Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

If you were to try to list the airports around the world hosting the largest number of A380 double-decker aircraft, Dubai (DXB), Singapore (SIN) and London Heathrow (LHR) might possibly spring to mind. However, a rather unsuspected name pops up on that list not far behind these major global hubs, On a regular day, Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport (LDE), a small regional airport in the south of France, presents quite a sight to behold, with several of these giant aircraft lined up on the apron whi

Tarmac

One Mile at a Time

MARCH 25, 2025

Air India is updating its travel policy for employees flying domestically, as reported by The Times of India , and Im impressed by the extent to which it involves leading by example Air Indias new domestic staff travel policy Air India is updating its policy for employees traveling domestically on official business. This applies across the board, whether were talking about the CEO traveling somewhere for a conference, or a pilot deadheading somewhere to operate a flight.

Pilot

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

Emirates has announced the opening of a new dedicated cabin crew space housed within the main Emirates Group Headquarters campus in Dubai. As the airline continues to recruit thousands of new cabin crew annually, the new Crew Zone center will provide a dedicated space for cabin crew to meet, prepare for flights, as well as relax and socialize. According to the airline, the Crew Zone is a purpose-built space for crew with a contemporary, open plan design that is available on a 24/7 basis, with se

Cabin Crew

Plane and Pilot

MARCH 25, 2025

I dont exactly fit the standard pilot profile of Game Aerospaces GB1 GameBird But theres always been something about the GameBird that has piqued my interest. The sleek, sexy lines, aggressive facial-esque features, and more often than not, bright and flashy paint schemes make this aerobatic design stand out from the crowd. Never in a million years did I think I would get the chance to learn the ins and outs of this beautiful machine, until recently.

Knot

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

Ryanair, Europes largest airline, has unveiled a new subscription service that aims to lure more frequent flyers to the low-cost carrier while offering benefits in return for an annual fee. The new service, to be branded as Ryanair Prime, announced the new offering on March 24, 2025, and by doing so, takes the airline into a new era as it continues on an unrelenting path of continued growth and expansion.

Airline

Vintage Aviation News

MARCH 25, 2025

Gino Lucci has spent a lifetime around aircraft, but his story is anything but typical. A retired U.S. Air Force flight refueler and First Sergeant, Lucci transformed his passion for aviation into a thriving business, Round Engine Aero, which specializes in salvaging and preserving vintage aircraft. His latest creation, a fully functional motorhome built from the fuselage of a Navy R4D (the U.S.

Airplanes

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

On March 24 to 25, 2025, Airbus held its annual Summit, in which the company shared insights into some of the most innovative projects on which it is working, plus, more broadly, its view of the future of commercial aviation. One of the highlights of the 2025 edition of the Airbus Summit was the announcement by the European aircraft manufacturer that it is already working on some concepts for a new generation of narrow-body airliner.

Airline

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

NASA has revealed that another component of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the Artemis II mission is ready for the upcoming agencys crewed test flight around the Moon. In the most recent developments, technicians successfully connected the core stage with the stacked solid rocket boosters at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the company confirmed in a statement on March 24, 2025.

Thrust

One Mile at a Time

MARCH 25, 2025

Youve gotta appreciate a restaurant (and an airline CEO) with a sense of humor Restaurant adds junk fees to Michael OLearys dinner bill 64-year-old Ryanair CEO Michael OLeary is a bit of a legend in the airline industry. Hes one of the most brilliant, outspoken, and unapologetic airline CEOs that youll find anywhere. Fortunately he also appreciates a good joke, because he got a taste of his own medicine while dining out on the night of Friday, March 21, 2025.

Approach

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

A man and two children were found alive with minor injuries on Alaskas Kenai Peninsula near the wreckage of a small aircraft, which had been reported overdue since March 23, 2025. Alaska State Troopers announced in a statement that the wreckage of the Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, registered as N3342M, had been found on the morning of March 25, 2025, near the eastern shore of the frozen Tustumena Lake.

Pilot

One Mile at a Time

MARCH 25, 2025

In Europe, you have three major global airline groups Air France-KLM, International Airlines Group (IAG), and Lufthansa Group and theyve been on a bit of an airline shopping spree lately. For example, recently weve seen Air France-KLM invest in Scandinavian Airlines , and weve seen Lufthansa Group invest in airBaltic and ITA Airways. Currently, theres a lot of talk about carriers being interested in investing in Air Europa and TAP Air Portugal , particularly Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Group,

Airline

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

Qantas is planning to expand its reach in the Philippines via its low-cost subsidiary, Jetstar Airways. The Australian flag carrier intends to launch flights between Perth Airport (PER) to Manila International Airport (MNL), and Brisbane Airport (BNE) to Cebu International Airport (CEB). In a letter addressed to the International Air Services Commission, Qantas Executive Manager for Policy, Industry and International Affairs Anna Pritchard proposed that both routes be operated three times weekly

Airline

One Mile at a Time

MARCH 25, 2025

Its an exciting time for Alaska Air Group, following the companys takeover of Hawaiian Airlines. Were seeing the airline totally shift its strategy, including turning Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) into a global hub, with the goal of having 12 long haul destinations by 2030. The first destination will be Tokyo Narita (NRT) , with that service launching as of May 2025.

