The Crystal Cabin Awards, presented by the Hamburg Aviation Cluster at the Aircraft Interiors Expo each April, showcase the passenger experience innovations that can make a real difference to the future of commercial aviation. Sometimes the core improvement of a year is a little thing — one of those innovations that makes every flight just that little bit better, like Mohawk Air’s s...
iPass Inc., the world’s largest Wi-Fi network, announced an agreement with Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) to bring inflight Internet access to iPass customers on 23 international airlines. Under terms of the agreement, iPass, which provides convenient, secure, always-on Wi-Fi connectivity on any mobile device, will be available on over 747 Panasonic-equipped aircraft that fly...
An Indian passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing after authorities received a telephone call saying there was a bomb planted on board. The GoAir plane, carrying 150 passengers, was en route from the eastern city of Bhubaneshwar to Mumbai when the call was received, and the aircraft landed in the western city of Nagpur. The passengers were offloaded and airport security...
How did you spend your $700? That’s how much the average American driver saved at the pump in 2015, according to a report from J.P. Morgan Chase. The bank also found that the savings fueled consumer spending on non-gas related purchases, which, based on credit and debit card transactions, were higher than previously thought. For every dollar saved, Americans spent roughly $0.80 on othe...
When it comes to flying, everyone has their amenity of choice, from the perfect pair of noise-canceling headphones to the elusive, non-lumpy neck pillow. Expedia recently asked flyers which paid amenities made their must-have list—most aren't a surprise (extra legroom), but some are pretty creative (child-free quiet zones). Here's what made the list (in order from most-popular to lea...
One of the airline trends we’re watching in 2016 was started by Airbus last summer: packing 11 seats per row on its A380 superjumbo jets. It’s become a knee-crushing arms race, or, as the airlines like to call it, “cost savings.” But, who really wins? It’s not hard to argue that, in economy class today, the majority of the seats are too small. Given the la...
Textron Aviation has expanded its component repair capabilities with the acquisition of Mesa, Ariz.-based Able Engineering & Components Service and Able Aerospace. Founded in 1982, Able provides component repairs, exchanges and replacement parts for both fixed-wing and commercial rotorcraft. The company has developed more than 2,800 proprietary FAA-approved component repairs. It...
The Air Force has a huge drone problem that's costing the military division a pretty penny. A total of 20 drones were completely destroyed or sustained at least $2 million in damages when they crashed in 2015, according to The Washington Post. That's the highest number of mishaps within a year so far, over twice the number of accidents in 2014. Half of those incidents involve the military&...
While the East Coast turns into a less-than-wonderful winter wonderland, the Department of Defense can rest assured that even their most advanced and finicky aircraft left out in the cold will be just fine. This piece of mind comes from testing done at the U.S. Air Force’s one-of-a-kind torture chamber: the McKinley Climatic Lab. 5 This huge testing facility was built in 1947 as part o...
US aircraft maker Boeing is throttling back production of its biggest jet, the Boeing 747-8 Jumbo, and Europe's Airbus is likewise making fewer giant A380s. But experts say big jets may make a comeback in a decade or so. Boeing's head of passenger aircraft production, Ray Conner, announced Friday in New York that the company would reduce its annual production rate of Boeing 747-8 &q...
Presently the world’s three longest flights are Dallas to Sydney (Qantas), Johannesburg to Atlanta (Delta), and Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles (Etihad). Emirates has the intentions of launching a route between Dubai and Panama City, which would be the world’s longest, as it’s 10 miles further than Dallas to Sydney. However, that route has already been delayed by two months due to abysm...
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence and the Lithuanian Armed Forces celebrated yesterday the entry into service of their next generation of helicopters for countrywide search and rescue missions with around-the-clock availability. The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence and the Lithuanian Armed Forces assigned their three new AS365 N3+ helicopters to the 24/7 SAR mission service. Only two years afte...
