Archive for August 2017

ATR Continues To Dominate Commercial Turboprop Market

Kingfisher Airlines ATR Turboprop

ATR 72-600 The large-turboprop market is essentially a duopoly between Toulouse-based ATR and Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, but unlike the seesaw competition between Airbus and Boeing, it is one in which the European manufacturer has a clear advantage. ATR, jointly owned by Airbus and Leonardo of Italy, has a backlog of 250 aircraft—mostly for the 68-78-seat…

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Lilium Brings On Talent From Tesla, Airbus, & Gett To Build On-Demand Air Taxi

Lilium VTOL Pic1

The futuristic dream of ‘air taxis’ has taken another step closer to becoming a reality. Every day, the race to create a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), all-electric vehicle is heating up. We recently announced how DeLorean Aerospace are moving forward with their own vehicle, and in our flying car guide we highlight some of…

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EASA Issues Emergency AD to Prevent Possible A350 Explosion

Airbus A380 A350 A330

EASA has issued an emergency airworthiness directive aimed at preventing the Airbus A350 from experiencing overheating of hydraulic fluid, leading to possible explosion. The manufacturer has also issued a major event revision of the A350 Master Minimum Equipment List, EASA said. “Recently, an overheat failure mode of the A350 hydraulic engine-driven pump has been found,”…

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Ryanair boss O’Leary predicts Europe will only have five airlines in five years time future

Ryanair Finalizes 737 Order

RYANAIR CEO Michael O’Leary has said Europe will only have five airlines in the near future – as he considers buying German carrier Air Berlin. Speaking to Reuters , Mr O’Leary said he would be interested in bidding for the insolvent German carrier, but Ryanair needs access to more data on the airline’s finances. Air…

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United Airlines’ top pilot has a lot to say about perceived pilot shortage

Airline pilots

United Airlines Capt. Todd Insler, head of the Chicago-based airline’s powerful pilots union, is upset about what he would undoubtedly classify as “fake news” about the nation’s airline industry — namely all the talk in recent months about an alleged shortage of commercial airline pilots in the United States. The perceived shortage would seem to…

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Boeing expects India to be a $290 billion market over next 20 yrs

Air India airplane tail

Boeing is predicting India’s civil aviation market will need 2,100 new airplanes over the next 20 years, creating a $290 billion opportunity for jet makers. Chicago-based Boeing released the new numbers as part of its annual current market outlook for India during a recent aerospace briefing in Delhi. “Commercial aerospace demand in India continues to…

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‘Important’ evidence erased after Air Canada jet’s near miss at San Francisco airport

Air Canada Near Miss

The cockpit voice recording from an Air Canada flight that nearly collided with several planes on a busy taxiway at San Francisco International Airport in July has been erased and experts say it could have been critical to the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement released August 2 that the incident…

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Would you fly in a pilotless commercial plane if it meant a cheaper airline ticket?

Boeing expands pilot training network

The world’s aviation industry will need to train and deploy more than 600,000 new pilots over the next 20 years. But, then again, the industry might be operating fleets of commercial jets flown by remote control. Those are the seemingly contradictory outlooks described in separate reports by aerospace giant Boeing and Swiss banking powerhouse UBS…

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Relatives gather to mark anniversary of 1985 JAL disaster

Japan Airlines Flight 123

Relatives of the victims of the 1985 Japan Airlines jetliner crash on Saturday commemorated the 32nd anniversary of the world’s deadliest single-aircraft accident that claimed the lives of 520 crew and passengers. Relatives climbed to the Boeing 747’s crash site on Osutaka Ridge in Gunma Prefecture to mourn their loved ones lost in the accident.…

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