June, 2024

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Two A340s smuggled out of Lithuania and into Iran

Aerotime

Two Airbus A340 aircraft belonging to Gambian leasing company Macka Invest were, reportedly, smuggled out of Lithuania and into Iran. According to reports that appeared on Lithuanian media , the two aircraft had been parked at Šiauliai airport (SQQ) in Lithuania. They managed to sneak away in February 2024 after declaring that they were departing for Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

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Elliott Doesn’t Know How to Fix Southwest, Nor Does it Likely Care

Cranky Flier

The news that activist investor Elliott has taken a greater than 10 percent stake in Southwest Airlines has been the talk of the town this week. The more discussions I’ve had with people about this — and there have been so many — the more I’m convinced that the cynical take on this whole thing is the right one. Elliott is not here to actually fix Southwest.

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Trending Sources

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New Air Force One Presidential VC-25B Plane 1st Flight Delayed To 2026

Simple Flying

The new Air Force One, known as the VC-25B, has suffered another setback after its first flight has been pushed back by more than a year. The revised date will hopefully see the upcoming presidential aircraft take its maiden flight in March 2026.

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Counterfeit Titanium Found In Boeing And Airbus Jets

AV Web

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier of fuselages for Boeing and wings for Airbus, are investigating counterfeit titanium found in recently manufactured jets. According to The New York Times , who first reported the news, falsified documents were used to verify the material’s authenticity—prompting concerns about the structural integrity of the airliners.

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Alaska Airlines unveils new state-of-the-art location at Harvey Milk Terminal 1, reinforcing its position as SFO’s second largest carrier

Alaska Air

We're now welcoming guests to a new and cutting-edge space in San Francisco International Harvey Milk Terminal 1 following a two-year relocation project from Terminal 2. This multimillion-dollar investment allows us to deliver a premium and enhanced guest experience at SFO as the largest carrier at Harvey Milk Terminal 1. The post Alaska Airlines unveils new state-of-the-art location at Harvey Milk Terminal 1, reinforcing its position as SFO’s second largest carrier appeared first on Alask

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Scary: Southwest Boeing 737 MAX Suffers Dutch Roll Incident

One Mile at a Time

The Aviation Herald reports on an incident that a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX recently encountered, which is now being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This incident was so serious that the plane was flown to Paine Field in Washington after the incident for Boeing to investigate, and the jet hasn’t flown a passenger flight since.

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Joby and Archer disclose additional details of commercial eVTOL roll out plans 

Aerotime

Two leading eVTOL developers, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, have announced significant milestones in their path to commercial roll out. On June 20, 2024, Joby Aviation confirmed it received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization to roll out the software platform that will allow it to manage several key commercial and operational functions.

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AirAsia X Schedules Its New Longest Airbus A330 Route To Nairobi

Simple Flying

The expectation has become a reality. In the latest filing to OAG and Cirium , AirAsia X has scheduled flights from Kuala Lumpur to Nairobi. Set to begin in November, it will be the carriers longest route. It will replace Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah by distance, although longer routes existed historically. It will be AirAsia Xs first time on the African mainland, although it served the island nation of Mauritius in 2016 and 2017.

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Mexico’s State-Owned Airline Orders Embraer Jets

Airline Geeks

Mexicana, Mexico's state-owned carrier, announced an order for 20 Embraer E2 jets, becoming the first E2 operator in the country.

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First Look: The first Airbus A350-1000 for Ethiopian Airlines

World Airline News

The first Airbus A350-1000 for Ethiopian Airlines. Airbus A350-1041 F-WWXL (msn 691) “Ethiopia – Land of Origins” will become ET-BAW on delivery. Copyright Photo: Eurospot.

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Pilot Caught Secretly Working For Two Airlines

One Mile at a Time

I’d be impressed by this woman’s time management skills and hustle, if only her actions weren’t so reckless… Pilot reportedly worked at Virgin Atlantic & KM Malta Airlines Airline pilots have a lot of responsibility, given the number of lives they have in their hands. This is why aviation is so heavily regulated, to ensure that pilots only fly so many hours, and have a minimum amount of rest between trips.

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Emirates Airbus A380 dons Wimbledon-inspired livery in official new partnership 

Aerotime

Emirates has unveiled an Airbus A380 adorned with a Wimbledon-inspired livery to mark the carrier’s official new partnership with the celebrated tennis tournament. Emirates is set to become the ‘Official Airline Partner of The Championships, Wimbledon’ just days before the Grand Slam event opens in London on July 1, 2024. The unique livery painted across the Emirates Airbus A380 features the iconic Wimbledon logo, placed in between two sporting silhouettes in action with the words ‘Official Pa

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Activist Investor Elliott Faces an Uphill Battle in Southwest Coup Attempt

Cranky Flier

There is no LUV for Southwest Airlines management this week as activist investor Elliott has taken more than a 10 percent stake in the airline and wants to fire Chairman Gary Kelly and CEO Bob Jordan. If you thought Carl Icahn’s investment in JetBlue was going to be a big fight, you ain’t see nothing yet. This is going to get ugly. So far, I am not impressed by Elliott’s take, but if this does push Southwest to act more quickly, then everyone wins.

