late 2013/early 2014 claiming at the time that it did not have t...
Turkey’s Undersecretariat of Defence Industries (SSM) has chosen BAE Systems to assist with the design of the nation’s next-generation fighter. Ankara launched its TFX project in 2011, with a trio of concepts designed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in conjunction with Gripen manufacturer Saab. These comprise single- and twin-engined models, which served as the basis for studi...
India is getting set to launch an ambitious project to develop its own stealth combat drones or UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles), which will be capable of firing missiles and precision-guided munitions at enemy targets and then returning to home bases to re-arm for further missions. Sources said the government was close to approving a Rs 2,650 crore Project Ghatak to develop the futurist...
The Council President of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, expressed the UN civil aviation agency’s deep satisfaction and profound hope following the landmark agreement forged at the COP21 in Paris last week. “COP21 has been a great success for our planet and for civil society, but of course its process did not end with the concluding of its a...
S7 Airlines, a member of the oneworld® global aviation alliance®, won three prestigious awards at the Eurobest advertising industry festival. In different categories the jury distinguished S7 Airlines promotion campaign #IWANTTOGOWHERE, and innovative project “Imagination Machine”, which was implemented as a part of the campaign. The video #IWANTTOGOWHERE won a silver a...
Vozdushny Express capsule hotel is a new partner of Aeroflot Bonus programme. Now you could have a rest before the long trip in a comfortable room at Sheremetyevo airport and earn miles! Please find more details on the following link:http://www.aeroflot.ru/partners/partners/500569?count New format of Capsule Hotels at Sheremetyevo Airport based on optimum combination of comfort and availa...
Mi-8 helicopter made a hard landing in Kamchatka one person was killed and at least five people were injured. This was reported on Wednesday 16 December TASS with reference to the Regional Emergency Management. The incident according to preliminary data there was 77 kilometers from the village Sobolev. The helicopter according to the deputy head of the government of Kamchatka Sergei Khabarova c...
Russia’s Technodinamika, part of state-owned Rostec, plans to open a component maintenance center near Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport,ATW reported. The company expects to gain EASA Part 145 and Russia’s FAP 145 certificates in February 2016. The space for component maintenance is ready, Technodinamika said in a statement released last week. Initi...
Airlines are, finally, more broadly banning hoverboards — the self-balancing mini-Segway devices that are all the rage and the holiday gift of 2015 — due to safety reasons relating to their lithium ion batteries. At least ten hoverboards have caught fire across nine US states in recent days. But the delay in doing so, the contradictory messages that have been sent out and not corrected...
The Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) has taken delivery of its final Airbus Helicopters H135 training helicopters. The 14th and 15th examples of the type were recently handed over, says Airbus Helicopters in a statement. Deliveries of the H135, designated TH135 in JMSDF service, commenced in 2011. Airbus adds that there are over 80 H135s operating in Japan. Roles includ...
Mitsubishi Heavy Industry has started work on the first Lockheed Martin F-35A to be assembled in Japan. The work took place at a Mitsubishi factory in Nagoya, and saw the mating of the aircraft’s wings, fuselage, and tail, says Lockheed in a statement. The aircraft is designated AX-5, and will be the fifth F-35A produced for the Japanese air force. Japan’s first four aircraft, de...
Waypoint Leasing (Ireland) Limited, the largest independent global helicopter leasing company, today announced that it has closed on a multi-aircraft agreement with Omni Helicopters International S.A., a strategic partnership between Stirling Square Capital Partners and Omni Group. The aircraft are operating for Omni Taxi Aereo, Brazil's largest helicopter service operator to the offshore indu...
Bond Offshore Helicopters, part of the Babcock Mission Critical Services business, has launched an entirely new service which will take passengers to offshore Oil and Gas facilities in the Northern North Sea from Aberdeen via new facilities at Sumburgh Airport, Shetland. Thanks to an agreement with partners at LoganAir, Bond can now transport hundreds of passengers a week from Aberdeen Airport...
Time is running out for Boeing’s iconic 747 jumbo jetliner, the plane that brought global travel to the masses in the 1970s. The storied 747 has fallen from favour in the modern airline industry as carriers turn to twin-engined aircraft that can fly farther and use less fuel, such as Boeing’s own 777 or the Airbus A350. Sales of the cavernous freight model have waned as well, done i...
We are now getting our first look at United’s 2016 fleet plan. Some of the highlights include United taking delivery of older ex-China Southern A319 aircraft as well as new 737-900ERs, Dreamliners, and its first 777-300ER. A319: United operates 55 A319s in its fleet, and in 2016 the airline plans to take delivery of 9 of the 14 ex China Southern aircraft leased fr...
The future of the legendary Jambo Jet hinges on the order from a Russian freight company. The company plans buying 18 Boeing 747 freighters. If the deal fails the production of the aircraft may be ended. The fate of the US-produced Boeing 747 hinges heavily on AirBridgeCargo Airlines and Moscow-based parent Volga-Dnepr Group. In November, AirBridgeCargo purchased two aircraft. In comi...
Nowadays we can actually live tweet our own mid-air meltdowns, but how on earth did people entertain themselves on planes before the dawn of Wi-Fi and gadgets? Movies have been shown in the air since 1921 -- yes, really -- but once upon a glamorous jet age we managed to get by without the in-flight entertainments we today take for granted. The staff at AirlineRatings.com have gathe...
The United States hopes to conclude aviation talks with Cuba about the resumption of scheduled commercial airline flights "very, very soon," a senior U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday. The official was speaking ahead of Thursday's one-year anniversary of the United States and Cuba's agreement after 18 months of secret talks to restore diplomatic ties that Washingt...
V Air, a Taiwan-based LCC, enters the Japan market by launching its first Taipei-Nagoya service tonight. The inaugural flight ZV202 departed from Taipei Taoyuan International Airport at 19:45, carrying 162 passengers, with an 85% load factor. The estimated arrival time is 23:45 local time. Taipei-Nagoya route is the 4th scheduled service of V Air, marking a new milestone on the carrier’...
