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...
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, 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...
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, 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 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...
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 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, 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...
• 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 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, 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...
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...
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 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...
Boeing and Korean Air today celebrated the delivery of the airline's first 787-9 Dreamliner. The Seoul-based carrier will be the first Korean carrier to operate the 787-9 Dreamliner in the country. The airline is scheduled to launch domestic flights to Jeju from Seoul (Gimpo) for a month as part of the required certification period, before launching long-haul international...
Textron Aviation announced that the Cessna Citation Latitude has quickly become one of the world’s best-selling business jets since entering the market in August 2015, and is the leader in the midsize segment with more deliveries in 2016 than any other aircraft in its category. Since its introduction, the aircraft rapidly set a new standard, redefining the expectations of a mids...
Based in France, the system supplier Vision Systems had already opened a technical trade office in Singapore last year to assert Vision Systems' presence in South-East Asia, as well as a production and sales subsidiary in Florida in 2014 to bring the company in closer contact with the major players of the American business aviation industry. Moreover, a global network of sales agents represent...
Embraer Executive Jets delivered 63 Phenom 300 light jets in 2016, the highest volume of any business jet model for the year, according to a report made by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). This is the fourth consecutive year that the Phenom 300 achieves this mark, and it has accumulated 266 deliveries since 2013. "We are elated to once again see the Phenom 300 rec...
Daher announced the service entry of the initial TBM 930 based in Asia. It was delivered in December to Anutin Charnvirakul, who previously owned a TBM 850 version of Daher’s very fast turboprop aircraft family. The new TBM 930 was ferried by Charnvirakul from Daher’s Tarbes, France production facility to Bangkok in December, departing from Europe after a ritual Thai Buddhist bless...
Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s Skytrax award-winning national airline, returns to the Business Travel Show in London Olympia this week, 22-23 February (Airline Pavilion Stand A1) with the announcement of a fifth weekly direct flight – on Sundays – from London Heathrow (LHR) to Kazakhstan’s capital city, Astana (TSE), effective 4th June 2017. The new service departs T4 at 1715, ar...
