American Airlines decided to spice things up this summer through the introduction of a plethora of premium onboard enhancements and a brand-new Flagship Preferred suite for passengers who want a bit more from the business class experience. In a wide-ranging announcement on April 17, 2024, American Airlines confirmed for the first time that there would be a new “distinguished front row experience” on new Boeing 787-9 and retrofitted 777-300 aircraft. The new front row suites are designed to provide customers with an expansive space, several storage areas and exclusive amenities. These include a ..read more

Icelandic low-cost operator PLAY Airlines has opened ticket sales for a new series of flights to Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Operating twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, over a short six-week period, the inaugural flight is scheduled due depart Reykjavik-Keflavik Airport (KEF) for Cardiff (CWL) on October 10, 2024, with the final flights of the series departing each city on November 20, 2024.  The special short series of flights has been curated by PLAY to coincide with the UEFA Nations League matches between Iceland and Wales, in addition to the October half-term week in the U ..read more

Fiji Airways, the national airline of the Pacific island nation of Fiji, has announced it has signed an interline agreement with Toronto-based Porter Airlines, a regional carrier that operates scheduled services in Canada and the US. The agreement will allow passengers to purchase a single to fly from airports served by Porter Airlines and to seamlessly connect onto an onward Fiji Airways-operated flight out of Vancouver (YVR), Los Angeles (LAX), and San Francisco (SFO).  The interline is being seen by Fiji Airways as an integral step in the carrier’s ambitions to open up its home nation ..read more

Boeing has maintained its defense of the 787 Dreamliner after a bruising day in Washington DC where two Senate committees heard from key witnesses on the same day about the aircraft manufacturer’s safety culture at its factories.  At the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on April 17, 2024, the engineer whistleblower Sam Salehpour testified that Boeing is “putting out defective airplanes” and taking “shortcuts” to speed up production.   “I have serious concerns about the safety of the 787 and 777 aircraft and I’m willing to take on professional risk to talk ..read more

Following the unprecedented rainstorms that lashed the Gulf state of Dubai on April 16 and 17, 2024, passengers on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Dubai were taken on an airborne odyssey that lasted nine hours and ended with them returning to their point of departure without ever stepping foot in the United Arab Emirates.   The flight in question was a routine scheduled passenger service operated by the Israeli national airline between Tel Aviv and Dubai. The flight (operating as flight number LY971), was being flown by one of the carrier’s four-strong fleet of Boeing 777-200ERs reg ..read more

Norse Atlantic Airways has announced a new addition to its route network. From October 28, 2024, the long-haul, low-cost airline will start flying between London-Gatwick (LGW) and Cape Town (CPT), South Africa, three times per week.  The new service, which, like all Norse Atlantic Airways flights, will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft, will depart Gatwick on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday in the evening, with the return flight to Europe taking place the next morning. Fares will start at £499 (US$620 approximately) return in economy and £1,199 (US$1,495) return in premium class.&nbs ..read more

Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia have announced multiple flight cancellations to airports in East Malaysia (also known as Malaysian Borneo) due to the eruption of an Indonesian volcano known as Mount Ruang on April 16, 2024. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), Mount Ruang is a volcano located near Manado City in North Sulawesi province in Indonesia, located around 800km (500 miles) to the southeast of the Malaysian mainland.    The volcano began erupting at 21:45 local time on April 16, 2024 and continued with a further four major eruptions on April 17, 20 ..read more

Two B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers from the 20th Bomb Squadron recently landed at a civilian airfield as part of Exercise Bayou Vigilance.   On April 12, 2024, the 20th Bomb Squadron demonstrated its ability to adjust to deteriorated conditions by landing the B-52 bombers at Chennault International Airport (CWF)  in Lake Charles, Louisiana.   “When it comes to nuclear war, all bets are off and we need to be prepared to adapt to the current situation,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jared Patterson, 20th BS commander. “We are demonstrating a capability, and that capabi ..read more

Vinci Airports, the airport concessions subsidiary of the French construction and infrastructure management group, has acquired a majority stake in the company that owns Edinburgh Airport (EDI) from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).   The £1.27 billion deal, announced on April 17, 2024, will give the French firm control of 50.01% of equity at Scotland’s busiest airport. The remaining shares will be managed by current airport owners, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a US-based infrastructure investment fund that is also a shareholder of London-City (LCY) and London-Gatwick (LGW) a ..read more

An Air New Zealand passenger suffered a broken leg when turbulence struck a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner shortly after leaving Bali on a seven-hour flight to Auckland Airport (AKL).  According to The New Zealand Herald, the passenger was returning from the lavatory around 30 minutes after takeoff when the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner suffered severe turbulence.   During the turbulence, the Air New Zealand Dreamliner “dropped”, resulting in the 47-year-old German passenger fracturing his tibia and fibula. The exact nature of how the fractures occurred was not reported.  With six and a ..read more