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easyJet partners with Atout France

easyJet has announced it has signed a long term partnership deal with Atout France, the French Tourism Development Agency, which will see the airline become one of its main transport partners. The airline will join forces with the tourism agency to promote tourism in Europe to France, starting with the UK. The three year partnership will launch this year with a multi-media advertising and ex...

Vietnam Sets Its Sights on Russian Yak-130 Aircraft

In its effort to boost the country’s air defense, Vietnam is choosing between Russian Yak-130 and Czech L-39 New Generation planes for its future center for training pilots of supersonic fighter aircraft. In a commentary for Sputnik, aviation expert Makar Aksyonenko said that even though the L-39s have been used by several generations of Russian and foreign Air Force pilots...

AFI KLM E&M Sets Up China Joint Venture With Beijing General Aviation Co., Ltd

AFI KLM E&M and Beijing General Aviation Co Ltd (BGAC) today held an opening ceremony to celebrate the creation of AFI KLM E&M-BGAC Line Maintenance Co. Ltd, an aircraft maintenance joint venture who is benefitting from the new open policy of Chinese government to welcome and promote foreign initiatives to partner with Chinese companies. Launching in line m...

Oman Air boosts fleet with New Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, continues its ambitious expansion plans in 2017 with three new additions to the fleet already this year. The latest aircraft is the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner which joined the fleet on 23rd February 2017; this is in addition to the two new 737-800s which were added to the fleet in 2017. The wide-body Boeing 787-9 is a stretched version of the a...

Dassault announces 2017 Falcon Regional M&O Seminar schedule

Dassault’s 2017 Falcon Maintenance & Operations (M&O) Seminars will kick off April 11th in West Palm Beach, Florida. The seminars will make their way to eight cities around the world before concluding in Mahwah, New Jersey, on May 18th. This year, for the first time, the Seminar Series was preceded by a special forum tailored to the needs of operators of older, out-of-production m...

Airbus awarded contract to retrofit 26 Bundeswehr CH-53 helicopters

Airbus Helicopters has received an order from the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) to retrofit 26 CH-53 heavy transport helicopters. This contract will cover obsolescence management for components that are no longer available on the market and will begin by replacing them with up-to-date parts. This retrofit will guarantee the helic...

Virgin Galactic is One Step Closer to Carrying Tourists to Space

On Friday, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo successfully completed its third glide flight test over California’s Mojave Desert. The company’s SpaceShipTwo craft, called VSS Unity, was carried up to about 50,000 feet by VMS Eve, a WhiteKnightTwo craft, for a mid-air launch. The WhiteKnightTwo, a dual-fuselage, four-engine aircraft, was built specifically to launch Virgin’s sma...

World's biggest aircraft An-225 will visit Britain more often after Antonov Airlines deal

The world's biggest aircraft will be regularly visiting the UK after Antonov Airlines opened a new British headquarters at Stansted airport, according to a report in The Times. The Antonov An-225 Mriya is big enough for 50 cars and is capable of carrying 250 tonnes in total, which is the same as four fully loaded British Challenger 2 tanks. Michael Goodisman, business development directo...

Russian Helicopters expanding after-sales services in the Near East and Africa

Russian Helicopters, part of State Corporation Rostec, is implementing a number of after-sales service projects in the African and Near Eastern countries. Based on 2016 numbers, 43.5% of all after-sales services and aviation inventory provided by Russian Helicopters to foreign customers fell onto these regions, based on fulfilled contracts.   Russian Helicopters is implementing advanc...

Airbus’ Self-Flying Electric Robo-Taxi Might be the Answer for Future Air Transportation

We’ve already got self-driving cars, so surely the next obvious move is self-flying taxis, right? That’s exactly what Airbus, the European aerospace giants have set out to do with Vahana. This autonomous flying plane will get you where you want to go twice as fast as any car and can fly a single passenger up to 50 miles at a time. At first, the company was unsure whether to make Vah...

