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Rayani Air boss hits at 'childish' takeover plans

PETALING JAYA: Rayani Air employees who announced plans to take over the airline have been described as “acting like children”, with the troubled airline’s chief executive suggesting that they “start their own airline if they are so smart”, according to Star Online. Rayani chief executive Ravi Alagendrran also dismissed a threat action by airline staff to recover u...

When Will We Have an Electric Plane?

The idea of the electric plane has existed since the electric car came into existence. Imagine getting out of the plane only to see the flight attendants plugging a giant cable into a charging station. It sounds like something from the future, but an electric plane may not be as far away as people think. The electric plane would be far better for the environment, it would use rechargeable batte...

New York-bound flight diverted to Ireland after declaring emergency

A flight to New York has been diverted to Ireland after declaring an emergency minutes after it took off from Manchester Airport. The plane was diverted to Shannon Airport in County Clare amid reports of smoke in a lavatory, according to tracking website Air Live. Pakistan International Airlines Flight 711 was due to fly to John F Kennedy International Airport after its departure schedu...

Air Algerie crash in Mali caused by anti-icing failure: report

Investigators into the crash of an Air Algerie flight in Mali that killed 116 people in 2014 have called for expanded anti-icing protection and better procedures and training after the pilots lost control while trying to avoid a storm. A final report by France's BEA agency, presented in Mali and Paris, focused on the way pilots responded to problems initially caused by the icing of vital pr...

Free your inner pilot with RT’s 360 cockpit view of Moscow Victory Day parade rehearsal

Barrel-rolls, skewed-loops, ‘Cuban diamonds’, Nesterov maneuvers… experience all the aerial stunts from the cockpit of a fighter jet in RT’s 360 panoramic video taken at a rehearsal for this year’s Victory-Day parade in Moscow. Russian Defense Force aircraft have been practicing their maneuvers at Kubinka, just outside of Moscow, with some 100 helicopters and airp...

FAA orders 'urgent' engine fixes for Boeing 787 Dreamliners

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...

Lufthansa Looks at SAS in Move to Accelerate Airline Consolidation in Europe

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 sets hard deadline

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 signs five aircraft lease deal with US Forest Service

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...

Singapore Airlines to fly Scoot into India soon

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...

Trump Can't Fly His Private Jet Anymore Because He Didn't Pay the $5 Registration

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...

Norwegian fighter jet helps save dying patient

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...

Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile (ENAC) selects RocketRoute as primary flight planning solution

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 to head up newly formed Airbus Helicopters UK civil business department

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...

First Piper M500 delivered into Switzerland

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...

Rafale deal far from over?

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...

airBaltic Welcomes EU Strategy for Aviation

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...

Several important innovations will be introduced on AZAL and AZALJET flights

Meals on AZALJET flights will differ slightly from the same menu of AZAL’s classic flights. AZALJET passengers will be offered a hot meal (with a choice of chicken or meat meal), bread, juice, water, tea or coffee. If it is a morning flight, passengers will be offered breakfast. In addition, as before passengers will have an opportunity to buy another type of improved hot menu while booki...

Bell V-280 taking form in Amarillo

Bell Helicopter’s third-generation tiltrotor, the V-280 Valor, is literally coming together in Amarillo, Texas, as the company enters the final stages of mating the wing with the fuselage. It’s a moment of truth for the engineers and fabricators who have been working on prototype aircraft, which is being prepared to fly in September 2017 as part of the US Army’s Joint-Mul...

Business Aviation access and challenges to be discussed at MEBAA Conference Jeddah

The Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) will bring its popular MEBAA Conference to Saudi Arabia once again, with the latest edition taking place in Jeddah on 1 and 2 May 2016 under the patronage of the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). Featuring a line up of industry leading speakers, the conference programme will address a range of topics affectin...

Russian Ka-226T helicopter production in India could begin in 2017

The production of Russia’s light utility helicopters Kamov Ka-226T in India may begin next year, director for international cooperation and regional policy of the Russian State Corporation Rostec Viktor Kladov said at the Defense Services Asia (DSA 2016) exhibition on Wednesday. "If the process develops according to the plan, the corresponding firm contract will be ready by the end o...