April, 2025

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BREAKING: Chaos at Spanish and Portuguese airports following mass power outage  

Aerotime

Widespread travel chaos is unfolding at airports across the Iberian Peninsula as power networks across Spain and Portugal have failed, bringing both countries to a standstill. Not only is aviation affected, with public transport and transport infrastructure, domestic and commercial customers, and widespread access to the internet all said to be significantly affected by the outage.

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And Then There Were Two(ish): Republic Swallows Mesa’s Remains

Cranky Flier

The end of Mesa has finally arrived, and lucky for the airline, it was the rosier situation that prevailed. Instead of failing outright, Mesa has now been bought. No doubt many a United customer is now celebrating this turn of events. Republic is the winner, and that means that outside of wholly-owned regionals, there are really only two major regional carriers of note left: SkyWest and Republic.

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Air Force Removes Content Honoring First Female Thunderbird

AV Web

The U.S. Air Force has taken down online content celebrating female aviators in an effort to comply with federal directives to remove DEI material from government websites. According to Newsweek, the purge includes numerous webpages, images, videos, and biographies that spotlighted groundbreaking achievements by women in military aviation. Among the most prominent removals was content featuring retired Colonel Nicole Malachowski, a 21-year Air Force veteran and the first woman to fly with the el

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“Bringing the Boys Back Home” Honors British WWII Servicemen Buried in the U.S. as Part of 80th Anniversary Commemorations of Allied Victory

Vintage Aviation News

PRESS RELEASE In recognition of the 80th anniversary of the Allied victory in World War II, the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) has launched a heartfelt initiative to honor 423 British WWII servicemen who lost their lives while training in the United States during the war. These young men, buried across American soil, are being remembered and symbolically reunited with their homeland through the Bringing the Boys Back Home project.

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Lufthansa Airbus A380 Headed For Germany Diverts To Boston After Passenger Loses iPad In Business Class Seat

Simple Flying

A Lufthansa Airbus A380 flying from Los Angeles to Munich had to divert to Boston this week after a passenger lost their tablet in the structure of their business class seat. Given the safety concerns surrounding this incident, particularly regarding the potential for the device to overheat, the decision was taken to get the plane on the ground earlier than planned in order for technicians to address the issue.

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Thailand Regains Category 1 FAA Rating: Will We See Nonstop US Flights?

One Mile at a Time

Theres some exciting news for Thailand, and it presents some new opportunities for airlines from the country. FAA upgrades Thailand from Category 2 to Category 1 In 2015, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgradedThailands aviation safety rating from Category 1 to Category 2. This came after FAA inspectors conducted a review of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), and identified several areas of non-compliance with minimum safety standards.

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How Starlab Space looks to Switzerland for the next generation of space stations  

Aerotime

Space exploration is not usually among the topics that come to mind when thinking about Switzerland. This Alpine nation is most often associated with its mountain landscapes, cheese and love for precision clockwork. However, in late 2024, Starlab Space, a Houston-based joint venture developing a next-generation space station, selected it as the location of its European hub.

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Air Show Pilot Rob Holland Killed in Crash

AV Web

Air show legend Rob Holland was killed today when his MXS aerobatic airplane went down at Langley Air Force Base. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I am sharing that Rob Holland lost his life today, 24 April 2025, in an accident at Langley AFB, VA. The cause of the crash is not known at this time, and is under investigation by the FAA, NTSB, and DOD,” a notice on Rob Holland Aerosports’ Facebook page said at about 5 p.m.

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CAF A-26B Invader “Night Mission” Flies Again After Major Restoration Effort

Vintage Aviation News

After a series of successful engine runs in recent weeks, the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) A-26B Invader Night Mission (s/n 41-39427/N240P) took to the skies yesterday for the first time since 2021. This flight marks a significant milestone following years of dedicated restoration work by the volunteers of the CAF A-26 Invader Squadron , which was established in February 2009 with the mission to return the aircraft to flying condition.