Citilink becomes first airline in Indonesia to operate A320neo

Citilink, the low cost unit of Garuda Indonesia, has taken delivery of its first A320neo at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. The aircraft is the first of 35 A320neo set to enter service with the carrier. Citilink has selected CFM Leap-1A engines to power its A320neo fleet, which will be operated on its domestic network, and new international services to China and the Middle East. Sea...

Boeing Expands Production with Investment in New UK Site and US Facility

Boeing announced that it plans to open a production facility in Sheffield, United Kingdom, to manufacture high-tech components for Boeing’s Next-Generation 737, 737 MAX and 777 aircraft. These actuation systems will be used on the trailing edge of wings of these models. The new facility, the result of a Boeing investment of more than £20 million, is part of a broader plan...

Etihad and Emirates to face action from UK aviation watchdog over late flights

Five international airlines, including Emirates and Etihad, could face unlimited fines in the UK after the country’s aviation watchdog said enforcement action would be taken against them for denying passengers compensation for delayed flights. The Civil Aviation Authority estimates more than 200,000 passengers a year travelling on the two UAE carriers, American Airlines, Singapore Airline...

Gulfstream Flies Second G600 Test Aircraft

 Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced the second Gulfstream G600 completed its first flight, spending 4 hours and 26 minutes in the air and officially joining the flight-test campaign. “The addition of a second flight-test aircraft just 10 weeks after the first demonstrates the rigor and discipline inherent in our development programs and continues a cadence of accomplishme...

Sikorsky - PZL Mielec prepares multirole M28 airplane for transatlantic leg of Latin American and Caribbean tour

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company and its affiliate PZL Mielec are finalizing an M28 short takeoff and landing airplane for its transatlantic flight from southeast Poland to Latin America and the Caribbean. Once in the region, the 7,500 kg (16,500 lb.) twin turboprop airplane will demonstrate to interested militaries and commercial transport its ability to move p...

MTU Aero Engines AG posts new record revenues and earnings for 2016

• 2017: End of investment phase with further increase in revenues, earnings and free cash flow • Outlook for 2017: Revenues of approx. €5.1 to €5.2 billion, stable operating margin, net income rising at a higher rate than operating profit – Provisional figures, subject to approval by the Supervisory Board – MTU Aero Engines AG once again set new records...

SaxonAir take delivery of the stunning Embraer Legacy 500

SaxonAir is delighted to announce the addition of one of the most advanced super midsized business jets to its extensive fleet, after taking delivery of the brand-new Embraer Legacy 500, G-SUEJ. Powered by the state-of-the-art Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics suite, the Legacy 500 is the first aircraft in its category to feature digital flight controls based on Fly-By-Wire technology....

Piper Aircraft announces 26% increase in billings for 2016

Piper Aircraft, Inc. announced following the release of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Annual Industry Review a 26.7% increase in aircraft billings for 2016. The year-end aircraft shipments and billings numbers were presented by Piper Aircraft President and CEO, Simon Caldecott, the 2017 Chairman of GAMA. The substantial growth was driven by the certification and del...

airBaltic to launch Riga – Abu Dhabi service

The Latvian airline airBaltic in cooperation with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will launch a direct service between Riga and Abu Dhabi on October 29, 2017. airBaltic will operate the Riga – Abu Dhabi route 4 times weekly with a long-range Bombardier CS300 aircraft. Etihad Airways will be its codeshare partner on the route. Martin Gauss, C...

IATA Welcomes Entry into Force of WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the entry into force of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) today. This follows the ratification of the treaty by two-thirds of the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). “The Trade Facilitation Agreement will cut red tape at the border for faster, cheaper and easier trade. That’s great news for airlines, which d...

Safran Enhances its Jet Engine Nacelle Support Capabilities

Safran Nacelles has strengthened its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) expertise with the creation of an MRO Center of Excellence at the company's Pont-Audemer facility in France's Normandy region. Expanding on the existing MRO industrial resources in Pont-Audemer's current facilities, this new Center of Excellence brings numerous advantages to customers that utilize...