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Exclusive: FlySafair Rethinks Victoria Falls Routes & Will Add More Frequencies To Harare

Simple Flying

Southern Africa's leading low-cost carrier, FlySafair, is reconsidering its strategy regarding its routes to Victoria Falls and Livingstone airports, which both offer access to the mighty Victoria Falls. FlySafair is also looking to add frequencies on the Johannesburg-Harare route, pending regulatory approval.

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Air Asia Set to Introduce Africa Route

Airline Geeks

Air Asia X is reported to be introducing flights to the African continent from November, which will be its longest route.

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Rob Holland AeroSports and the Blue Angels

Inspire

Kelley and Todd Whitaker, EAA 1571782 and 1571783, had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to photograph two solo U.S. Navy Blue Angels and aerobatic pilot Rob Holland over Vero Beach, Florida, in May 2024. The post Rob Holland AeroSports and the Blue Angels first appeared on Hangar Flying.

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All SFO Terminals Now Connected Airside Via Walkways

One Mile at a Time

Here’s a pretty exciting milestone for San Francisco International Airport (SFO), which should make some connections (and lounge hopping!) at the airport easier. SFO now has airside walkways between all terminals SFO’s terminal organization isn’t necessarily intuitive: There’s Terminal 1, Terminal 2, and Terminal 3, and each of those terminals has individual piers, with gates that have letters There’s also International Terminal A and International Terminal G, which don’t follow the terminal num

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Spotted: first KLM A321neo photographed at Airbus’ facilities in Hamburg 

Aerotime

KLM’s first Airbus A321neo aircraft has been spotted at the manufacturer’s facilities in Finkenwerder (XFW), near Hamburg, Germany. Aviation photographer Dirk Grothe took to X (formerly Twitter) to post the image, which was taken at a distance and shows the aircraft already painted in the iconic blue livery of the Dutch airline. a first look at the first Airbus narrowbody for @KLM , the A321neo PH-AXA (msn 11895) which left the paintshop today and looks really amazing… @KLM_DE pic.twitte

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American Begins Its Apology Tour Over Sales and Distribution Fiasco

Cranky Flier

For the last year and a half, American has been involved in a war against travel agencies, companies, and travelers themselves over how and where they can book their travel. General Vasu Raja led the fight, and, well, he lost. Badly. Now President Robert Isom has removed General Vasu from his post, as he tries to salvage the war effort. Under Steve Johnson, previously Chief Strategy Officer, the plan now appears to involve a quick 180-degree shift in tone and substance.

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5 Reasons Why The Airbus A350 Has Quickly Become A Favorite For Airlines, Pilots & Passengers

Simple Flying

The Airbus A350 is among the industry's most modern twin-engined widebody airliners. Known for its unique composite design, Airbus first proposed the airframe in 2004 as a major competitor of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner program. The A330 originally inspired early concepts of the aircraft, but as time evolved, Airbus developed a new design, marketing the plane as XWB, which stands for extra widebody.

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IndiGo Adds 10 Destinations in 2025

Airline Geeks

Following a banner year in 2023, the airline is looking to expand in less competitive markets while unveiling a new business class product.

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C-47 “That’s All, Brother” Returns to the US After Historic European Tour

Vintage Aviation News

PRESS RELEASE The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is proud to announce the triumphant return of the C-47 aircraft That’s All, Brother , to the United States. After an unforgettable journey to Europe to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and the 75th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, this iconic airplane is on its way home. That’s All, Brother is no ordinary aircraft.

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Turkish Airlines Plans Flights To Charlotte, Minneapolis, Orlando, Philadelphia

One Mile at a Time

While it remains to be seen with which timeline this will happen, Turkish Airlines has revealed the next markets in the United States that it hopes to expand to. Turkish Airlines outlines US growth plans This week, Turkish Airlines launched its newest flight to the United States, as the airline began nonstop service between Istanbul (IST) and Denver (DEN).

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Explorer Bertrand Piccard shares round-the-world hydrogen flight plans: video  

Aerotime

Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard has a new innovative aviation project up his sleeve. Together with his co-pilot André Borschberg, Piccard made headlines in 2016 after completing a global circumnavigation on the solar-powered Solar Impulse aircraft, a journey that took more than a year to complete in multiple stages. In a continued exploration of alternative, more sustainable technologies to propel the future of flight, Piccard aims to fly around the world again, but this time on a hydrogen-power

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Despite Recent Adds, American’s New York Strategy Mirrors the Rest of the Network

Cranky Flier

American has been pretty clear that it’s network strategy is to rally around its hubs and avoid competition. By focusing on smaller cities where it can use regional jets to get a competitive advantage, it thinks it can make a decent living. With this background, it might seem kind of strange that just last week American announced it would go back into one of the busiest markets in the country — New York/LaGuardia – Orlando — twice daily this winter.

