50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

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Airbus touts its ‘Make In India’ credentials

The Airbus Group produced over $500 million worth of aero-structures, components, materials, and services in India during 2015. In the five years up to 2020, the company hopes to achieve a cumulative $2 billion in procurement from India, says Airbus Group in a statement. “Indian suppliers are a cornerstone of our globalisation strategy,” said Airbus chief procurement officer Klau...

Analysts Continue Panicking About the Boeing 777

In the past year or so, a growing contingent of aerospace analysts have made dire predictions about demand for Boeing's 777 widebody jet. They found some support for their bearish viewpoint earlier this year, when Boeing announced plans to cut the 777 production rate from 8.3 per month to seven per month for 2017. Weak demand for the current-generation 777 could potentially be exp...

Albania offers collectors: Military’s rusting fighter jets up for auction

If you want to buy a secondhand fighter jet, Albania’s the place to go right now. The 40 obsolete Soviet and Chinese-made aircraft up for sale once roared over what was Europe’s most exclusive airspace. The Albanian pilots were members of an exalted military elite that had its own food-tasters and was tasked by Communist Albania’s paranoid regime with deterring countless enemi...

Kiwi Regional Airlines plans to crowdfund $2 million for new plane

Kiwi Regional Airlines plans to raise up to $2 million through crowdfunding to buy a second aircraft. The new aircraft would be a Saab 340 QC used for passenger and freight charters and as a backup for maintenance of its existing aircraft Saab 340A. Last month the Hamilton airline cancelled flights after grounding the 34-seater...

Semi-private planes are the new first class

First class isn’t high enough for some flyers. “So many passengers get upgraded to first class [now] and usually you are sitting next to somebody horrible,” says Oren Alexander, 28, a Soho resident who works in real estate. Alexander is one of a growing number of wealthy — but not wealthy enough to own their own jet — New Yorkers booking seats on semiprivate pla...

Blast from the Past: Soviet-Era Tu-160M2 Is More Lethal Than Ever

Russia’s upgraded Tupolev Tu-160M2 Blackjack supersonic bomber is expected to make its first flight in 2019. Moscow currently has sixteen of the original version of the Mach 2.0-capable bomber, which are the last surviving examples of the thirty-five aircraft built by the Soviet Union before its demise. Moscow hopes to build fifty new Tu-160M2 aircraft to upgrade its aging strategic bombe...

Union report: Allegiant Air planes suffer high number of mechanical problems

The latest round in Allegiant Air's public relations battle with its pilots' union opens this week with the union's release of its third report in the last year tallying maintenance issues on aircraft that interrupted flights or departures. The report by the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition, which is working with the Teamster local representing pilots, said the Las Vegas airli...

United upbeat on Australian routes

United’s improved on-board offering and the use of Boeing 787-9s on all Australian and New Zealand services will ensure the airline remains competitive amid new carriers and new services in the market, a senior executive from the airline says. The Australia-US market is currently in a period of expansion, with American Airlines commencing its own flights from Sydney to Los Angeles in...

First RAAF female fast jet pilots on track to fly the JSF

The RAAF is on track to have as many as half a dozen female fast jet fighter pilots in time to fly the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter when it enters service early next decade, Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Leo Davies has said. Currently there is one woman training to become a fast jet pilot in the RAAF on the Hawk lead-in fighter jet trainer with 76 Squadron, with a second due to begin fast jet tra...

U.S. Army Reconnaissance Aircraft Crashes In Iraq

An advanced U.S. Army reconnaissance aircraft crash-landed in a field outside of Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan on Saturday morning. A statement from the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq confirmed the crash as an “off-airport emergency landing in a field northwest of Irbil.” None of the four passengers were injured, and the aircraft has been secured by U.S. and Kurdish...

Qatar Airways Fires Pilots Responsible For Miami Accident

By Lucky Last September I wrote about the Qatar Airways accident (at least that’s how the FAA categorized it) at Miami Airport. During this incident, a Qatar Airways 777-300ER bound for Doha didn’t take off in time and struck some of the landing lights on the far end of the runway. This caused substantial damage (including a 46cm tear in the fuselage and 90 dents an...

Savvy travellers reveal how to fly in a private jet for free

Private jets are usually thought of as an exclusive means of transport for chief executives, high-paid athletes or A-list actors. But a travel blogger has revealed how he and his wife got a taste of the high life and had a jet all to themselves without having to pay a dime. By flying in the lap of luxury, Gilbert Ott, 29, and Laura Burns, 28, didn’t have to endure queues or annoying se...