Summer Air Travel Outlook + Airline Tips You Can Use

There’s probably a good chance that you or a family member will be traveling by air this summer. While we all enjoy the long days of sunshine the season brings, summer also presents unique travel challenges. Passengers line up inside crowded airport terminals, as lines of thunderstorms percolate outside. (blog.flightaware.com) Más...

One dead after severe turbulence hits Singapore Airlines flight

One person has died on board a Singapore Airlines plane that encountered severe turbulence on a flight from London to Singapore, the airline said Tuesday. (www.cnn.com) Más...

Bud Anderson, Last of World War II’s ‘Triple Ace’ Pilots, Dies at 102

He single-handedly shot down 16 enemy planes in dogfights over Europe. After the war, he became one of America’s top test pilots during the “Right Stuff” era. (www.nytimes.com) Más...

A Record Number of Travelers Will Fly This Memorial Day and Summer—Here’s What to Do as Soon as Your Flight Is Disrupted

If your air travel plans are less than smooth, use these tips and strategies to get your trip back on track. (www.afar.com) Más...

NASA's DC-8 finally retired

Link to video of flyover by DC-8-71 N817NA. It will be replaced by a B777. (www.aerotime.aero) Más...

Frontier Airlines Passenger Refuses Exit Row Instructions, Prompting Plane to Deboard

A Frontier Airlines passenger’s refusal to comply with exit row instructions led to the entire flight being deboarded. In a viral TikTok video posted on May 9th, travel blogger Tia (@travelwithtia23) recounted an incident where an unidentified woman, wearing glasses, engaged in a heated argument with airline staff. Despite fellow passengers urging her to cooperate, she adamantly refused, escalating tensions on board. (www.airguide.info) Más...

Airlines sue DOT over new rules requiring disclosure of fees

Major airlines have filed a lawsuit against the federal government over new rules that would require carriers to disclose all airline fees — including those for checked and carry-on bags as well as change and cancelation fees — up front. (www.cnn.com) Más...

Delta Planning to Fly Premium-Heavy CRJ-550s

The airline is slated to add the 50-seat aircraft to its regional fleet. (airlinegeeks.com) Más...

Saudia Group agrees largest ever Saudi jet deal with Airbus

RIYADH, May 20 (Reuters) - Saudia Group, owner of the Saudia airline and budget carrier flyadeal, announced on Monday an order for 105 Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab narrow-body aircraft in what the company's director general described as the largest ever order from a Saudi airline. The order consists of 12 A320neo and 93 A321neo single aisle aircraft. State-owned Saudia Group said that Saudia would be receiving 54 of the A321neo jets, while flyadeal would acquire 12 A320neos and the… (www.reuters.com) Más...

Iran’s president and foreign minister die in helicopter crash

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East. The crash killed all eight people aboard a Bell helicopter, which Iran purchased in the early 2000s. Iran has offered no cause for the crash nor suggested sabotage brought down the helicopter, which fell in mountainous terrain in a sudden, intense fog. (apnews.com) Más...

Retiring Delta A330 pilot's water cannon salute

Retiring Delta A330 pilot water cannon salute Detroit metro, DTW. I do not have info on the crew Date: 5-17-24 Flight: DAL17 Airport: Detroit metro, KDTW Route: LHR-DTW Gate: A50 A/C: A330-223 Ship N860NW/3360 (www.youtube.com) Más...

Trump's plane clips another jet's wings after late-night landing at PBIA; FAA investigates

WEST PALM BEACH — The FAA is investigating an incident in which former President Donald Trump's private plane clipped another jet after landing at Palm Beach International Airport early Sunday, May 12. The Boeing 757 landed safely at the airport at about 1:20 a.m. While taxiing, its winglet made contact "with a parked and unoccupied corporate jet," the statement from the Federal Aviation Administration said (www.msn.com) Más...

Iberia to Become Global Launch Operator for Airbus A321neo(XLR)

Iberia has been designated as the global launch operator for the A321neo(XLR). This announcement comes after IAG International Airlines Group, Iberia’s parent company, shifted the launch responsibilities from Aer Lingus due to operational considerations. (www.airguide.info) Más...

FAA bill would force the agency to craft 'real world' rules for airplane evacuations

If an airplane has to be evacuated, the Federal Aviation Administration says all passengers must be capable of getting out within 90 seconds. But critics say the agency's testing standards have not kept pace with the shrinking size of airplane seats — which means more people jammed into the cabin — or the changing composition of the flying public. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth argues the FAA's current tests fail to take real world conditions into consideration. (www.npr.org) Más...

Half way around the world in the cockpit of an A319

Amelia becomes the 345th airline to join our cockpit series and we joined one of their Airbus A319s being ferried from New Caledonia to Europe, a 4 day trip! (www.youtube.com) Más...