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Trip Report: A Ride Inside US Air Force KC-135

Simple Flying

Recently, Simple Flying was allowed the extreme honor to fly along with one of Fairchild Air Force Bases Boeing KC-135R with the serial 62-3502. That means the KC-135 was ordered by the US Air Force in 1962 and according to Planespotters.net delivered in October 1962, the very same month of the Cuban Missile Crisis - a key point in the Cold War. Yet todays KC-135 is upgraded and able to continue refueling aircraft.

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Allegiant 737 MAX Service Entry Slips to Q4

Airline Geeks

Ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant is once again delaying its Boeing 737 MAX entry into service, this time by nearly three months into Q4 2024.

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Alaska Airlines now flies nonstop between Anchorage and New York City 

Alaska Air

We offer the only nonstop service connecting Alaska and New York JFK for summertime adventures; we’ll have the most nonstop destinations ever this summer from Anchorage Just as the long days of summer have engulfed the state of Alaska, Alaska Airlines launched seasonal nonstop service today between Anchorage and New York JFK. It’s the only… The post Alaska Airlines now flies nonstop between Anchorage and New York City appeared first on Alaska Airlines News.

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Bilt Economics Revealed: Wells Fargo Losing Money?

One Mile at a Time

In the miles & points world, we’re almost all familiar with the Bilt Mastercard (issued in partnership with Wells Fargo), which is one of the most innovative products that we’ve seen launch in recent years. Bilt Rewards is a transferable points currency , and the Bilt Mastercard is one of the most lucrative no annual fee cards out there. The coolest aspect of the Bilt Mastecard is that you can earn points for paying rent at no cost , even when your landlord doesn’t accept credit cards.

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Riyadh Air debuts cabin crew designer uniforms at Paris fashion event  

Aerotime

As it prepares for its operational launch, expected in mid-2025, new Saudi carrier Riyadh Air keeps disclosing aspects of its brand identity and the travel experience it intends to offer its customers. On the latest occasion, it was the uniforms for Riyadh Air’s cabin crew and other customer-facing staff, which are the work of Saudi designer Mohammed Ashi and his Paris-based fashion studio Ashi Studio.

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American May Have Reversed Course on Distribution Strategy, But It Better Not Give Up Completely

Cranky Flier

The big news last week was that American Chief Commercial Officer Vasu Raja was pushed out and CEO Robert Isom promised to backtrack on much of what had been done in the sales and distribution world under Vasu’s reign. Some may have celebrated, suggesting that things would go back to the way they were. I hope not. American’s sales and distribution strategy change involved a variety of things, but today I want to focus just on the distribution side.

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Boeing Will Not Bring 737 MAX Or 777X Test Aircraft To Farnborough Airshow 2024

Simple Flying

Boeings aircraft will have a minimal presence at the static display area at the upcoming Farnborough International Airshow , with the companys products being represented by Qatar Airways and the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) at the event. That will be in contrast with its main competitor, Airbus, which will bring several aircraft to the trade show.

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Air Mauritius to Stick With Airbus A350 Widebodies

Airline Geeks

Air Mauritius CEO, Charles Cartier, said that the airline favors the Airbus A350 aircraft for its growing widebody operations.

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Fairchild XNQ-1 Donated to The Hagerstown Aviation Museum

Vintage Aviation News

The Hagerstown Aviation Museum has just accepted the donation of the unique Fairchild XNQ-1 Navy Trainer (BuNo.75726), a sole survivor of two examples produced. This aircraft is currently preparing for a ferry flight from its longtime home at Fairview Airport in Rhome, Texas back to the place of its birth in Hagerstown, Maryland. The journey is set to take place either this coming Sunday or Monday (June 9th or 10th, 2024).

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FAA Cracks Down On “Public Charter” Loophole, Bad News For JSX

One Mile at a Time

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced plans to close a loophole that could mean that “public charter” operators have to make major changes to their business model. The basics of the “public charter” loophole Before we talk about what the FAA is planning on changing, let me provide some background, and that’s probably easiest done in the form of an example (since this is kind of technical).

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airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss talks finances and new investments at the airline 

Aerotime

May 2024 proved to be consequential for airBaltic on the financial front. The Riga-based airline not only posted its highest profit ever (€34 million) for 2023, but it also managed to successfully place the largest corporate bond in the history of Latvia. Although the 14.5% interest rate has raised some eyebrows, the €340 million airBaltic has raised this way will allow the airline to save a rather critical financial match-ball.

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Texas Tanks Airline Ops in May

Cranky Flier

It’s been awhile since I’ve taken a look at airline operational data, and with the summer season beginning, this seemed like a good time. There’s been a lot of interesting movement as of late, but some of it is clearly temporary. See, Texas weather in May did not play nice, and any airline with a hub in the state had a rough month.

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