As top Aerion executives meet with Dubai air show attendees, the aspiring supersonic business jet manufacturer is continuing to search for a US assembly site for flight-test and production aircraft. The selected location will form the “new home of Aerion Corporation”, says the company. Its production system is taking shape ahead of a scheduled first flight date in 2021 and entry...
Argentina is expected to sign a contract on 10 November covering the purchase of 14 Kfir Block 60 fighters. The nation's air force opted to acquire upgraded examples of the Israel Aerospace Industries-produced combat aircraft, which have been non-operational for two decades. IAI had been offering a Block 60 version of the roughly 40-year-old Kfir design, powered by a GE Aviation&n...
Airbus has underlined its faith in the A380, despite slower-than-desired activity and an absence of sales for the type so far this year. Chief operating officer for customers John Leahy, speaking at the Dubai air show, insisted that the “case for the A380 is inevitable”. He is confident that the type is becoming “known in the marketplace” and that a new customer could...
Airbus Helicopters has taken its in-development H160 twin-engined helicopter to a speed of 176kt (202km/h) during flight tests, and believes a never-exceed speed (Vne) of 180kt should be achievable. Disclosing the flight-test progress at a Dubai media briefing held at the H160 mock-up on the static display, Benoit Terral, sales promotion manager for the type, said the velocity was achieved duri...
A number of African countries have turned their attention to the Embraer EMB-314 A29 SuperTucano aircraft. Jon Lake looks at the reasons why. For many years, some African air forces have been guilty of letting considerations of national prestige govern their combat aircraft procurement. In many cases, supersonic fighter interceptors have been purchased or acquired which have had litt...
With 4.9% average gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past two years in the sub-Saharan region, it is no surprise that Africa is forecast to become one of the fastest growing areas for aviation. David Adebiyi explains how aviation infrastructure is a key enabler. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts that by 2034 Africa will see an extra 177 million passengers...
General Electric has launched its Middle East Aviation Technology Center, which will serve as a regional customer and product support hub. The US engine manufacturer says it hopes to increase productivity, maximise performance and minimise downtime for customers by leveraging data analytics, domain experience and software capabilities. Gary Mercer, vice-president of engineering services for...
Emirates has announced its plans for a second gateway in Istanbul with the launch of a daily service to Sabiha Gokcen Airport, beginning December 15, 2015. The new service complements Emirates’ existing 11 weekly flights to Ataturk Airport, offering even more convenience for both inbound and outbound travellers. Located on the Asian side of Istanbul, Sabiha Gokcen doesn’t o...
Flying into the future of the UAE is New Zealand's Martin Aircraft Company and Martin Jetpack. The company signed an exclusive contract with the Dubai Civil Defence (DCD) at the Dubai Airshow on Monday to become the launch customer for the world’s first practical jetpack. “The fuel-run jetpack flies at up to 5,000 feet and solves problems that others can’t with its abil...
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft is in discussions with Abu Dhabi Aviation with the aim of establishing an authorised service facility (ASF) for Bombardier's Q Series turboprop regional airliners. The facility was announced at the Dubai Airshow yesterday. The two parties have signed a memorandum of understanding on the ASF, with final agreement subject to acceptance of commercial terms and...
Jetstar has joined Tigerair Australia at Melbourne Tullamarine’s new Terminal 4. The Qantas-owned low-cost carrier set up shop in the new terminal, which features 36 automated checkin kiosks and 18 bag drop units, as well as a larger departures lounge and more shopping and food choices, on Tuesday morning. Jetstar will have priority access to 12 gates at Terminal 4, compared with four...
There is growing speculation Qantas and American Airlines will launch new nonstop service from the New Zealand to the United States. The two carriers have called a media conference to be held in Wellington on Wednesday morning, where Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and his counterpart at American Doug Parker will “make an important announcement for the New Zealand market”. Amer...
Singapore Airlines (SIA) will begin flights to Dusseldorf from July 2016, giving Australians a new one-stop option to Germany. Dusseldorf will be served with SIA’s new Airbus A350-900s featuring business, premium economy and economy three times a week as red-eye from Singapore and afternoon departure from Germany. SIA also flies to Munich and Frankfurt from its Singapore hub. It also o...
Renowned Australian landscape and nature photographer Richard Green, his wife Carolyn and friend John Davis were killed when Green’s Airbus Helicopters EC135, VH-GKK, crashed in mountainous terrain while the trio were returning to Sydney, having departed from Breeza Station, south-west of Tamworth, on November 7. When the distinctively painted EC135 failed to arrive a...
Next time you're stuck on a long-haul flight in a packed, economy-class cabin, being ignored by a frazzled flight attendant, spare a thought for the passengers on a recent flight from Melbourne to Chongqing in China. They were cows. Crated up and loaded onto the main deck of a Boeing Co. 747cargo plane by hydraulic lift, the 150 beasts were on Australia's first live cattle flight t...
A London-based start-up described as the Uber for private jets is looking to open its regional headquarters in Hong Kong. The service is an online and mobile booking system called Victor that aims to get more bums on seats of privately chartered planes. Its target market is not for your average Joe Blow, but nor is it just for the super-rich, according to founder and chief executive Clive Ja...
Shandong Airlines will launch its first ever flights to India this week. Commencing on November 11, the airline will fly direct between Delhi and Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan province. The new service will run four times a week (Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays), with the Monday and Friday flights continuing onwards between Kunming and Jinan - the cap...
German cabin crew union UFO rejected a sweetened Lufthansa pay offer late on Monday that was aimed at ending the airline's longest ever strike action that it said was costing it at least EUR10 million (US$10.8 million) a day. Lufthansa tried to win over striking cabin crew staff by increasing a one-off payment offer by EUR1,000 to EUR3,000 and promising a 1.7 percent pay rise next year...
Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, will showcase its ground-breaking new Global Xpress (GX) inflight connectivity service at two of Asia's leading aviation trade shows this month. The Asia Pacific region is a strategically important market for GX, which is set to enter global commercial services later this year as the first high-speed broadban...
Air Serbia plans resume flights between Belgrade and the United States by June next year more than two decades after they were halted due to an embargo because of the war in former Yugoslavia. Air Serbia, which emerged from the now-defunct Yugoslav-era JAT Airways in 2013 and is now 49 percent owned by the United Arab Emirates airline Etihad Airways, said it would operate five weekly fligh...
Officials say an American Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Chicago landed safely after a bird strike forced it to return to the Sin City airport. Linda Healey, a spokeswoman for McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, said early Monday that none of the 160 passengers and crew members was injured. She says the airport got the alert about the bird strike at 5:31 a.m. and Flight 334...
