Mountain Aviation of Denver Colorado has received FAA approval as the first FAA certified airline authorized to conduct commercial unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS” or “Drones”) operations. After 23 years of operating private jets for business and leisure travelers, Mountain Aviation is expanding its product offering into the newly regulated field of commercial Drone ope...
Gama Aviation’s U.S. aviation division received third-country operator authorization from EASA, becoming one of the first operators to receive the recognition. Beginning in November, the authorization is slated to become a requirement for commercial operators outside Europe to operate within the European Union countries/territories and the European Free Trade Asso...
Lockheed Martin’s unmanned SR-72 aircraft concept has surfaced again with renewed vigour, with company leadership now pushing a reusable, air-breathing hypersonic vehicle as an “affordable” way to validate a new propulsion concept for achieving speeds within the atmosphere between Mach 6.0 to Mach 20. Speaking at a Lockheed media event in Washington DC on 15 March, company chi...
A powerful competition watchdog in Europe has quietly begun asking the industry for its views on issues surrounding airline distribution. Airlines, intermediaries and travel technology companies are being asked to share their views with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition on how tickets are sold by airlines to travellers, either by the direct route or via interme...
Daher will unveil at least two aircraft at a dedicated event on 5 April at its Tarbes, southwest France headquarters. One of the models will be an upgraded version of its TBM 900, Daher says, but mystery surrounds the identity of the other aircraft. The French airframer has made no secret of its intention to expand its single-aircraft product line, and is believed to have been working on new...
Southwest Airlines is phasing out its Boeing 737 Classic aircraft by about 2017 and is finding ways to use engine inventory from that fleet to decrease its maintenance costs. Mandy Gower, Southwest Airlines’ powerplant supply chain manager, told Aviation Week that the airline employs MTU Canada and BP Aerospace in Irvine, Calif., to tear down its CFMI CFM56-3s that pow...
Our world is a dangerous place these days, with the threats of international and domestic terrorism mingling with more common hazards, such as vengeful ex-employees, vandals or other unhinged individuals. While some in the aviation service industry might ask Why us?, the answer is simple: private aviation by its nature attracts high-profile individuals such as celebrities or company executive...
Cochin International Airport, the world’s first 100 percent solar airport, is generating so much power from its massive solar array that the airport no longer pays for electricity. “We wanted to be independent of the electricity utility grid,” Jose Thomas, the airport’s general manager, told the CNNMoney. Cochin started its solar journey three years ago when...
If you've ever taken a long-haul flight, you'll be familiar with the sensation of jetlag - that groggy feeling you get when your body's been through too many time zones in quick succession. There are all kinds of tricks you can use to beat it - some of which make more sense than others - but how do the professionals deal with this long-distance travel? BBC Future's Katia Moskvit...
Direct flights between Russia and Egypt are about to resume, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. They will start shortly in accordance with air safety, said Lavrov after meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. According to Lavrov, Cairo responded positively to Russia’s recommendations for airport and flight security. "We have agreed that measures will...
UK safety investigators have called for a raft of new Europe-wide regulations to be introduced covering the operation of offshore transportation helicopters in the wake of a fatal accident off the north coast of Scotland. The recommendations are contained in the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch’s final report into the 23 August 2013 crash of a CHC Scotia-operated Airbus Helicopters A...
Despite high fuel prices and sluggish economies, airlines have stabilized their finances by cutting costs to the bone and finding new products to sell, or old products to sell differently. Airline ancillary services may be unbundled traditional services, or they may be innovative new services. Successful MROs and OEMs prosper in much the same ways as airlines: by leaning out costs and finding n...
Single-engine turbine commercial operations in instrument meteorological conditions (SET-IMC) could be possible for the first time as a blanket rule across Europe by the end of the year and even sooner in the UK. The UK CAA has confirmed informally that it is “now a question of when not if” SET-IMC is passed, an industry panel noted March 10 during the...
There may be no alternative to using carbon-based fuels to power aircraft, but Air New Zealand is switching to electric vehicles on the ground. The airline is buying 36 fully-electric cars from BMW and 12 plug-in hybrid Mitsubishi SUVs for its sales staff. It is also directly importing 28 fully-electric vans from Renault for use at airports. Air New Zealand said in a statement that i...
The government has approved the acquisition of a second batch of four P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft. Acquisition of eight Boeing P-8As was approved in 2014 (and the first aircraft are now under assembly), but the recently released Defence White Paper’s accompanying Integrated Investment Program (IIP) revealed that, “Eight Poseidon aircraft will be introduced in the ea...
The rising demand for surplus parts that is re-shaping airline aftermarket strategies presents component manufacturers with clear opportunities to follow their engine-producing colleagues by grabbing larger slices of the growing used-parts pie. The used serviceable material ( USM ) market was $3.5 billion in 2013, according to consultancy ICF SH&E, including about $2.2 billion in engine par...
Meridian, the award-winning private aviation company based at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, NJ, is pleased to announce the addition of a Falcon 7X (N221HJ) to its growing charter fleet of private business jets. This ultra-long range aircraft was completed in 2008, and seats up to fourteen passengers. It also has the capacity to sleep up to seven for long haul trips. It is based at Teterboro Airp...
Troubled French group Zodiac Aerospace said on Tuesday that its operating profit in the current year ending in August was likely to be unchanged from last year, as a result of its problems with meeting orders for airliner seats. The company, which supplies both Airbus and Boeing, said last month that it would not now hit its goal this year of raising its operating margin to around 10...
Airlines are also in poor health, having lost more than $10 billion since FY09 with Air India being the biggest culprit, making up approximately 60% of this loss. To the casual observer, it would seem that the aviation sector in India is doing well. Air traffic has grown at 14% over the last 10 years and India is expected to become the third largest aviation market in the world by 2020. Howe...
Boeing delivered Nok Air's 21st Next-Generation 737-800 during a ceremony at the Seattle Delivery Center. The celebration marked the third direct-purchased 737-800 to be delivered to Nok Air. "We are extremely pleased to welcome another new 737-800 to our growing all-Boeing fleet," said Patee Sarasin, CEO of Nok Air. "The 737 provides us with the efficiency and reliabili...
The long list of assets owned by Vijay Mallya, who has been in news constantly since the past few days for fleeing away from the country even though he owes state-run banks some 9000 crore rupees, has not been able to avoid the Indian government's hawk eyes. Apparently, the government is all set to auction off Vijay Mallya's assets, which include his personal Airbus ACJ 319, so that his...
