By Alex Vanover When I started taking flying lessons in 1998, one thing that surprised me was the relatively primitive engines that modern airplanes use. These are engines that have more in common with tractor engines than the reliable high-tech automotive engines we all drive behind. Would you be surprised if I told you that in the year 2015 most brand new airplanes have engines that use carbu...
Lufthansa German Airlines and Copa Airlines have successfully concluded a codeshare agreement for Copa flights to Latin American destinations. In a first step, Copa flights in the current winter schedule from Miami, Florida, to Panama City, Panama, are being operated under an additional Lufthansa flight number with immediate effect, enabling Lufthansa Group passengers to travel seamlessly from Fra...
Yesterday the Latvian airline airBaltic welcomed a Bombardier CSeries aircraft to Rīga, Latvia, as part of CS100 demo tour to Northern Europe. Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “Bombardier CSeries will be the backbone of our jet fleet beyond 2016. We are thrilled to have this CS100 in Riga for display. Bombardier’s CS300 airliners are integral to the execution of...
The first ever landing by a commercial Boeing 757 passenger airliner on a blue-ice runway in Antarctica occurred yesterday at Union Glacier. The landing was a joint partnership between Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE), Loftleidir Icelandic, and NAS Corporation Limited (NAS). ALE is the parent company of Adventure Network International (ANI). The Boeing 757-200 ER...
The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive a modernized missile defense system in the near future, Colonel Andrei Cheburin announced. "I’m sure that in the short-term perspective we will receive an upgraded missile defense system," Cheburin told RSN Radio. He noted that currently the modernization of missile defenses is underway which will seriously enhance their com...
Russia may delay the delivery of military helicopters abroad as a number of customer delays the payment. This was director of public procurement and military-technical cooperation of the holding “Helicopters of Russia” Vladislav Savelyev told the agency TASS. “Holding plans to carry out all the supplies but there are some delays in terms of payment from foreign customers so th...
After San Francisco, Air India (AI) plans to launch direct flights to Washington DC and other cities in the U.S. AI already operates non-stop flights to three U.S. cities - New York, Chicago and Newark, with operations to San Francisco scheduled to commence from December 2. "AI is actively pursuing to connect more cities in the U.S. (with India). A New Delhi-Washington flight is al...
AirAsia on Friday introduced four new routes out of U-tapao airport, setting a record in the Thai aviation industry for simultaneous launches. The launch of scheduled flights to Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Singapore and Macau demonstrates the low-cost carrier's confidence in new traffic catchments which the sleepy navy-operated airfield in Rayong could create. Friday's launches brought t...
Further simplifying the procedures and making it easier for the procurement of aircraft by airlines, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has delegated the power to grant initial No Objection Certificate (NOC) or in-principle approval for import or acquisition of aircraft to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This comes two after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed norms for r...
An American Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N393AN performing flight AA-199 from Milan Malpensa (Italy) to New York JFK, NY (U.S.), was enroute at FL320 about 170nm south of London Heathrow, EN (UK), still in French Airspace, when the crew reported a cracked windshield and initiated a rather normal descent to FL120. During the descent the aircraft turned north to divert to London Heathr...
The start of the 2015 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will once again begin with the traditional Etihad Airways fly-past as the teams, drivers and race fans at Yas Marina Circuit prepare for the final race of the 2015 season. Etihad Airways’ A380 Chief Pilot, Captain Ali Al Jabri, who is co-ordinating this year’s spectacle and flying the superjumbo over the starting gr...
A Pakistani anti-terrorism unit in Lahore on Friday sent to jail on 14-day judicial remand a private airline pilot, who is under investigation over a botched landing of a Boeing 737, allegedly because he was drunk, according to local media reports. Captain Asmat Mahmood was taken into custody by police after a medical report stated he was drunk while flying the plane that skidded off the runway...
Expanding flying rights for UAE airlines into India could help to boost the subcontinent’s economy, but the move would come at the expense of the ailing state airline Air India, analysts say. A report by India’s National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), released on Thursday, highlighted that Emirates airline has an economic impact of $848.6 million on India’s econ...
Aeroflot has begun using Full Flight Simulators (FFS) to recreate the experience of flying its Boeing 737 Next Generation aircrafts. The FFS realistically recreates the experience of flying a 737NG, and helps pilots to polish their skills in all areas, as well as giving the crew the opportunity to practise their responses in real time to ch...
Having achieved first flight this month, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) fulfilled a promise that dates back eight years to the Paris Air Show of June 2007: to create the first modern Japanese jet airliner. Like a number of other upcoming airframers, it’s using the 70-100 seater large regional jet market to do it. It is certainly a crowded market, but geopolitics might be on M...
The best part of a decade on from its October 2007 introduction into service, Singapore Airlines’ Suites class still has it. Cashing in a stack of frequent flyer points to fly from LAX to Tokyo Narita, I was surprised by how well the product has stood up against an increasing amount — and pace — of competition. The LAX lounge was very pleasant, the Kyo-kaiseki food was exquisi...
Just in time for Thanksgiving, American Airlines has announced the end of the Frequent Flier Era as we’ve known it. Starting next year, the airline’s customers will earn miles based on how much they spend on a ticket rather than how far they fly. In making the shift, American becomes the last of the big three U.S. airlines to adopt a revenue-based frequent-flier progr...
Stocks of aviation companies are having a dream run on the bourses with lower fuel prices providing the perfect takeoff for the beleaguered sector. The SpiceJet scrip has surged six-and-a-half times since hitting its 52-week low of 11.5 rupees in December last year. The stock hit its 52-week high of 72.5 rupees on November 24. The budget carrier, promoted by Ajay Singh, has zoomed more than fou...
American Airlines Group Inc. will keep the right to fly between Los Angeles and Tokyo's Haneda airport, after federal regulators rejected claims by Delta Air Lines Inc. that the privilege should be revoked because American failed to begin service quickly enough. American has until March 27 to begin the flights to Haneda airport, the U.S. Transportation Department ruled. The carrier sai...
Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) welcomed its 30 millionth passenger after a passenger on a China Eastern Airlines (MU) flight arrived at the airport at 9:35 a.m. Friday morning, marking a new milestone for the airport. Xi'an airport has become the eighth airport in China with 30 million passengers annually. Zhang Wei, who took Flight MU2335 from Shanghai to Xi'an, luckily...
easyJet is stepping up services from Scotland next year by adding an eighth aircraft to its base at Edinburgh airport. New routes to Vienna and Venice will operate from the Scottish capital while Glasgow will gain a connection to Marseille. The budget carrier flew 5.5 million passengers between Scotland and other parts of Europe in the year to September and expects this to grow by 10% i...
