Boeing 737 MAX Returns to China

DALLAS – A Boeing 737 MAX has flown in Chinese airspace for the first time in almost four years. The flight by MIAT Mongolian Airlines (OM) from Ulaanbaatar’s Chinggis Khaan International Airport (UBN) landed in Guangzhou (CAN) on the morning of October 10. China remains the only commercial market, aside from Russia, not to allow …

Melbourne and Adelaide Airports Hit by Security Breaches

DALLAS – Passengers travelling through Melbourne (MEL) and Adelaide (ADL) Airports have faced chaos after two separate security breaches meant passengers were forced to be re-screened. At MEL, a passenger was able to slip past security undetected, forcing all Qantas (QF) passengers to be evacuated from Terminal One. Long queues formed as passengers had to …

Geoffrey Thomas Discusses Net Zero Emissions By 2050

Geoffrey Thomas, AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief has appeared on Ticker News to discuss the airline industry’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050 which has recently been endorsed by ICAO. ICAO, the industry’s governing body has finally been able to get all countries to agree to the net zero emissions target which was set by the airline …

VietJet Launches Three-Day US$1 Ticket Sale

Celebrating the year-end festive season and Double Day 10/10, Vietjet is offering a ticket promotion during 3 golden days from October 10 to October 12, 2022.  From 00:00 October 10, 2022 to 24:00 on October 12, 2022 (GMT+7), 1.1 million Vietjet Eco tickets at the flat price from only USD1 (*) are available for sale …

Air NZ Sees Huge Surge In Interest in Japan As It Lifts Restrictions

Air New Zealand has seen a huge surge in interest to travel to Japan as the country rolls out the welcome mat to tourists. Today, Japan resumes visa-free entry enabling free independent travel for the first time in over two and a half years with the country lifting its border restrictions for visitors who have …

How Do Pilots Calculate If They Can Land Safely?

DALLAS – After we recently examined some of the factors that affect the performance of an aircraft during take-off, let us now take a look at what calculations are done before landing. This insight will take a more practical approach rather than delving too deeply into the technicalities. It is worth highlighting that this topic …

Startup Toki Air Takes Delivery of ATR 72-600

DALLAS – A new airline has been born in Japan. Toki Air has just celebrated the delivery of its first ATR72-600 as it prepares to commence operations as a new regional Japanese carrier in 2023. This new airline will be based in Niigata (KIJ) and will fly initially to three destinations within the Nippon country. …

Russian Cyber Attack Hits Websites of Multiple U.S. Airports

Photo: LAX Airport Operations Intact The Port Authority told the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that the LaGuardia Airport (LGA) system had been attacked around 3 a.m. ET. LaGuardia has been reopened, but other airports across the country have been targeted since. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport reported around 10:30 a.m. ET that its site is back …

BLADE India Launches Bengaluru Airport Heliservice

DALLAS – BLADE India, an urban air mobility company, has launched today its inaugural helicopter shuttle service from Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) to the city’s HAL Airport. With space to take up to five passengers, the helicopter run will take a mere 12 minutes to reach the main airport, compared to an hour or two …

Bamboo Airways Grows Fleet with New A321neo

DALLAS – Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways (QH) has taken delivery of a brand-new Airbus A321neo ACF (Airbus Cabin Flex), expanding the airline’s fleet size to 30. The aircraft departed the Airbus factory in Hamburg and landed at Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) in Hanoi. The A321neo is the longest-fuselage and newest aircraft in the narrow-body, …

easyJet to Operate Charity Northern Lights Flight

DALLAS – easyJet UK (U2) has announced it will rekindle its partnership with UK charity Aerobility and offer its popular ‘Aurora Flight’, where passengers can experience the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. Aerobility is a charity that was founded in 1993 with the goal of giving disabled and terminally ill people the …

Brisbane To Tokyo Flights To Return In December

DALLAS – Non-stop passenger flights from Brisbane (BNE) to Japan, Haneda (HND), are set to start again for the first time since the pandemic. Qantas (QF) will operate the flights three times per week. The service has been secured under the ‘Attracting Aviation Investment Fund’, an AU$200 million joint fund established by the state government of …

No Highway In The Sky In Colour

Nevil Shute’s Classic movie No Highway In The Sky has been colourized and the result is stunning. The movie has a host of stars led by James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Glynis Johns and Jack Hawkins. A must-watch. No Highway In The Sky tells the story of a bumbling aircraft engineer who is convinced the tail …

