A British Airways B777 aircraft was forced to cancel its takeoff clearance and evacuate all passengers onboard after airport authorities received a bomb threat.  Flight BA 158 had been cleared for takeoff from Wade International Airport (BDA) in Bermuda bound for London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) on the evening of May 5, 2024. Shortly after receiving clearance, air traffic control (ATC) communicated to the flight that it had received information regarding a bomb threat.  British Airways Boeing 777 – flt BA158 / BAW18B ( SPEEDBIRD 18 BRAVO ) entered the runway for takeoff from Bremuda t ..read more

Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia has launched direct flights from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (AMD) in Ahmedabad, India. The service commenced on May 2, 2024. According to AirAsia, the inaugural flight had a 100% load factor and was given a warm welcome by the Deputy Director South Asia Unit of Tourism Malaysia. Experience the wonders of Southeast Asia as we're excited to announce @airasia's inaugural flight from #AhmedabadAirport to Kuala Lumpur. This momentous occasion was celebrated with our dear passengers and stakeholders ..read more

Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, has released its earnings report for the first quarter of 2024.  Revenue for the quarter totaled $897 million, a 25% year-on-year increase. Executive Aviation particularly stood out with a 2.75x growth, achieving the highest first-quarter revenues and number of deliveries in the past eight years.  Adjusted EBIT reached $6.8 million with a margin of 0.8% in the first quarter of 2024, showing improvement from the previous year.  Embraer has reported a lower adjusted net loss of $12.51 million for the first quarter, compared to the $88 ..read more

Emirates has announced it will be completely refurbishing another 43 A380s and 28 Boeing 777s, expanding its retrofit program to 191 aircraft. This original plan was to retrofit 120 aircraft. The Dubai-based airline has retrofitted 22 A380 aircraft so far. The first Boeing 777 will undergo an interior refresh in July 2024.  Emirates said that each Boeing 777 aircraft will take approximately two weeks to refurbish before entering service. Plans include the refurbishment of the First Class cabin, brand new Business Class seats making a debut on the aircraft in an updated 1-2-1 seating confi ..read more

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched a fresh investigation into Boeing after the company informed the agency that staff may have not “completed required inspections” during assembly of 787 Dreamliner aircraft.  In a statement on May 6, 2024, the FAA confirmed that Boeing had “voluntarily informed” it in April 2024 of an issue related to inspections for “adequate bonding and grounding” where the wings join the fuselage on certain 787 planes.   “The FAA is investigating whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified airc ..read more

REGENT, a startup developing a new-generation of wing-in-ground vehicles, and MONTE, an aircraft leasing firm focusing on sustainable air mobility, have signed a $300 million deal to provide financing solutions for this new type of electrically powered seagliders.  The agreement was announced within the framework of CoMotion’24, a mobility innovation event taking place in Miami, Florida from May 6 to 7, 2024.  UK-based MONTE will purchase 12-passenger Viceroy and 100-passenger Monarch seagliders, a type of flying vehicle that skims the surface of the water at high speeds, in order to ..read more

Scoot’s first Embraer E190-E2 aircraft began its inaugural revenue flights on May 7, 2024 to Krabi International Airport (KBV) and Hat Yai International Airport (HDY) in Thailand. The low-cost carrier marked the milestone with a launch event at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) which was attended by Singapore’s Minister for Transport and Minister for Finance. The event offered guests a closer look at the E190-E2’s interior, which includes 112 seats in a 2-2 single class configuration, a standard seat pitch of 29”, and larger cabin windows.  According to Scoot, the E190-E2 is also currently t ..read more

Lilium has announced an agreement with Florida-based startup airline UrbanLink for 20 units of its electric vehicle takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the Lilium Jet, plus options for 20 more.    The order for was announced on May 6, 2024.  Little is known about UrbanLink, other than the fact that its founder is Ed Wegel, a seasoned airline executive who has held senior roles at a number of airlines.   In February 2024, Wegel stepped down as CEO of Global Crossing Airlines, a Miami-based charter airline that operates under the name GlobalX. Prior to that, he wa ..read more

airBaltic, the Latvian national airline, has recently launched a new initiative called the airBaltic Technical Academy.   The airBaltic Technical Academy has collaborated with Riga Technical University and Liepaja State Technical School to provide training facilities in Riga and Liepaja, where students can gain hands-on experience primarily with the Airbus A220-300 aircraft. The airline aims to recruit and train nearly 400 new aviation maintenance professionals by 2030, with an annual intake target of around 70 individuals.  “We are continuously investing in the development ..read more

NASA and United Launch Alliance (ULA) have delayed the launch of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft over safety concerns that arose as astronauts were onboard the capsule ready for liftoff to the International Space Station (ISS).  ULA, a space launch company ran by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, confirmed that an issue arose with part of the launch vehicle, Centaur, and out of an “abundance of caution” the mission was canceled around two hours before liftoff.   “We scrubbed the Crew Flight Test (CFT) launch attempt today due to an observation on a liquid oxygen self-regulating soleno ..read more