Aerotime

JANUARY 2, 2025

Latvian-based carrier airBaltic has announced the cancellation of 4,670 flights from all its bases for the summer season of 2025. The decision is due to unexpected delays and prolonged engine maintenance by its supplier Pratt & Whitney, the carrier announced in a press release published on January 2, 2025. airBaltic said the engine manufacturers inability to meet its timely maintenance obligations has impacted the operational capabilities of the airlines Airbus A220-300 fleet.

Airline

One Mile at a Time

JANUARY 2, 2025

Alaska Airlines has rolled out some major changes to its Mileage Plan program as of 2025. In this post Id like to discuss the details of my single favorite change, which is that you can now qualify for elite status with award flights. If you ask me, this is a pretty revolutionary development. Alaska credits elite qualifying miles on all award flights As of January 1, 2025, the Alaska Mileage Plan program has started awarding elite qualifying miles (EQMs) for award tickets, when redeeming Mileage

Airline

Aerotime

JANUARY 2, 2025

Aviation analytics company Cirium has released its rankings for the most on-time airlines in the world in 2024. Data is based on hundreds of real-time feeds, from airlines, distribution systems, and aviation authorities, providing a thorough and objective view of the performance of carriers. Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, said, 2024 was a difficult year for airlines, facing a large-scale IT outage, and unseasonable and severe weather patterns.

Airline

AV Web

JANUARY 2, 2025

A new Seattle Times report took a deep dive into whistleblower complaints concerning the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeingfinding that the agency dismisses the majority of complaints it receives. Looking at data from 2020-2023, the report found that more than 90 percent of safety complaints ended with no violation found by the FAA. The Times article highlighted that the FAA dismisses whistleblower complaints on preliminary review when they lack sufficient information to investigat

One Mile at a Time

JANUARY 2, 2025

Alaska Airlines has rolled out some major changes to its Mileage Plan program as of 2025. Among those updates are more opportunities to earn elite status through credit card spending. In this post I wanted to go over the details of that, and discuss whether its worth it. Earn 30K elite qualifying miles with Alaska credit cards As of 2025, Alaska Mileage Plan has introduced new ways to earn elite qualifying miles (EQMs) for credit card spending.

Airline

AV Web

JANUARY 2, 2025

The Naples Airport Authority (NAA) introduced a new app to make it easier for disgruntled neighbors to file noise complaints. NAA partnered with EnviroSuite in developing the app, which allows users to report aircraft noise events directly from their smartphones. The Naples Airport is no stranger to noise complaints as it saw more than 123,000 aircraft operations in fiscal year 2024 a significant increase from the 119,000 in 2023, intensifying long-standing noise issues.

Aerotime

JANUARY 2, 2025

An Emirates Airbus A380 has touched down in the Danish capital Copenhagen for the first time since 2020 as a newly launched daily service from Dubai begins. The Emirates Airbus A380 , registered A6-EOP, landed at Copenhagen Airport (CPH) on January 1, 2024, just before 12:30 after a six-hour flight from Dubai International Airport (DXB). The superjumbo then returned to Dubai later that day before flying to Manchester Airport (MAN) in the UK on January 2, 2024, while an additional Emirates A380,

Runway

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

As Simple Flying has previously reported, the Air Force is progressively retiring its fleet of A-10s. As they retire, they are sent to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. Publicly available data from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (the group responsible for maintaining the aircraft in storage at the boneyard) shows that the United States Air Force sent at least a total of 39 A-10s to be mothballs at the famous Boneyard.

Aerotime

JANUARY 2, 2025

A manhunt is underway as officials are searching for two passengers who were part of a group of four who fled a Turkish Airlines aircraft after it performed an emergency landing in Malta. Flight TK619 was enroute to Marrakesh Menara Airport (RAK) in Morocco from Istanbul Airport (IST) on New Years Day. An emergency landing was requested at Malta International Airport (MLA), when one Moroccan passenger reportedly felt unwell during the flight.

Runway

One Mile at a Time

JANUARY 2, 2025

While this is hardly breaking news, I think its worth addressing just how bad long haul Lufthansa business class award availability has become. The sad decline of Lufthansa business class awards Historically, Lufthansa has been one of the best airlines when it comes to making long haul business class award seats available, including to members of partner airline frequent flyer programs.

