50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

World aircraft news

aircraft related aviation news

Boeing, Jet2.com Finalize Order for Three Additional Next Generation 737-800s

Boeing and UK Leisure Airline Jet2.com finalized an order today for three Next Generation 737-800s, valued at $288 million at current list prices.  Jet2.com previously ordered 27 Next Generation 737-800s in September 2015 and operates an all-Boeing fleet of more than 60 airplanes. Jet2.com is a subsidiary of Dart Group PLC, a UK Aim listed Le...

Budget airfares lower in December

Budget-conscious air travellers may have a little more to spend on Christmas presents this December with domestic ticket prices well down from where they were a year ago. However, those looking for seats at the pointy end of the aircraft may have to fork out a little more cash to enjoy all the luxuries of business class this holiday season. The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regiona...

Lufthansa to provide base maintenance for Norwegian Boeing 737-800 fleet

The Norwegian Group has extended the Total Base Maintenance Support TBS™ contract with Lufthansa Technik for its Boeing 737-800 fleet ahead of time. The  MRO contract covering Boeing 787 wheels and brakes has also been expanded. Norwegian and Lufthansa Technik signed the first contract for a TBS™ covering the airline's Boeing 737-800 fleet already in 2012. Initial...

How the 1989 Mount Redoubt eruption changed aviation

On Dec. 15, 1989, a KLM jumbo jet with 245 people onboard was nearing Anchorage International Airport for a refueling stop on its way to Tokyo. As it approached, the 747 encountered a massive problem: ash from the eruption of Mount Redoubt caused all four of its engines to fail. “We are descending now, we are in a fall!” one of the pilots said, as captured in a cockpit recording....

10 Air Travel Advances That Will Make Flying Better in 2016

Air travel might be a hassle, at times, but in many important ways it’s getting better.Really.We found ten innovative trends that reveal a better future for the industry, and are set to make air travel more pleasant for passengers in 2016 and beyond. 1. Launch of A350 Aircraft and 787-9 Dreamliners While we don’t want to go all avgeek on you, there’s no flying without...

Scandinavian Airlines’ Focus on Cheap Fuel and Business Travel Brings It Profits

Scandinavian Airlines parent SAS AB returned to full-year profit as it benefited from lower fuel prices and a sharper focus on business travel, sending the stock to its biggest gain in 11 months. Earnings before tax and nonrecurring items recovered to 1.17 billion kronor ($140 million) in the year ended Oct. 31, from a loss of 697 million kronor a year earlier, the Stockholm- based company said...

Global Hawk readies for new payload tests

Northrop Grumman has scheduled flight tests of three new payloads for the RQ-4B Global Hawk fleet next year. The tests are made possible by the development of a universal payload adaptor jointly funded by Northrop and the US Air Force. In its original form, the RQ-4B lacked the payload attach points to fit two sensors carried by the Lockheed Martin U-2S, the reconnaissance aircraft the Globa...

UK predicts more stealthy and stand-off ops by 2035

Future British military operations will require more stand-off or remotely-operated weapons to counter a spread of advanced technologies among its enemies that will make today's conflicts appear "relatively simple" by comparison, according to a Ministry of Defence research paper. “The proliferation of technology and advanced weapons systems will provide many more states with...

Russian Aerospace Firm to Offer Systems for Helicopter Project With China

Russia's Technodinamika holding company, involved in the manufacture of aviation units and power supply systems, is ready to join a Russian-Chinese heavy helicopter project, the company's head Maxim Kuzyuk said. Earlier on Wednesday, Russia's Rostec deputy CEO Dmitry Shugaev said the company expected to sign a contract and an intergovernmental agreement on the heavy h...

Flying into sunset

When Boeing introduced the 747 jumbo jet more than 40 years ago, almost every aspect of the aircraft was unique. It was the largest plane of the day, it covered the longest distance and it marked the start of a new era in aviation. Its upper deck lounge and spiral staircases wowed passengers. Airlines across the world made a beeline to Boeing’s door to get the plane into their fleets. In...

Airbus mulls A380 revamp ‘in cold blood’ as Emirates pushes case

Airbus Group said it’s still pondering whether to upgrade the A380 superjumbo to help end a sales drought, with production rates for the double-decker set to dip below 30 planes this year as output is slowed to help manage a dwindling backlog. Chief executive Tom Enders said that commercial-aircraft head Fabrice Bregier is “working on the business case” for an A380 revamp with...

Air Seychelles and Alitalia offer more travel options from Italy to Seychelles

 Alitalia, Italy’s leading carrier, and Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, have enhanced their codeshare agreement to provide Italian air travellers with unprecedented access to Seychelles. Beginning December 19, Alitalia will place its “AZ” flight code on three weekly flights operated by Air Seychelles between Paris Charles de Gaulle and...