747SP owned by Sheldon Adelson damaged in hangar

A rare Boeing 747SP plane has suffered severe damage after a collision with another aircraft. The plane was set to undergo maintenance work before the collision occurred in an Arizona hangar, leaving a gaping slice beneath the fuselage’s front-end. Evidence suggests the aircraft has now been damaged beyond repair. (simpleflying.com) Ещё...

As jets take charge of fire-bombing missions, the 62-year-old piston-powered Tanker 60 takes its last flight over Oregon

As jets take over as fire-bombing aircraft, the piston-powered Douglas DC-7 plane, aka "Tanker 60," is going into retirement. This Eastern Air Lines plane was built in 1958 and spent its early years flying up and down the East Coast and to the Caribbean. In the 1970s, the plane was gutted and refit to be a air tanker and fire bomber, used to drop fire retardant from above, and has since spent over 40 years fighting fires. (www.msn.com) Ещё...

Supposedly retired, F-117 stealth fighter seen flying in San Diego

Two F-117 stealth fighters landed last week at Miramar in CA (www.airway1.com) Ещё...

Uh-Oh Boeing: Southwest Considering an Airbus Plane

Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), famously an all-Boeing (NYSE: BA) fleet for most of its existence, confirmed it is evaluating an Airbus (OTC: EADSY) jet as part of its future growth plans. (www.msn.com) Ещё...

The McDonnell Douglas MD-12 vs The Airbus A380 – A Comparison

The McDonnell Douglas MD-12 was designed in the early 1990s as a potential competitor to the double-decker Boeing 747. The project was ultimately unsuccessful, and McDonnell Douglas received no orders for its ‘superjumbo.’ However, had it been built, it would have also potentially shared the skies with the Airbus A380. This aircraft was also in development at the time that the MD-12 was being designed. But how exactly would it have compared with the Airbus double-decker? (simpleflying.com) Ещё...

Delta, United and Alaska Airlines have banned more than 900 passengers for not wearing masks

With airlines imposing mandatory mask requirements on flights amid the coronavirus pandemic, many unhappy passengers have made headlines for being removed from flights for refusing to wear a mask. And with some carriers keeping no-fly lists of passengers who violated the policy, it is now clear that more than 900 passengers have been banned from airlines because of their refusal to put on a mask. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said in a Thursday memo to employees that 460 people are now banned… (www.msn.com) Ещё...

United Airlines to offer free coronavirus testing for passengers on select routes

In what could be a glimpse into the future of pandemic air travel, United Airlines will begin offering free coronavirus tests to passengers on select routes. United hopes the move will not only increase traffic on mostly empty transatlantic flights, but also spark international cooperation to break down travel restrictions. "We firmly believe that testing is a key component of a multi-layered approach to safely opening travel across the globe," United's managing director of… (www.msn.com) Ещё...

United is bringing back inflight food and beverage sales — with a twist

Early in the pandemic, airlines quickly suspended most inflight service offerings. On some of the shortest flights, you wouldn’t receive anything — not even water. With the holidays approaching and more people taking to the skies, carriers are slowly resuming pre-pandemic service, with an increased focus on crew and passenger safety. On Oct. 1, United boosted its complimentary offerings. (thepointsguy.com) Ещё...

Nearly a decade late, Berlin's Brandenburg Airport finally opens (during a pandemic)

It's nearly a decade behind schedule, 4 billion euros over budget and there's a global pandemic crippling the aviation industry. Happy Halloween to Berlin's beleaguered Brandenburg Airport, which finally opens its doors this Saturday. (www.cnn.com) Ещё...

Retiring Delta captain meets the air controller whose grandfather hired him

During commercial aviation's pandemic downturn, countless veteran airline pilots are retiring to save the jobs of their younger cohorts. But it was during Captain Paul Holmes' final flight for Delta Air Lines that a chance conversation with an air traffic controller brought him back to his early days with the airline. Tipped off to Holmes' retirement flight, Boston Center controller Ashleigh Goldberg keyed up her microphone and asked if he flew for Northwest Airlines before it… (www.msn.com) Ещё...