Loganair Put Up For Sale

DALLAS – Brothers Stephen and Peter Bond have announced that they are to sell their Scottish airline Loganair (LM). The brothers, 72 and 61 years old respectively, have owned the carrier for 25 years and helped Loganair to become the UK’s biggest regional operator. Passing on the Baton Peter Simpson, LM’s Executive Chairman, told The …

American Airlines Heathrow Workers Vote to Strike

DALLAS – American Airlines (AA) is preparing for significant disruption to its London Heathrow (LHR) operation after workers voted to strike over a pay dispute. Around 50 members of AA’s maintenance and crew chiefs based at the airport voted overwhelmingly 98% in favour of the walk-out. This followed an “appalling” pay offer which Unite union …

Lufthansa Is Not Banning AirTags in Checked Luggage

DALLAS – Multiple reports have surfaced online in recent days indicating that Lufthansa (LH) has prohibited the carriage of Apple’s AirTag tracking device within checked-in luggage. Airways has reached out to the airline to confirm or deny said reports. The airline has responded, saying that it “has not banned airtags and there is no guideline …

Air Canada Cargo Announces Expansion into the US

DALLAS – Air Canada Cargo (AC) announced today that it will expand its cargo network into the United States for the first time, with flights to Dallas and Atlanta beginning in November. The inclusion of these key US cities is a significant milestone for AC, allowing the company to deliver dedicated, dependable service to customers …

Loganair Reveals Summer 2023 Schedule

DALLAS – Glasgow Airport (GLA) based Loganair (LM) has unveiled a bumper flight schedule for Summer 2023.  The airline has announced additional frequencies on several key routes as it responds to growing demand from leisure and business travellers.  Tackling The Competition Next year, LM will operate five daily rotations between GLA and Edinburgh (EDI) to …

PLAY Touches Down in Liverpool

DALLAS – Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL) has welcomed the latest addition to its departure board after low-cost carrier PLAY (OG) operated its inaugural flight from Reykjavik, Iceland, on Friday, October 7. On the apron, the arrival was greeted by a traditional water canon salute from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service as it taxied to …

United Airlines Boeing 777 Flies Low Over Golden Gate For Air Show

United Airlines has flown a Boeing 777 low over Golden Gate Bridge for the Fleet Week air show in San Francisco. Cathay Pacific Airways welcomes end to HK quarantine About AirlineRatings.com Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, …

Lufthansa Bans AirTags in Checked Luggage

DALLAS – Multiple reports have surfaced online in recent days indicating that Lufthansa (LH) has prohibited the carriage of Apple’s AirTag tracking device within checked-in luggage. Because it allows passengers to track the location of their checked luggage after it has been checked in, the small tracking device has become a popular addition to the …

LAX Completes Third Phase of Terminal Upgrade

DALLAS – The third phase of Terminals 2 and 3 refurbishments at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in California has been completed. Terminal 3 was constructed with plenty of seating, high ceilings, and broad open spaces in mind. It also includes new food and shopping options, with some already open to travelers and others set …

United Airlines to Acquire 18 Bombardier CRJ700

DALLAS – United Airlines (UA) signed a purchase agreement with Mesa Air Group, the parent company of Mesa Airlines (YV), for 18 Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) -700. According to the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the deal was signed on September 27, for a value of approximately US$50m. It was …

Italy’s First Crewed eVTOL Flight Takes Place

DALLAS – The first crewed electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) flight has taken place in Italian airspace on October 6. The test flight departed from a special vertiport constructed at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport (FCO), the country’s first advanced air mobility (AAM) testing vertiport. It is part of a two-day event to demonstrate what a …

B737 MAX Woes Mount For Boeing

Last week it became clearer that the B737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 would not be certified by year-end.  This is despite some political manoeuvring to help Boeing. The latest MAX wrinkle leads to another. This morning we have another wrinkle – American Airlines pilots oppose the extension of the current MAX certification to cover the MAX 7 and …

Aer Lingus to Resume Connecticut-Dublin Nonstop Route

DALLAS – Dublin-based Aer Lingus (EI) has announced the return of service to Hartford Bradley International Airport (BDL), New England’s second-largest airport.  On March 26, 2023, EI will resume service from the ​​Connecticut capitol and will operate the route daily until October. The airline started the service in 2016 but was suspended due to COVID-19 …

Delta Air Lines Resumes Asia Service from Minneapolis

DALLAS – Delta Air Lines (DL) has reinstated nonstop service between Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and Seoul-Incheon International Airport (ICN) this week, the first of two Asia routes to reopen since the COVID-19 outbreak began. Delta’s nonstop flight to Seoul is the 25th overseas flight out of 30 to return to MSP. The ICN …