Airline

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

On March 20, 2025, Swiss weather intelligence company Meteomatics announced the launch of the Meteoglider – a new type of system for the collection of high-altitude meteorological data. It is a new take on the well-proven concept of the radiosonde, a data-collection device that is launched to the upper reaches of the atmosphere and the stratosphere attached to a weather balloon.

Weather

Universal Weather

MARCH 25, 2025

Planning a business aviation flight to Belgium? Understanding Belgium’s Embarkation Tax is essential for smooth operations. Here’s everything you need to know. Overview of Belgium’s Embarkation Tax Belgium applies an Embarkation Tax to passengers departing from Belgian airports, impacting both commercial and non-commercial business aviation flights.

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

Glare being caused by sunlight reflecting off the panels of a nearby solar farm has caused authorities at Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport (AMS) in the Netherlands to delay the lifting of restrictions on one of the airport’s main runways due to safety concerns. The runway, formally designated as runway 18R/36L but known to many as the Polderbaan, has faced daily usage restrictions since March 5, 2025, as pilots of landing aircraft reported being dazzled by glare from the panels as they attempted

Lift

One Mile at a Time

MARCH 25, 2025

Air France-KLM and Etihad seem to be ending their partnership in a pretty drastic way. Im curious what happened in the background to cause this Air France-KLM & Etihad end their cooperation Air France-KLM and Etihad have had a partnership in some form or another dating back as far as 2012. Initially it was just an interline agreement, with a limited codeshare partnership.

Airline

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

It may seem to the interested observer that Qantas has been talking about launching direct non-stop flights between Sydney and London since time immemorial. With 12 ultra-long-haul Airbus A350-1000s on order from the manufacturer, services were originally supposed to start on the so-called Project Sunrise services from Sydney to London and Sydney to New York in 2025.

Cabin Crew

AV Web

MARCH 25, 2025

Two pilots and a passenger are recovering in hospital after two Alpha Jets in the Patrouille de France air demonstration team collided during training at an airport in eastern France on Tuesday. All three ejected. The nature and seriousness of their injuries has not been released. Their identities have not been released and the nature of the passenger’s participation in the flight is unclear.

Jet

One Mile at a Time

MARCH 25, 2025

Goodness, I can hardly contain my excitement. Im not sure if Im more looking forward to this, or the Global Airlines A380 inaugural. TAAG wants to fly from Angola to United States Angolas national airline, TAAG Angola Airlines, seems to be serious about launching flights to the United States. This has been rumored and discussed for a long time, but steps have now actually been taken to make this a reality.

Airline

AV Web

MARCH 25, 2025

In a world of pulling mags at 500 hours and turbos that last 1000, fuel pumps are a breath of reliability fresh air. So reliable, in fact, that its much more common for a pilot to have an engine stoppage because the pilot does not know the aircrafts fuel system or misuses the boost/aux pump than because a pump fails. Pumps for moving liquids have been around for centuries, so one would expect the design and manufacture of such relatively simple devices to have been sorted out.

Airplanes

Cranky Flier

MARCH 25, 2025

This is the second in a two-part series looking at airline credit card deals. See this post for part one which explains how the ecosystem works. The biggest US airlines are making billions of dollars every year thanks to their cobranded credit card deals with banks. Without those deals, the airlines are actually losing money which seems… bad. But could this whole setup possibly go away?

Airline

AV Web

MARCH 25, 2025

Hydrogen propulsion pioneer ZeroAvia announced today it has been selected by an innovation arm within the Air Force Research Laboratory for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for a feasibility study to integrate hydrogen propulsion in a Cessna Caravan, in combination with aircraft automation technology. Known as AFWERX, the Air Force units award targets research questions specific to the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

In September 2024, AeroTime attended an exclusive launch event held by low-cost carrier Wizz Air in London. The event, hosted by the airlines CEO Jzsef Vradi, revealed the announcement that the carrier would be introducing the first of its factory-fresh Airbus A321XLR long-range narrowbodied aircraft on a new route being introduced between the UK and Saudi Arabia.

Weight-Shift-Control

AV Web

MARCH 25, 2025

A United Airlines Boeing 787 pilots carelessness forced his Shanghai-bound flight from Los Angeles to turn around two hours into the journey. The pilot had taken off without his passport, according to a statement to CNN. Flight 198 took off from Los Angeles at 2:00 pm Saturday, only to land in San Francisco about 5:00 pm where a new crew took over to bring the passengers to their destination, albeit six hours behind schedule.