Air Transat Flies 7600km Airbus A321LR Transatlantic Flight

On Monday morning, Air Transat Flight TS690 landed in Athens, Greece, having flown all the way from Montreal, Canada. The one-time service was operated by a narrowbody Airbus A321LR and covered over 7,600 km. (simpleflying.com) Ещё...

Japan's first passenger jet in decades put on hold

Plans for Japan's first homegrown passenger plane in more than five decades have been frozen as the airline industry suffers from a deep drop in demand. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the company behind the new SpaceJet, is cutting its budget for the project. Long-delayed, the Mitsubishi SpaceJet has missed six delivery deadlines going back to 2013. Test flights in the US were suspended this year due to the virus pandemic. (www.yahoo.com) Ещё...

Kuwait Airways Takes Delivery Of The First Rare Airbus A330-800

Kuwait Airways has today taken delivery of the first two Airbus A330-800 aircraft. Only 14 Airbus A330-800s have been ordered, compared to 318 orders for its twin, the Airbus A330-900. The airline has eight of the aircraft on order. (simpleflying.com) Ещё...

SpiceJet: Indian airline turns to seaplanes to boost travel

The country's biggest regional airline has approval for 18 seaplane routes. One of these routes is to Kevadia, the site of the world's tallest statue - an 182-metre tribute to the country's first home minister, Vallabhbhai Patel. During the pandemic, SpiceJet is focusing on new sources of revenue, including transporting cargo and regional flights using smaller planes. Airlines have struggled during the coronavirus to remain profitable and many have gone bust, including the… (www.bbc.com) Ещё...

Some Passengers Providing Fake Negative COVID Results To Beat Air Travel Restrictions

Some travelers in the United Kingdom have resorted to faking negative COVID-19 test results as because of the difficulty of securing legitimate ones. (www.gatechecked.com) Ещё...

Disputes Tribunal tells Air NZ to refund passenger for services cut due to Covid-19

The Disputes Tribunal has reportedly told Air New Zealand to refund a passenger for flights the airline cut for reasons linked to Covid-19. In a recently released disputes tribunal decision, referee Nicholas Blake found the airline to be in breach of its customer guarantee. The customer was entitled to a refund because the changes were operational decisions which were within Air NZ's control, and the airline wasn't able to transfer the customer to another service because he wasn't… (www.stuff.co.nz) Ещё...

How United Airlines keeps ‘critters’ out of parked planes and gets them ready to fly again

A line of Boeing 737s and 777s, as well as several smaller birds, fill the ramp outside of a United Airlines hangar in a remote corner of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The planes are here for a variety of reasons. Most are in for standard maintenance — needed even during the coronavirus pandemic — as they rotate in and out of the hometown airline’s schedule. But several wide-body 777s are parked because of the crisis with a return-to-flying date yet unknown. “These are investments,”… (www.msn.com) Ещё...

Flying to my 2nd favorite airport

I had to make a short field takeoff last time I was in Ocean City, NJ due to unexpected flooding on the runway. The airport manager told me that I am the last one to leave before the airport is closed due to the flooding. The pressure was on.... This time, however, the runway was clear and we had a great time visit this beautiful resort city by the ocean. (www.youtube.com) Ещё...

NTSB: Pilot in deadly 2019 skydiving plane crash often did risky maneuvers

More than 16 months after a deadly skydiving plane crash at Dillingham Airfield, a National Transportation Safety Board report highlights mechanical problems with the aircraft, as well as concerns about the pilot. The pilot at the controls of the June 2019 flight, Jerome Renck, reportedly liked giving passengers a ‘thrill ride’ through risky, sharp maneuvers during takeoff. A former co-worker also told investigators that Renck was informed his flying put excessive stress on the plane while he… (www.msn.com) Ещё...