Aircraft & Propulsion

Double-bubble, blended wing-body, truss-braced wing, hybrid wing-body—they all sound tempting, but which will NASA pick for its next X-plane and what can it afford?

SkyTeam Alliance members Korean Air and Delta Air Lines agree to expand their limited codeshare connections to many more international and U.S. domestic routes beginning in the fourth quarter.

The president of Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace division, Eric Schulz, has met All Nippon Airlines (ANA) executives in Japan in the wake of several incidents involving the Trent 1000 engines installed on the Japanese carrier’s Boeing 787s.

The uncontained left engine failure on an Aug. 27 Southwest Airlines flight from New Orleans to Orlando was likely initiated by a fan blade that broke off because of metal fatigue, according to a Sept. 12 investigative update by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Latvian carrier airBaltic still plans to launch the Bombardier CS300 into commercial service this year, but it will receive fewer CS300s than planned in 2016.

Mexican ultra low-cost carrier Volaris took delivery of its first Airbus A320neo Sept. 12, making the LCC the first A320neo operator in North America.

Whatever the outcome of the protracted process to expand EASA’s oversight, it is a given that the safety agency will wield more power in the future.

LOT Polish Airlines said it plans to more than double the number of passengers it carries annually from 4.3 million in 2015 to 10 million by 2020.

With its first regulation allowing routine use of unmanned aircraft systems in national airspace in place, the FAA moves to next UAS rulemaking actions.

Boeing’s Sutter, who died last month at 95, had a huge influence on what may be the two most important commercial aircraft of the late 20th century.

Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft deliveries for 2016 year-to-date, sorted by most-recent delivery date.

Airbus and Boeing commercial aircraft gross orders for 2016 year-to-date, sorted by most-recent date of order placement with manufacturer.

Boeing delivered 58 commercial aircraft to 36 airlines, six lessors and three unidentified customers in August. Year-to-date, Boeing has delivered 478 commercial aircraft.

The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) plans to launch the C919 inaugural flight by the end of this year or early 2017.

Malaysia-based AirAsia has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320neo.

Airbus booked firm orders for 144 A320 family aircraft in August, valued at approximately $17.22 billion at list prices.

Russia’s Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. (SCAC) has appointed Kamil Gainutdinov as president for three years, effective Sept. 7.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) said it will not have to reduce its schedule this year because of delays in Bombardier CSeries aircraft deliveries.

Low-cost widebody operators gain momentum as they expand their networks and eye European destinations.

The preliminary report on the Aug. 3 crash landing of an Emirates Airline Boeing 777-300 at Dubai International Airport stated that the aircraft attempted a go-around after initially touching down briefly.

Bombardier said it will deliver seven CSeries aircraft in 2016 instead of 15 as planned, citing Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofan (GTF) engine delivery delays.

Vietnamese low-cost carrier (LCC) Jetstar Pacific has firmed up a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for 10 A320ceos, which it will use for network expansion.

Vietnamese low-cost carrier (LCC) Vietjet has placed a firm order for 10 Airbus A321ceos and 10 A321neos, and finalized an agreement to establish a new training center.

Vietnam Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for 10 more Airbus A350-900s, which it plans to use on nonstop flights to the US.

Bombardier has received the second of two $500 million installments from the government of Québec, completing the province’s $1 billion investment in the CSeries program.