Category Archives for Aircraft.
Boeing’s next generation widebody – the 777X, with several size variants – faces new challenges today. It’s years behind schedule, and the airframe manufacturer’s test fleet has just been grounded.
Whenever an airline discounts awards on a route, it’s worth checking to see whether availability is really good. Usually a discount corresponds to a flight being lightly booked.
Similarly, when a flight is new it often takes awhile to book up, and award space can be good. Or an airline might initially load inventory for a new flight with plenty of space.
The Trump 757, once owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, made an emergency landing last week, diverting while the candidate was enroute to a fundraiser. The campaign now continues on a Gulfstream G550.
There’s video that’s gone viral of President Biden, appearing to be confused, trying to board the wrong plane. The assertion is that he thought the small jet was Air Force One and he was getting on by mistake.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House and speaks to Congress this week. His travel to the U.S. is on board Wing Of Zion, Israel’s Air Force One. And this is the first trip abroad using the reconfigured aircraft. Here’s a first look inside while the plane is in its intended operational service.
The new long range Airbus A321XLR received its Type Certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. It’s been certified with CFM LEAP-1A, and a Pratt & Whitney version is expected to be certified later this year. The first plane is expected to enter service later this summer, and over 500 XLRs have been ordered to date.
The pilot of British Airways flight 501 from Lisbon to London Heathrow reports being struck by lightning while on approach to the airport on Sunday.
He describes lightning having “entered [the aircraft] just underneath the flight deck” and says that it left via the aircraft’s tail. “We saw it shoot through the cabin” – something he’d only heard about in stories and never seen before “in real life.”
Probably the most misunderstood thing in all of aviation is speed tape. Passengers see what looks like ‘duct tape’ on their plane, and they worry whether it will hold together. The plane doesn’t look safe and first impressions over safety matter right now with aviation safety top of mind given the issues we’ve seen with the Boeing 737 MAX 9 door plug, air traffic control mishaps, and pilot error over the past year and a half.
Three years ago American Airlines promoted a hypothetical maybe order for electric aircraft using taxpayer bailout funds. Now they’re promoting a hypothetical maybe order for hydrogen-fueled aircraft while positioning themselves as unable to afford higher wages for flight attendants.
The group Just Stop Oil promoted themselves vandalizing Stonehenge – and then the next day, going after Taylor Swift’s private jet at London’s Stansted airport. But – whoops – they went to the wrong London airport.
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 »