Pilot

Aviation Bussiness News

MARCH 25, 2025

Global airport experiences firm, Airport Dimensions, has announced it has acquired a 45% stake in PT Bumi Liputan Angkasa, a subsidiary of Blue Sky Group, the owner of Blue Sky Lounge. Airport Dimensions, which is part of the Collinson Group, said the investment marks a significant step in its rapid expansion into the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, the second fastest-growing aviation network in the world.

One Mile at a Time

MARCH 25, 2025

United Airlines has updated its winter schedule for 2025-2026, and it includes a gargantuan expansion to Mainland China and Hong Kong. Will these flights actually operate, though, or whats the intent here? United schedules more China routes, launching this winter United has loaded several new routes to Asia into its schedule. With these schedule filings, all the routes are expected to launch as of the start of the IATA winter season, in late October 2025: Daily Chicago (ORD) to Beijing (PEK) fli

Wide-Body Aircraft

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

An air crash involving two Alpha Jets from the Patrouille de France occurred on March 25, 2025, during rehearsal exercises at Saint-Dizier 113 airbase in eastern France, according to a statement from French Minister of the Armed Forces Sbastien Lecornu. “An accident involving two Alpha Jets of the Patrouille de France during rehearsals has just occurred,” Lecornu said. “Emergency services are being mobilized,” he added, noting that efforts are underway in coordination wit

Jet

One Mile at a Time

MARCH 25, 2025

With the American AAdvantage programs Loyalty Points system , elite status is no longer based on how much you fly, but rather based on how many eligible points you rack up. One of the interesting opportunities here is to earn AAdvantage elite status exclusively through credit card spending. In this post, I want to do some number crunching on the value proposition of that, and answer some of the most common questions.

Threshold

Simple Flying

MARCH 25, 2025

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is no stranger to widebody aircraft. The hub hosts a variety of large, long-haul aircraft from operators like American Airlines , British Airways, and Air France. However, the airport got an unusual guest from United Airlines. The Chicago-based carrier does not have a hub in Phoenix and does not operate any long-haul flights from Arizona, but recently sent its largest aircraft to Sky Harbor.

Runway

One Mile at a Time

MARCH 25, 2025

For many years, Delta Air Lines pilots have had aircraft trading cards, which theyve been able to offer to passengers who request them. The popularity of this has increased greatly in recent years, and it should become even more popular this year, thanks to some new Centennial-themed trading cards that have just been unveiled The basics of Deltas pilot trading cards Delta has had aircraft trading cards in one form or another going back as far as 2003.

Airplanes

Simple Flying

MARCH 25, 2025

Passengers traveling with American Airlines now have more ways than ever to purchase items from its buy-onboard menu, with loyalty points having become an accepted currency for such transactions last week. Now, members of the airline's AAdvantage loyalty program can save cash by parting with their miles in order to fill up on drinks and snacks, with the process of doing so being relatively easy.

Airline

One Mile at a Time

MARCH 25, 2025

Iberia has just revealed plans to launch a new route to the United States, and I dont think this addition will shock anyone. Iberia adds Madrid to Orlando route with Airbus A330 As of October 26, 2025, Iberia will launch a new flight between Madrid (MAD) and Orlando (MCO). The flight will operate 4x weekly with the following schedule: IB339 Madrid to Orlando departing 11:30AM arriving 4:45PM IB340 Orlando to Madrid departing 6:20PM arriving 7:55AM (+1 day) Iberia will fly from Madrid to Orlando

Weather

Aerotime

MARCH 25, 2025

Emirates has announced more destinations in its network that will be served by its fleet of retrofitted Boeing B777 aircraft with upgraded cabins. According to the airline, a new refurbished B777 is rolled out every three weeks. By September 2025, Emirates plans to serve 44 cities with its fleet of renewed Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft. The following cities are the latest to be flown by the B777 with upgraded cabin interiors: Lisbon Airport (LIS) starting June 1, 2025 Dublin Airport (DUB)

Airline

AV Web

MARCH 25, 2025

Pilatus and Lockheed Martin announced terms of an offset project that will see the two companies cooperate on technology and developing avionics and training functionality for a next-generation military pilot training system. The program will focus on the Pilatus PC-21 single-engine turboprop training platform. This will allow Pilatus to provide a bespoke pilot training solution to customers operating the F-35 and other fifth-generation frontline aircraft, Pilatus said.

Pilot

Gary's Flight Journal

MARCH 25, 2025

Its that time of year again, time for the annual get-away to Vero Beach. Mary and I are really looking forward to heading south. We have had three snowstorms so far this year and two were plowing events. Did I happen to mention how much I DO NOT like the cold? This winter has been pretty rough on me, between the rain and snow my body and its after market metal parts are aching.

Weather

AV Web

MARCH 25, 2025

The Sullenberger Aviation Museum (SAM) announced today it will officially open a third thematic area to be known as Aviation City. It will be housed in a 1936-vintage hangar and will focus on the relationship between aviation history at Charlotte Douglas International Airport and the economic development of the Charlotte, North Carolina region. The hangar was constructed as part of the Works Progress Administration established during the Great Depression.

Hangar