World will have twice as many planes in the skies in 20 years, says Airbus September 18, 2019 The world will have twice as many passenger jets in 2038 as are currently in the skies, Airbus forecast today, as the plane maker raised concerns over a potentially damaging tariff war between the EU and the US. The European plane maker has hiked its forecasts for jet plane demand to 47,680 aircraft by 2038, [...]
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic faces first investor vote of confidence on stock market listing September 8, 2019 Sir Richard Branson’s space tourism venture Virgin Galactic faces its first test of investor confidence in a proposed stock market float tomorrow. Would-be shareholders will vote on whether to back the entry via investment vehicle Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH), or whether to withdraw their cash entirely. Read more: Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic plots public listing [...]
Boeing 737 Max: Europe ‘will not accept’ FAA’s safety decision on grounded jet September 5, 2019 Europe’s aviation safety regulator will insist on running its own tests on Boeing’s troubled 737 Max before allowing it to fly again, rather than accepting the verdict of its US counterpart. Read more: Boeing admits sensor malfunctioned on both fatal 737 Max crashes Such a decision from the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (Easa) could dash [...]
Norwegian Air no longer expects to fly Boeing 737 Max this year September 2, 2019 The interim boss of Norwegian Air, one of the major carriers of the grounded Boeing 737 Max jet operating out in the UK, has said the airline is unlikely to fly the aircraft this year. Read more: Norwegian Air boss tweets about ‘good meetings’ with Boeing after 737 Max ban Geir Karlsen, who is acting [...]
Pie in the sky? London urged to plan for flying taxi future September 2, 2019 Airbus will tomorrow urge London authorities to plan for a future in which electric air taxis roam the skies and drones carry cargo a few thousand feet above the city. The aviation juggernaut has already built a prototype air taxi, as have arch rivals Boeing, Uber and several other manufacturers. Airbus will urge city planners [...]
Eco-warriors still threaten Heathrow drone chaos despite ‘positive’ talks with airport August 30, 2019 Climate change activists are still planning on flying drones over Heathrow in protest next month, despite a “positive” meeting with representatives from the airport this morning. Heathrow Pause, a splinter group of the Extinction Rebellion movement, says it will fly toy drones in the airport’s restricted zone from 13 September, in a move that threatens [...]
Near-miss: Passenger jet ‘narrowly avoided’ hitting drone at Gatwick airport in April August 28, 2019 An Airbus passenger jet carrying as many as 186 passengers was forced to take evasive action to avoid a drone as it approached Gatwick airport, it has emerged. The airliner was flying at 518 metres towards the West Sussex airport on 28 April when the pilot saw a dark-coloured drone and made a banking turn [...]
Britain ‘still attractive for aerospace investment’ despite Brexit uncertainty August 27, 2019 Britain is the fourth-most attractive attractive country to invest in for the aerospace and defence industries, according to research. Despite warnings from major industry players that Brexit uncertainty will hamper investment in the sector, the UK has been named the best European country to invest in, ahead of Germany, by PwC. Countries were ranked on [...]
Boeing 737 Max: First customer lawsuit comes in against plane maker as Russian firm sues August 27, 2019 Boeing is facing its first lawsuit from an aviation industry customer of its Boeing 737 Max, after a Russian firm that ordered 35 planes is said to have sued it for breach of contract. Avia Capital Services, an aircraft leasing company that is a subsidiary of Russian firm Rostec, made an order for 35 Max [...]
Up in the air: Risks pile on for aerospace industry as 737 Max saga continues August 22, 2019 Risks are mounting for the world’s aerospace industry, amid political tensions and delays to Boeing’s grounded 737 Max jet returning to service, according to ratings agency Moody’s. Read more: Boeing takes $4.9bn hit on 737 Max groundings to compensate airlines The grounding of the best-selling passenger jet in March after two deadly crashes killed 346 [...]