Flying in the Time of Cicadas

Over the weekend the crew of a Challenger 350 at John C. Tune Airport (KJWN) in Nashville, Tennessee, was having difficulty starting its engines. "We put a borescope down the APU and found it full of cicadas. They blocked the airflow." Cicadas are not terribly selective, and they were apparently attracted to the noise and heat of the APU and piled into the inlet, blocking the airflow. When the technicians evaluated the problem, they were attacked by the swarm. (www.flyingmag.com) Más...

Issue with A320 forces diversion

Delta Airbus A320 performing flight 1166 from Austin to NY JFK diverted to Cincinnati due to technical issues and met by fire vehicles on landing. No details yet. (www.flightaware.com) Más...

Spirit Airlines has joined Frontier in dropping change and cancellation fees

The elimination of change at cancellation fees at Spirit follows a similar move by low-cost rival Frontier Airlines. On Friday, Frontier announced several changes aimed at improving price transparency. During the pandemic, major airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines permanently did away with change fees on standard economy and premium cabin tickets. The changes come on the heels of new U.S. Department of Transportation rules announced last month, which will… (qz.com) Más...

NASA Langley Research Center converts Boeing 777 into flying research lab

The Boeing 777 sitting in NASA Langley Research Center’s hangar isn't any ordinary plane. It's being converted into a science lab for researchers to better understand our atmosphere and oceans. Acquired in December 2022 from an airliner based in Japan, NASA Langley Research Center is in its second year of renovating the plane. (www.wtkr.com) Más...

The Alaska Airlines Milk Run: A Lifeline for Remote Alaska

Serving remote communities around the world poses a unique challenge. Sometimes, the only way to deliver vital supplies to these communities is by sea or air. Alaska, the "Last Frontier" is one such place where serving remote communities is limited to air or sea transport. The famed Alaska Airlines “Milk Run” service has provided a lifeline to various Alaskan communities for decades. (aeroxplorer.com) Más...

Boeing Re-elects Outgoing CEO Amid Safety Culture Crisis and Search for Replacement

Boeing’s shareholders have voted to re-elect its outgoing CEO, Dave Calhoun, despite a proxy adviser’s recommendation against it, amid an ongoing safety culture crisis. (www.airguide.info) Más...

Secondary Cockpit Barriers Finally Become Mandatory On Commercial Aircraft More Than 20 Years After 9/11

President Joe Biden has ‘fixed’ one of the most tragic flaws that led to the darkest day in American aviation, 9/11. This week, the president signed into law the “FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024,” which now requires a secondary cockpit barrier to be installed on all commercial aircraft. (www.airguide.info) Más...

Jumping from History: The Skydiving DC-9 Hot Rod Flies Again

It’s been over a decade since a former SAS Scandinavian Airlines DC-9 took to the skies over southern California for a skydiving mission. It finally made its return to the skies last week! (avgeekery.com) Más...

Airbus hiring additional 400 engineers to increase production in UK

Airbus is to hire 400 engineers at its wing manufacturing plant in Wales as the company races to extend its lead over crisis-hit Boeing in the market for single-aisle jets. Additional staff will be required at the plant in Broughton, near Chester, as Airbus transforms a building that made wings for the A380 superjumbo into a production line for the best-selling A320neo model. Covering an area larger than 10 football pitches, the West Factory site is key to plans to lift monthly A320 output from… (www.telegraph.co.uk) Más...

Maersk Airline prepares to deploy first 777 freighters for peak season

Maersk Air Cargo has its roots in ocean shipping, but is growing into a mid-major cargo airline. (www.freightwaves.com) Más...

WWII Triple-Ace Col Bud Anderson Has Passed Away

WWII triple-ace fighter pilot legend Col Bud Anderson (ret.) has passed away. He was 102 years young. Anderson shot down 16 Nazi Luftwaffe. (avgeekery.com) Más...

German aviation company Lilium and Swiss firm to open new sites in France

PARIS, May 12 (Reuters) - German aviation firm Lilium and Swiss-based nickel refinery company KL1 will set up new sites in France representing a combined investment of 700 million euros ($753.83 million), French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday. Lilium will invest 400 million euros in a new factory that will create up to 850 new jobs. KL1's new site in Blanquefort, near Bordeaux, will amount to an investment of 300 million euros, creating 200 new jobs, Le Maire said. The… (www.reuters.com) Más...

Orthodox Rabbi and family de-planed over seating difficulty

Unable to sit beside a random female passenger, the Rabbi sought to swap seats, but was prevented from doing so and kicked off. (www.yahoo.com) Más...

ASL Aviation brings first Boeing 737-800 freighter to Australian unit

ASL Aviation's new Australian airline is benefitting from the parent company's deep pockets in the form of a new, more modern freighter. (www.freightwaves.com) Más...