Airbus received a patent for a "rocket motor"-propelled aircraft that would have the capability of carrying passengers from New York to London in 60 minutes. The U.S. government approved Airbus' patented design in July that would travel at speeds of up to 4.5 times the speed of sound. This would be three times as fast as the speed of the original Concorde jet, which was...
CEO of Russia’s S7 Group, Vladislav Filev, has bought "at least 51% of shares" of distressed Transaero airline from its majority shareholder, Alexander Pleshakov. Announcing the deal, Filev did not disclose who the other investors are or what the value of the transaction is. He did however, underscore that it was "significantly more than 1 Rouble" - a slight at Aeroflo...
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, announced the sale of eight Bell 206L-4s to Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH). AMGH is one of the largest independent providers of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) in the world, and the aircraft will be configured for HEMS missions and operated by Air Evac Lifeteam, an AMGH subsidiary. Deliveries are scheduled to begin next year. The contr...
Dassault Aviation has introduced a new avionics upgrade that will provide Falcon 900A and B operators with a range of important operational benefits, including an enhanced air traffic management capability and more reliable, cost-effective component offerings. Known as “Falcon Select II”, the upgrade will enable operators to take advantage of next-generation ATM features such as ADS...
A lithium battery forced an Alaska Airlines flight to make an emergency landing days after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning about the risk of fires from the cargo. The Boeing 737-900ER, Flight 17, was flying from Newark International Airport to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on 12 October when it was diverted at 08.00h to Buffalo Niagara In...
Air Charter Service (ACS) has opened its doors in Miami – its fifth office in North America. The firm already has a strong presence in the region, with offices in Los Angeles, Houston, New York and Toronto. ACS North America president, Richard Thompson, explains the need for the new office: “We have a really strong customer base in Florida and decided that now was the right time...
Cargolux Italia has started a second weekly flight from Milan (Italy) to Zhengzhou (China), leaving on Sunday and travelling via Novosibirsk (Russia). Flight number C8 8777 leaves Milan Malpensa Airport on Sunday at 11.50h and is the second weekend flight to Zhengzhou. It is also the first Cargolux service to Russia. Cargolux says it is the only direct co...
Vueling Airlines has said it will launch two new routes from Manchester Airport for summer 2016. Part of International Airlines Group, Vueling will offer direct services to Alicante and Rome from June 2016. The Spanish low cost airline will operate three flights a week to Alicante and two flights a week to Rome in addition to their existing service to Barcelona, which started in June 2...
With a new uniform and a significant investment into its customer-facing and backend IT systems, Virgin Australia-owned low-cost carrier Tigerair is hoping to change passengers’ perceptions of the airline. “Our flights have never been consistently more punctual, our customer service never stronger and our customer satisfaction levels are now at an all-time high. It’s tim...
Three Chinese air passengers were thrown off a flight in Cambodia after a scuffle broke out on board before the plane took off, according to a newspaper report. The argument started after a man told a woman in front of him that her seat was tipped back too far and he inadvertently touched her hair, the Chengdu Commercial Daily reported. The pair began to quarrel and their friends and relativ...
Competition for premium travellers from Australia and New Zealand to Hawaii should heat up in 2016 with Hawaiian Airlines to introduce a fully-flat seat in business class on its Airbus A330-200 fleet. Hawaiian, which operates from Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland in Oceania to its Honolulu hub, is due to have its first A330 fitted with the new seats by the second quarter of calendar 2016 and have...
Russian aviation authorities want to hold discussions with their Ukrainian counterparts aimed at lifting a ban on commercial flights between the two countries, Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov reportedly said Tuesday. Flights between the two countries had completely stopped in September as Moscow and Kiev sought to reinforce sanctions against each other over the conflict in East Ukraine....