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United Airlines Could Buy Up To 200 JetZero Blended Wing Planes

Simple Flying

United Airlines has announced an investment that, if successful, will see it boost its sustainability credentials while taking its fleet to the next level. Specifically, as revealed yesterday, the US legacy carrier and Star Alliance founding member has teamed up with JetZero on a deal for a conditional order of up to 200 of the startup company's Z4 blended wing body (BWB) aircraft.

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Black Hawk & American Eagle Crash: Shocking Investigation Details Revealed

One Mile at a Time

On January 29, 2025, we saw the tragic collision of an American Eagle CRJ-700 and Black Hawk helicopter near Washington National Airport (DCA), claiming 67 lives. This was the first fatal commercial aircraft crash in the United States since 2009, so suffice it to say that this made a lot of people uneasy. In the few months since the accident, weve gotten more and more details about what happened.

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Korean Air steals crown from Lufthansa for longest scheduled B747 passenger route

Aerotime

Korean Air, the national airline of South Korea, has reintroduced its Boeing 747-8i fleet onto the carriers nonstop route from Seoul to Atlanta in the US, making it the longest route flown by a passenger-configured Boeing 747 by distance. The reintroduction of the type onto this particular route for the summer of 2025 sees the airline steal the crown for this accolade from German carrier Lufthansa, which was the holder until April 25, 2025, when the Seoul-based carrier brought its jumbos back to

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Spirit to Transition Its Model to Fly Only on Peak Travel Days

Cranky Flier

In the post-pandemic world, airlines have been struggling to figure out how to deal with the massive variability in demand by day-of-week. Every airline has been forced to make adjustments, but now Spirit is going one step further. It will stop flying on off-peak days entirely. Just recently, Spirit began to transition to this plan. In June of 2024, off-peak days operated at 95 percent of the peak day departure numbers for the airline.

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NY Helicopters Ops Director Firing Triggers FAA Emergency Action

AV Web

On Sunday (April 13), Jason Costello, director of operations for New York Helicopter Charter, agreed by email to voluntarily suspend operations at a request from the FAA. Within 16 minutes, Michael Roth, CEO of NY Helicopter notified the FAA that the agreement to suspend operations had been reversed and Costello was no longer an employee. The FAAs telephone request to Costello on Sunday followed last Thursdays fatal accident involving one of the operators Bell 206L LongRangers.

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From the Bottom of the Sea to Wildwood: The Incredible Story of the F6F Hellcat at the NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum

Vintage Aviation News

Inside every museum, every artifact has a story. At the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum in Lower Township, New Jersey, one Grumman F6F Hellcat has quite the story to tell. From crashing into the Pacific Ocean during WWII and spending 26 years on the bottom of the Pacific, to having a cameo in a 1980s romantic comedy and being displayed in three museums, this is the story of Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat, Bureau Number 66237.

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Delta Air Lines Suffers 3 Cabin Pressurization Incidents In 1 Week

Simple Flying

Three Delta Air Lines flights experienced cabin pressurization issues between April 6 and April 10, 2025, prompting emergency procedures and flight diversions. The most recent occurred on April 10, when Flight DL17 from London Heathrow Airport to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport made an emergency landing in Dublin Airport , Ireland. All aircraft landed safely, with no injuries reported, according to Delta.

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New Air France La Premiere First Class: Hello From The First Flight!

One Mile at a Time

Hello from somewhere over the Atlantic, as Im on the return journey of my quick trip to Paris. Let me start by disclosing that Im traveling as a guest of Air France today its the first airline media flight invite that Ive accepted in about 15 years. So, whats the occasion? Air France recently unveiled its new La Premiere first-class suite , and Im on the very first flight featuring the new cabins.

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Double Sunrise: The story behind the world’s longest-ever commercial air service

Aerotime

Generally speaking, any commercial flight these days that exceeds ten hours (or so) is considered long, or at least certainly long-haul. Some of the longest airline flights operating today exceed even that length, with some lasting anything up to 17 or 18 hours flying time. Yet, as long as these flights may be, they are not even in contention for the accolade of the worlds longest-ever commercial passenger air service in terms of duration.

