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upturn in the ailing British aviation company's fortunes after it came close to collapse in 2014, due in part to an "outdated business model" and stiff competition from rival budget airlines.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...
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...
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...