Airline

AV Web

JANUARY 2, 2025

After more than four decades of serving the aviation community, Forge Flightworks announced it has closed its doors as of December 2024. The company, formerly known as Carpenter Avionics, was the largest avionics service center in the MidSouth. According to its website, as an FAA authorized repair station, Forge Flightworks specializes in the sale, installation, maintenance, and repair of avionics, aircraft interiors, engines, and airframe systems for business jets, turboprops, piston engine air

Annual Inspection

Aerotime

JANUARY 2, 2025

Qatar Airways will now fly to 11 cities in Saudi Arabia after resuming flights to Abha International Airport (AHB) on January 2, 2025. The first flight landed after a Qatar Airways Airbus A320-200 departed Hamad International Airport (DOH) in the Qatari capital Doha just after 09:00, local time. With the resumption of the new route Qatar Airways now flies to Abha, Alula, Dammam, Jeddah Abha, Medina, NEOM, Qassim, Riyadh, Tabuk, Taif and Yanbu in Saudi Arabia.

Airline

One Mile at a Time

JANUARY 2, 2025

Ive written about how Alaska Mileage Plan awards elite qualifying miles for award flights , including for travel on all partner airlines. I think its only fair to give Delta SkyMiles a shoutout, as this is an area where Alaska actually followed Deltas lead. How Delta SkyMiles awards MQDs for award flights Nowadays Delta SkyMiles elite status is awarded via the metric of Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs), and those can be earned for flying, credit card spending, and more.

Threshold

AV Web

JANUARY 2, 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has named the National Flight Training Alliance (NFTA) as its official industry partner to spearhead the modernization of Part 141 regulations governing flight training in the United States. NFTA says its role is to collaborate with flight training providers and the general aviation industry to support the FAA in executing much-needed updates to flight training regulations.

General Aviation

One Mile at a Time

JANUARY 2, 2025

With it now being 2025, I thought it would be fun to share myairline elite status strategyfor the coming year, following my recent post about my hotel elite status strategy. While I for the most part value airline elite status less than in the past, there is one program that Im newly excited about. Still, Id consider myself to largely be a free agent, since elite status isnt my primary consideration when booking flights.

Airline

Aerotime

JANUARY 2, 2025

Air India is debuting its first Airbus A350 service to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) after departing from Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). The Airbus A350-900 departed India at 02:42 on January 2, 2024, and is due to land at Newark Liberty Airport just before 07:00 local time. The new non-stop service follows Air Indias introduction of an A350 flight from Delhi to John F.

Airline

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

Flying has always been a complex and lengthy process for passengers, especially when traveling from big, crowded areas such as New York. An average traveler would find it difficult to organize their whole journey. For this reason, it is crucial to be aware of local airport peculiarities like means of transportation, check-in times, security procedures, connecting times, and more.

Aerotime

JANUARY 2, 2025

South Korean police have raided Muan International Airport (MWX), the Jeju Air office and other locations as part of an investigation into the fatal Jeju Air crash that killed 179 people on December 29, 2024. The Jeonnam Provincial Police conducted search and seizure operations at the airport in southwest South Korea, the Seoul office of Jeju Air and the Muan office of the Busan Regional Office of Aviation, according to a report by Yonhap News, a South Korean news agency, on January 2, 2025.

Cockpit

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

After almost five years, Emirates has resumed flying the Airbus A380 to Copenhagen. According to OAG schedules data, the Danish capital became the carrier's 51st superjumbo destination globally and number 21 in Europe from its Dubai International Airport hub. It followed the return of double-decker quadjet flights to Prague in December 2024.

One Mile at a Time

JANUARY 2, 2025

In this post I want to take an in-depth look at Marriott Nightly Upgrade Awards, which are a Bonvoy elite benefit that members have conflicting feelings about. Major changes were made to this program in 2024 ( and then partially reversed ), as Suite Night Awards were rebranded as Nightly Upgrade Awards. Lets cover everything you need to know about how these work for the 2025 program year.

Approach

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

The investigation into the tragic crash of Jeju Air flight 2216 is picking up pace. The focus is now on carefully extracting data from the planes two black boxes. While the initial extraction of information from the cockpit voice recorder is complete, the flight data recorder is posing some challenges. As such, Korean authorities have decided to send it to the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States for further evaluation.

