Category Archives for Aircraft.
Airbus is looking to subsidies from European governments to develop a replacement for the Airbus A320 family starting in the next decade.
The model that would be used is the “repayable launch investment” where governments get their money back if commercial targets for new aircraft are met.
A year ago I wrote that, while it wasn’t public at the time, Delta was looking to buy Airbus A350 widebody aircraft. It seemed like a deal could be announced soon, but crickets.
Then in late spring major media picked up on the story that Delta was looking to buy both Airbus A350-1000s and Airbus A330neos. Now that order appears out to happen – this month.
On Thursday, a horse escaped inside the cargo hold of a Boeing 747. The Air Atlanta Icelandic flight from New York JFK to Liage, Belgium declared an emergency while still in climb out as it reached 31,000 feet: “We are a cargo plane with a live animal, a horse, on board. The horse has broken out of its stall. There’s no issue with flying, but we need to go back to New York as we can’t resecure the horse.”
A reader shared a photo with me of a plane in Albuquerque on Friday with more speed tape on its front than I’ve ever seen in my life. The forward fuselage is the part of the aircraft’s body where the cockpit is located. It’s the plane’s “first impression” – and this one doesn’t make a very good one.
Delta Air Lines overbooked a flight, so as is common they offered passengers gift cards to give up their seat and take a later flight. One passenger who had already boarded the flight in Atlanta accepted their offer of $700 but when he got off the aircraft the airline would not pay.
The FAA’s docket on public charter regulation advocated by American Airlines and Southwest Airlines has closed.
So far over 58,000 public comments have been posted to Regulations.gov. JSX says the number of submitted comments is 76,000 (there is a lag in posting comments to the web). Already it’s the most comments ever received on a Department of Transportation or FAA proposed rule. Drones topped 50,000. Emotional support animals topped 15,000. Usually there are just a handful.
Will Mandis posts video of a Delta Air Lines plane appear to pause in mid-air, and it’s striking. Some are calling the phenomenon a “glitch in the matrix.” The video is not altered.
The aisle seat gets to lean into the aisle for extra space. The middle seat comes with a bundle of rights that includes both armrests. The window seat comes with control over the window shade… mostly.
A brand new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 had a piece of its tail fall off enroute from Seattle to Chicago on Monday. The plane landed at 6:13 p.m. local time and remained on the ground overnight. It had only been in revenue service for four days, made sixteen passenger flights, and had been registered to Alaska for just a week.
When airlines purchase planes new they usually pay about 50% of ‘list’ price. But what about used aircraft? And how do airlines actually pay for their purchase?
A receipt has surfaced for an actual used aircraft acquisition – Swift Air’s $8 million 2014 deal for then-29 year old ex-US Airways Boeing 737-400 registration N418US.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