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Flying Frontier is Perfectly Good… Except for That Seat (Trip Report)

Cranky Flier

It had been nearly a decade since I last flew Frontier, so I was excited to see that the airline had a perfectly-timed flight from SFO to Orange County that would let me get on the airline again on my return from United’s event. (It’s been a couple weeks, so you may have forgotten about the outbound part of the trip already.) Even better, the fare was a cheap $59.98 — for some reason the Basic fare was the same as the Economy fare with a carry-on and seat assignment — so

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Transportation Secretary Questions ATC Retirement Age

AV Web

On Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy raised the possibility of extending the mandatory retirement age for air traffic controllers, citing concerns over ongoing staffing shortages. Speaking during a segment on FOX News, Duffy addressed several Department of Transportation priorities, including the limited pipeline of qualified air traffic controllers. “We have too many controllers that retire after 25 years of service.

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Vintage Flying Machines Acquires AD-5W Skyraider For Its Growing Collection

Vintage Aviation News

Tim Savage, warbird collector and longtime publisher of Warbird Digest , has added another rare aircraft to the impressive lineup at Vintage Flying Machines : AD-5W Skyraider BuNo.135178 (N62466). This Korean War-era aircraft now joins a prestigious collection that includes the iconic Douglas DC-3 Western Airlines , the combat-veteran C-47 The Wabbit Express , and the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk Skeeter.

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Etihad Airways Introduces First Class On The Airbus A321LR

Simple Flying

Etihad Airways has revealed a range of exciting details regarding how it plans to configure its incoming Airbus A321LR twinjets. While some passengers have expressed concerns that such narrowbodies will not be able to replicate the luxury of twin-aisle aircraft, particularly when it comes to premium cabins, the UAE flag carrier has looked to allay these fears with lie-flat luxury in business and first class.

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Wow: United Plans 787s With New Polaris Seats, Ultra-Premium Configuration

One Mile at a Time

For a long time, weve heard about United Airlines potentially introducing new Polaris business class seats on some upcoming aircraft deliveries. Were starting to get a sense of what that will look, with United planning on configuring some 787s in an ultra-premium layout, with an all-new passenger experience. United plans 787-9s with 64 Polaris business class seats United already has a massive fleet of 75+ Boeing 787s, and the airline has an additional 140+ of these aircraft on order, which will

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Istanbul Airport, first in Europe to conduct triple-runway independent takeoff 

Aerotime

On April 17, 2025, Istanbul Airport (IST) conducted a triple independent take-off, the first time this feat has been achieved in Europe. It was undertaken by three Turkish Airlines aircraft which departed Istanbul at the exact same time, using each one of the three parallel runways. Trkiye's Istanbul Airport launches simultaneous operation on three runways, recorded by Flightradar24 1⃣ Istanbul Airport becomes the 1st airport in Europe and the 2nd in the world to launch such an operat

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With the New Terminal Opening in San Diego, Alaska and Southwest Prepare for Battle

Cranky Flier

You know that I love watching the drama between United and American in Chicago, but get ready for a new favorite battle: San Diego. Both Alaska and Southwest appear ready to fight as the new terminal prepares to open. Alaska fired its most recent shot by adding three new routes and increasing frequencies on others. San Diego is a good market. And, importantly, it’s a constrained one.

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FAA Orders Radio Fix On 787s

AV Web

The FAA has ordered a $127.50 software upgrade for 157 Boeing 787s in the U.S. fleet to fix a potentially problematic glitch with their radios. Apparently, the radios will randomly toggle between active and standby frequencies without pilot input. “The uncommanded frequency changes could result in missed communications between the flight crew and Air Traffic Control,” the agency said in an AD issued more than a month ago.

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Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver Project Arrives at USS Midway Museum

Vintage Aviation News

At the start of this year, the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, CA, welcomed the arrival of a rare Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver WWII dive bomber. The aircraft will be restored for display on the retired aircraft carrier while remaining on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL. This turn also represents a homecoming for this aircraft, which made headlines more than 10 years ago for being raised from the depths of a local reservoir.

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How Airbus & Boeing Aircraft Production Has Changed Over The Past Decade

Simple Flying

Airbus and Boeing remain the world's two primary passenger jet airplane makers. The last decade has seen Canada's Bombardier exit the commercial passenger jet maker and China's COMAC enter it. Meanwhile, Brazil's Embraer continues to be the world's third commercial airplane maker. A decade ago, in 2015, Boeing was doing well. However, since 2018, Boeing has not had a "normal" year and Airbus has consistently outdelivered it every year since.

