Describing it as an "urgent safety issue," the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered modifications on specific General Electric engines on some 787 Dreamliners because an icing problem could force those engines to shut down in flight. Friday's FAA airworthiness directive stems from a January 29 incident aboard a 787 flying at about 20,000 feet. "Ice shed from the fan...
Deutsche Lufthansa AG Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr said the German carrier wants to play a role in the further consolidation of Europe’s airlines, while suggesting that full mergers aren’t the only option. Responding to reports that Lufthansa is exploring bids for Scandinavian Airlines parent SAS AB and the Condor arm of Thomas Cook Group Plc, Spohr said Friday that the sto...
CHC Group, one of the world’s two largest helicopter operators, this week announced that it had decided not to make an interest payment on its bonds that mature in October 2020. It was due to pay $46 million on Monday. Although investors in the 9.25% senior secured notes are not happy, the company has a 30-day grace period before it is technically in default on these bonds. CHC could...
Columbia Helicopters has signed a deal with the US Forest Service to provide five aircraft under contract to assist in battling wildland fires. The helicopters provided will include two CH-47D Chinook helicopters that are equipped with newly certified internal tanks that will permit the aircraft to fight fires in urban areas. The company’s two tanked CH-47D helicopters will report to thei...
Scoot, the low-cost, medium-haul arm of the Singapore Airlines Group, which operates an all-787 Dreamliner fleet, is set to launch operations to India beginning May. Scoot will start operating to Chennai and Amritsar from Singapore on May 24, and begin services to Jaipur on October 2. “Scoot is excited to bring our proposition of value travel and service with Scootitude to gu...
For the past few months, Donald Trump has been too busy presenting insane plans about funding his wall and confusing 9/11 with 7-Eleven to fork over the measly $5 necessary to register his private plane, and now the Trump jet is grounded, the New York Times reports. Earlier in April, the Times reported the plane had been making the rounds with an expired registration since February 1. Because o...
Quick-thinking medical staff in Norway saved a patient’s life by calling in a fighter jet to whisk live-saving medical equipment from another hospital. They didn’t ask any questions, except for what size the machine was Dr Wetting Carlsen The dying patient urgently needed a special lung and heart procedure called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, but the hospital in the tow...
The prestigious Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC) has selected RocketRoute as their primary flight planning solution. ENAC was founded in 1949 in Paris-Orly, moving to Toulouse in 1968 and merging with the SEFA (Service d’Exploitation de la Formation Aéronautique) on January 1, 2011. The Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC) is a unique example : i...
Dr Gary Clark, formerly Head of Vehicle Test and Integration with Airbus Helicopters, has joined Airbus Helicopters UK Ltd as Head of UK Civil Business on 1 April 2016. His experience both within Airbus Helicopters and the wider Airbus Group will strengthen the UK business, helping to support the company’s continued mission to improve customer satisfaction. Dr Clark joins the UK t...
Piper Aircraft has confirmed the sale of the first Piper M500 into Switzerland to Mr. Michael Hoerler and will be based at Wangen-Lachen. The customer is expected to take delivery of the aircraft within the next few months. Mr. Hoerler is upgrading from a 2011 Piper Mirage and will use the M500 for personal travel throughout Europe. “Piper is thrilled that Mr. Hoerler is stepp...
The $8.8-billion Rafale deal has not yet been finalised, but is at an ‘advanced stage’, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Thursday, adding that “the intention was to close it quite soon”. The BJP had on Wednesday tweeted a graphic, saying that the Rafale combat aircraft deal has been “finalised” and the Narendra Modi government had saved over `21,000...
Speaking at a public hearing in Brussels, Martin Gauss, CEO of the Latvian airline airBaltic, expressed support for the European Commission’s holistic approach to aviation. “It is good”, he said, “that the EU Commission recognises the economic value of aviation. airBaltic does indeed provide for reliable connectivity within the Baltic region, and, together with our...
