Reading Time: 2 minutes Africa South African Airways Technical (SAAT) and AAR Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding in June to establish a joint venture partnership that aims to cut SAAT’s cost and grow its third-party MRO work through a focus on supply chain and airframe maintenance. Airframe heavy maintenance and modification expenditures in Africa will generate $311.7 million […]

Reading Time: < 1 minute Passenger numbers will be double the expected 2015 total of 3.5 billion by 2034 with seven billion people taking to the skies, according to IATA’s 20 year Passenger Forecast Report. By 2034, the largest passenger markets will be China, the United States, India, the UK and Indonesia. Japan is sixth, Brazil seventh, Spain, Germany and […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Around 150 direct flights between Iran and Saudi Arabia carrying thousands of pilgrims every month have been halted as diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed, aviation sources said on Tuesday. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters in an interview on Monday that it had halted trade and flights with Iran as part […]

Reading Time: 3 minutes The global civil helicopter fleet will grow 50 percent by 2034, despite the short-term pressures emanating from a weak energy market, according to a new report from analysts at Noealt Corporate Services. The global civil helicopter market has grown almost threefold in size over the past decade driven by an expansion of the degree as […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Malaysia Airlines abruptly put a temporary suspension on all checked baggage on its flights to Europe, citing strong head winds and safety concerns. In an initial statement issued on Jan. 5, Malaysia Airlines said it was only able to carry hand luggage on services from Kuala Lumpur to Europe. Passengers can still check in luggage, […]

Reading Time: < 1 minute Mooney International Corp. has successfully completed the first flight of the M10T Proof of Concept (POC) aircraft. The first flight was performed by test pilot Len Fox on Wednesday, December 23rd in the vicinity of the Chino Airport in California. The flight lasted approximately 15 minutes, with Len Fox conducting basic flight maneuvers and verifying […]

Reading Time: < 1 minute Epic Aircraft completed the successful maiden flight of its first conforming prototype E1000 single-engine turboprop, code-named FT1, putting the manufacturer on track to achieve certification later this year. FT1 made its successful first flight on December 19 from the Bend Municipal Airport. After the 20-minute test hop, Epic chief pilot David Robinson reported, “The aircraft […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Manila is moving forward with purchasing ammunition for its new jets from South Korea. The Philippine military will look to purchase more than 100 million pesos ($5.77 million) worth of ammunition for two of its new fighter aircraft from South Korea, defense officials confirmed this week. As I reported for The Diplomat in December, the […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Etihad Airways has appealed a German court’s decision revoking the approval of 29 of its codeshare flights with Airberlin. The notice of appeal was filed Jan. 4 in the higher administrative court in Germany’s Lüneburg. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier said the German Ministry of Transport raised concerns on 29 of the codeshares last summer, based […]

Reading Time: < 1 minute Air France has confirmed it has been informed of strike action by the CGT trade union on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 and by Alter, a minor pilots’ union, from Jan. 10-13. According to several media reports, CGT is protesting job cuts as well as the legal action taken against five employees involved in an Oct. […]