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Uh Oh: Pakistan Closes Airspace To All Indian Airlines

One Mile at a Time

Some westbound operations for Indian carriers are about to get more complicated Pakistan bans Indian aircraft from its airspace Pakistans government has today decided to close Pakistani airspace to all Indian owned or Indian operated airlines. A NOTAM has been issued by Pakistans Civil Aviation Authority, and the restrictions apply as of 6PM IST today (Thursday, April 24, 2025).

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Examining over 100 years of flight automation and the history of the autopilot

Aerotime

The automatic pilot (autopilot) has to be one of aviations finest technological inventions. Yet, it is also one of the earliest, having been introduced (in its most rudimentary form) in 1912, just nine years after the Wright Brothers first took to the air in their powered Wright Flyer in 1903. Since those early days, the autopilot has developed enormously, both in terms of capabilities and functionality.

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A Not-So-Ancient Delta 767 Gets Us to Honolulu With a Little Delay (Trip Report)

Cranky Flier

Spring break in Hawaii. It sounded glorious, but then again, most of our spring break trips do until we inevitably have to cancel them for one reason or another. I don’t know why, but this time of year seems to be really challenging, though this year spring break was later than usual. And this time, the trip actually happened. I am giving myself a gold star for that.

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Airbus Unveils Bigger Hydrogen Airliner Concept

AV Web

Airbus’s sudden postponement of its hydrogen aircraft development program in February set an ominous tone for what has been cited as among the most promising future aviation technologies but that’s all history now. The planemaker announced at its annual forum last week that its plans for its ZEROe concept just got bigger. It unveiled a bigger and more capable airliner with four propellers, whose electric motors are each powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

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The Convair XC-99: A Forgotten Giant at Davis-Monthan AFB

Vintage Aviation News

By Cassidy Cristello Contributor Cassidy Cristello recently visited Davis-Monthan AFB and captured photographs of the Convair XC-99 stored there. In this article, he outlines the history, purpose, and significance of this obscure yet fascinating aircraftan embodiment of pure 1950s technology. In modern aviation, military cargo aircraft adhere to well-established design principlestypically featuring high wings, T-tails, and undercarriage mounted below the fuselage.

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Up To 4 Hours Longer: Air India Diverts US Flights Due To Pakistani Airspace Closure

Simple Flying

Air India and other Indian carriers are facing operational challenges with the closure of Pakistan's airspace. The nation, which borders India, offers convenient and direct routing to destinations like the United States. Having to deviate from Pakistan will add time and costs to Indian airline operations to the United States, resulting in a deteriorating competitive position for carriers like Air India.

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Wow: Delta’s Generous $43K+ Compensation On Overbooked Flight

One Mile at a Time

Its not uncommon to see flights overbooked , and in those situations, airlines typically issue denied boarding compensation. Heres an absolutely wild example of how lucrative this can be for passengers, as flagged by PYOK. Delta equipment swap leads to denied boarding goldmine A Reddit user shares the wild details of what happened on a Delta flight on Monday, April 21, 2025, from Chicago (ORD) to Seattle (SEA).

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SAS reintroduces European Business Class in response to growing premium demand

Aerotime

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has confirmed that it will be reintroducing business class on its European flights, starting October 1, 2025. The intention had previously been announced by SAS Chief Commercial Officer, Paul Verhagen, in September 2024 during a media event in Copenhagen celebrating the Scandinavian carriers accession to SkyTeam. Although SAS offers business class on its long-haul flights to the United States and Asia, this is not the case on its European network, where the most prem

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On the Eve of the First Aircraft Retrofit, Southwest Keeps Changing Its Plans

Cranky Flier

I continue to be confused by Southwest Airlines. This is a company that had a credible start to a plan to modernize the business, then was forced to sell its soul to make more money more quickly, and now… I am at a loss. The airline is preparing for its first modified airplane with extra legroom seating options, but it can’t seem to get its story straight.

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