Cockpit

Thrust Flight

JANUARY 2, 2025

How fast can that plane fly? Or, as pilots, we know to ask the more interesting question: How slow can that plane fly? But there are tons of other speeds that pilots need to know to operate their airplanes safely questions that pop up from the first moments of flight. What speed do I […] The post Understanding V-Speeds | Vx, Vy, Va, Vs, Vfe, and More appeared first on Thrust Flight.

V Speed

Aerotime

JANUARY 2, 2025

Ciriums 2024 on-time performance report is out, and while all eyes are on the winners in the global airlines category, not everyone wants to fly with a full-service carrier. Flying low-cost airlines might mean no-frills, but an on-time arrival is still an important element of the passenger experience. Low-cost airlines are well-known for running a tight ship when it comes to operations, but who does it best?

Airline

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

Engine issues with airBaltics Airbus A220 fleet has forced the carrier to begin suspending routes and slashing frequencies across its network this summer as it struggles with the lost capacity. Several aircraft will be grounded during what is generally considered the peak season for airlines.

Airline

Airline Geeks

JANUARY 2, 2025

Cathay Group surpassed 100,000 passengers on December 15, 2024, marking a significant milestone in its post-pandemic recovery.

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

Tailwind Air, a New York-based seaplane operator, has lost its commuter air carrier certificate, according to a report by ch-aviation. The news comes five months after the carrier grounded its seaplane operations amid financial issues on various routes.

Airline Geeks

JANUARY 2, 2025

The Airbus A321LR is shaping up to be one of the workhorses of Etihad Airways and a competitive edge in the near future.

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

FlightGlobal's 2025 report on world air forces is now out (the report offers a detailed breakdown of the estimated number of military aircraft in service with air forces around the world). As to be expected, the list of most numerous types of aircraft is mostly of US origin. Additionally, the United States Air Force remains the world's largest , while the US Navy/Marines is arguably the world's second-largest air force.

Jet

Vintage Aviation News

JANUARY 2, 2025

On this day in aviation history, January 2, 1967, one of the greatest bait-and-switch operations in military aviation played out in the skies above North Vietnam. Operation Bolo, devised by Robin Olds and Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr., sought to neutralize the powerful fighter in the arsenal of the North Vietnamese Air Force, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 “Fishbed” in the face of mounting US bomber and attacker aircraft losses.

Pilot

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

This article was researched and written on January 2. Given the time of year, it is worth examining which international destinations joined the USA's route map in 2024 or will do so in 2025.

Airline

Airline Geeks

JANUARY 2, 2025

Data shows that Boeing delivered nearly 34% fewer aircraft in 2024 than the year prior, far below its Airbus competitor.

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

German eVTOL manufacturer Volocopter has announced it is restructuring as it looks for investments to continue building its VoloCity air taxi. The company was due to enter the market by the end of this year with an electric aircraft that can link urban centers and airports.

Airline Geeks

JANUARY 2, 2025

One European airline said ongoing Pratt & Whitney GTF engine troubles will substantially impact its peak summer schedule.

Airline

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

Searching for a trip to India in premium economy or private suites in business class? Air India has now fully switched all of its flights to New York City to its new Airbus A350-900s, featuring refreshed cabins all-round. The latest and final route to move to the Airbus A350 is the Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) sector.

Airline Geeks

JANUARY 2, 2025

Jeju Air announced that it plans to reduce its domestic and international flights due to safety concerns over its Boeing 737-800s.

Simple Flying

JANUARY 2, 2025

It has been a full year since a Japan Airlines Airbus A350-900 collided with a Japan Coast Guard Bombardier Dash 8. It was in the last days of December 2024 that the Japan Transport Safety Board released a preliminary report giving us a few more details about the tragic incident.

Airline

AV Web

JANUARY 2, 2025

Photo by Lane Hall Just Aircraft Highlander at KCGC for morning breakfast flight from Ocala. Photo by Stephen Beaver Bcker Jungmann N28BU at Swank farm, Butler, Ohio Photo by Zac Spitzer The Lucas Oil Pitts cuts the ribbon, while inverted, at an airshow at Stewart Airport in NYs Hudson Valley. Photo by Ernst Gebhardt A photo I took on vacation June 5th, 2022 at Mesa Verde, CO The post Picture Of The Week; Jan. 3, 2025 appeared first on AVweb.