The British Airways A350-1000 takes the BA Club World business class product to a whole new level. I was greatly impressed by my flight to Madrid. While the A350 is destined for longhaul service, BA is testing it out...
Six Reasons Air France Is Retiring A380
Air France will retire its Airbus A380 fleet ahead of schedule for at least six unique reasons. In a wide-ranging interview with Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith, Skift’s Brian Sumers brought up Air France’s recent decision to retire the...
Air France A380 Retirement Is Hardly A Surprise
As I predicted, Air France will not bother to retrofit its A380 fleet, but instead retire it by 2022. The writing was on the wall. Last November, Air France announced it would return half of its A380 fleet rather...
ANA A380 Business + First Class Award Space Available
ANA is finally releasing some saver award space to Star Alliance partners for its new A380 service between Honolulu and Tokyo Narita. It was always only a matter for time. From the start, the airline said that it would,...
A Retired United 747 Returns To The Skies
Since late 2017, most of United’s former 747-400s have been gathering dust in California’s Mojave Desert, becoming little more than a relic of the past. But one United 747 has just returned to the skies. A toss-up question: which...
Qatar Airways Accelerates A380 Retirement
Qatar Airways plans to retire its A380 fleet earlier than planned, joining a number of other airlines which do not see a long-term place for the Airbus superjumbo jet. Never one to beat around the bush, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar...
Air France May Retire A380 Even Earlier
Air France may not bother to upgrade its outdated premium cabins seats on the A380. The exorbitant price tag is difficult to justify. But that creates a serious problem for the carrier’s five-year plan and may lead to an...
737 MAX Ferry Flight Blocked From German Airspace
A 737 MAX 8 ferry flight was denied the right to fly over Germany, forcing an unplanned landing in France for refueling. As mandatory worldwide groundings continue for the troubled 737 MAX 8, Norwegian is attempting to consolidate its...
British Airways Schedules 747 On Domestic Flights
August 25, 2019 is shaping up to be a special day on British Airways, including the chance to catch 747-400s on six domestic flights. It was on August 25, 1919 that Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited (AT&T), a forerunner...
The World’s Longest And Shortest A380 Flights
What are the world’s longest and shortest Airbus A380 flights? Emirates can lay claim to both of them. World’s Shortest A380 Flight Earlier today, Emirates announced it would be using an A380 for regularly-scheduled service between Dubai and Muscat,...
Why British Airways Turned Down More A380s
Rumors of a British Airways A380 acquisition never materialized. But it was not for lack of effort. Now we know why. In February, I wrote about British Airways’ willingness to purchase more A380s to save the program. At the...
Lufthansa Snubs The A380
Lufthansa’s latest aircraft order comes at the expense of its majestic superjumbo Airbus A380-800. Earlier this week, Lufthansa ordered 20 Boeing 787-9s and 20 additional Airbus A350-900s. But its deal with Airbus came with a caveat. In exchange, Airbus...
FAA Explains Why Trump Grounded Boeing 737 MAX
Just moments ago, U.S. President Donald Trump stated he was grounding all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the United States by Executive Order. Now the Federal Aviation Administration has issued its own explanation. Via Twitter, the FAA stated: The FAA...
Help Me Plan My 737 MAX Trip With My Two-Year-Old…Or Not?
I want to take my son on a 737 MAX trip this weekend, lest I ever be accused of hypocrisy. Earlier today, I made (or attempted to make) a rather abstract argument that perhaps we are acting too hastily...
As China Grounds 737 MAX, Safety Questions Abound
Tragically, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX traveling from Addis Ababa to Nairobi crashed shortly after takeoff yesterday. 159 perished and there were no survivors. The second crash of this aircraft variant in a matter of months has left...
The Wall Street Journal Battles The Airbus A380
In a hit-piece entitled Airbus’s Lesson for Young Socialists, a Wall Street Journal column heaps scorn on the Airbus A380 program. The column is by Holman W. Jenkins Jr, a long-time columnist and editorial writer for the Journal. He starts by...
British Airways’ Stunning New 747 Paint Job
British Airways has unveiled its new 747 retro paint job and I am very impressed… Last month, I wrote about BA’s plan to repaint one of its Boeing 747-400s with classic British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) livery. British Airways...
The A380 Is Dead, Long Live The A380
Airbus announced today that it would be shutting the A380 production line in 2021. The move is sadly not a surprise. 17 A380s will still be built, including 14 to Emirates and 3 to ANA. In a written statement,...
British Airways’ Plan To Save The A380 Program
British Airways is willing to buy more Airbus A380s…if the price is right. Last week, we learned that Emirates is exploring switching some of its A380 orders to smaller A350 or A330neo aircraft. The move would likely sound the...
British Airways Honors 747 Legacy With Retro Livery
I have so many bad stories I could cover this afternoon, but after a trio of bad stories earlier today let’s take a break. How about some good news to end the day on? British Airways is celebrating its...
