Category Archives for Aircraft.
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.
A new whistleblower was identified in advance of Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun’s testimony today. A Renton, Washington quality assurance inspector says that the planemaker “improperly tracked and stored faulty parts, and that those parts were likely installed on airplanes including the 737 Max,.”
Furthermore, he claims that supervisors instructed him “to conceal evidence from the FAA,” and that he has faced retaliation. Boeing offered to fly the whistleblower to D.C. on a 737 MAX 9.
After a number of high profile incidents, the FAA has been auditing safety practices at United Airlines. They’ve been unable to open up flights to new cities or add new delivery aircraft to their fleet, and they have had to defer already-announced service.
There was some worry that this could drag on as the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General announced an audit of the FAA’s audit.
An airline employee fell off a TransNusa Airbus A320 in Indonesia, and video of the incident is spreading widely. He stepped out the door of the aircraft – just as stairs to the aircraft were being removed. Fault here lies with the ground handler, which shouldn’t remove the stairs while the aircraft’s door is open.
The best American Airlines domestic aircraft is the one that it flies on premium cross-country routes like New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Airbus A321T (T for transcon) features first class, business class and economy.
However that plane is on the way out, with the premium cabins being dismantled and even coach being made worse. The first of these – the aircraft registered as N115NN – has already been converted into a standard domestic plane with regular first class, TVs removed, and less legroom. It will soon re-enter service as a stripped-down experience.
It’s unclear whether the FAA’s latest fuel tank concerns will merely delay the introduction of the A321XLR, at least for U.S. airlines and transatlantic service, or whether it will mean less fuel capacity and range for the aircraft – meaning that it winds up less useful for the airlines that have ordered it.
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 »
