by Roland Jackson British regional airline Flybe crashed into bankruptcy Thursday after the deadly coronavirus proved to be the final nail in its coffin. The biggest operator of UK domestic flights said it has sunk into administration — a last-ditch process aimed at salvaging at least some of the company. And with the carrier long […]

by Martin Abbugao Asian plane makers have thrown huge sums at building jets but flagship projects have suffered repeated setbacks, and they face a tough time breaking into a market dominated by established players. The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s biggest aviation market for commercial aircraft and Japanese and Chinese firms have embarked on programmes […]

Boeing reported Tuesday no new plane orders in January and a drop in jet deliveries as the protracted grounding of the 737 MAX continued to weigh on the company. The aerospace giant booked orders for 45 jets in January 2019, but none during that period this year, according to its website, the latest bit of […]

Receiving money to “offset” buying planes and equipment did not necessarily constitute bribery, Malaysia’s prime minister said Thursday, days after AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes stepped aside temporarily in the wake of a $4 billion Airbus graft scandal. AirAsia founder and CEO Fernandes and company executive chairman Kamarudin Meranun deny allegations of misconduct, but have stepped […]

The former chief of Sri Lanka’s national carrier was arrested Thursday over allegations he received bribes for a multi-billion-dollar Airbus aircraft deal, as the fallout from corruption probes into the aviation giant grew. The country’s president ordered an investigation into the purchase after court documents mentioned SriLankan Airlines in corruption probes into Airbus. A French court […]

by M Jegathesan AirAsia’s colourful chief executive Tony Fernandes has stepped aside from the company while authorities probe unusual payments at the Malaysian carrier, as the fallout from a $4 billion bribery fine at Airbus reverberates across the industry. The shock decision came after Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) released details of a probe that […]

After European aerospace giant Airbus agreed to pay 3.6 billion euros ($4 billion) to Britain, France and the United States to settle a corruption probe, here are examples of other mega companies that have done the same. Odebrecht In 2016 the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht and its petrochemicals subsidiary Braskem, mired in Latin America’s sprawling […]

Airbus is set to pay a massive 3.6 billion euros ($4 billion) in fines to Britain, France and the US to settle corruption inquiries sparked by suspicious equipment sales, according to a deal approved by a French court Friday. Airbus will pay 2.1 billion euros in to French authorities, as well as 984 million euros […]

China sent two planes to Malaysia and Thailand on Friday to bring “stranded” Hubei province residents back to the virus-stricken city of Wuhan, authorities said. The Xiamen Airlines flights will pick up the Chinese nationals from Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia and the Thai capital Bangkok, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). There […]

The Malaysian Navy has reassured the public that all Malaysian seamen, sailors, officers, and support staff who are stationed in China are free from the coronavirus nCov2019. Malaysia has ordered four Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) from China. These four vessels are currently being constructed in Wuhan, Hubei province, which is also the epicentre of the […]

Airbus recorded one of their best years yet, with delivery and order-taking for 2019 surpassing previous years. The European conglomerate delivered 863 commercial aircraft to 99 customers in 2019, outpacing its previous output record set in 2018 by eight percent. In the 17th yearly production increase in a row, Airbus progressed on the transition to all NEO variants and by […]

by Stuart Williams When a Boeing passenger jet crashed in Iran early on January 8, speculation immediately swirled that the only plausible explanation was that it had been shot down by Iran. The crash of the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight came hours after Tehran had launched a barrage of missiles at bases housing American […]

by Dave Chan Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday “multiple” intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 on board, including 63 Canadians. Trudeau’s comments came as images posted on social media increasingly pointed to a catastrophic mistake by Tehran’s air defense batteries […]

Vietjet’s President & CEO, Ms Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao has been named in the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list 2019 by Forbes, following her inclusion on the list of Asia’s most powerful women. Nguyen Thi is the only woman representing Vietnam for three consecutive years. As of 13 December 2019, Forbes estimated that the […]

by John Biers Boeing on Monday pushed out its embattled chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, as it attempts to pivot from a protracted crisis surrounding the grounding of its top-selling 737 MAX after two deadly crashes. More than nine months after the MAX was grounded and a week after halting production of the aircraft, Boeing named […]

by Peter BRIEGER A design flaw, inadequate pilot training and poor flight crew performance contributed to a Boeing jet crashing in Indonesia last year, killing all 189 people on board, investigators said Friday, in what one aviation analyst called a “damning” report. The Lion Air disaster was followed months later by a second crash — […]

by Martin Abbugao A drone-like flying taxi whirred over Singapore’s waterfront Tuesday, with the firm behind the test hoping the aircraft will revolutionise travel in traffic-choked Asian cities. The 18 propeller vehicle, developed by German firm Volocopter and with a pilot onboard during the test flight, took off from a promontory and flew for about […]

by Holly ROBERTSON A plane and its passengers are set to test the mental and physical limits of long-haul aviation when Qantas operates the first direct flight by a commercial airline from New York to Sydney this weekend. In the first of three “ultra long-haul” test flights planned by Australia’s national flag carrier this year, […]

by Jean-Baptiste OUBRIER / AFP “Most of us in Peterborough know somebody who works for Thomas Cook,” said Phil Dobbs, a human resources manager who works in the city, home to the collapsed travel firm. Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, eastern England, has rushed this week to help the 1,000 staff who lost their jobs early Monday […]

by John BIERS / AFP Boeing has reached settlements with 11 families of victims from October’s Lion Air crash, the first agreements following two deadly crashes that killed 346 people, a plaintiffs attorney said Wednesday. The Wisner Law Firm, which specializes in aviation cases, is also “optimistic” about reaching settlements on its remaining six cases […]

Indonesian authorities have cited failures in the Boeing 737 MAX design and oversight as contributing to the 2018 Lion Air plane crash, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The report into the crash, which will be formally released in early November, also blames pilot error and maintenance issues for the crash that killed 189 […]

Authorities are probing a customer data leak at Lion Air, Indonesia’s communications ministry said Friday, in a breach that reportedly affected millions of the carrier’s customers. Two of the airline’s subsidiaries, Malaysia-based Malindo Air and Thai Lion Air, acknowledged passenger data may have been stolen from remote servers operated by Amazon. “Thai Lion Air has […]

by John BIERS / AFP Boeing’s 737 MAX could be brought back into service gradually by government regulators but is still on track to be cleared to fly again in 2019, the company’s CEO said Wednesday. The aircraft was been grounded in mid-March following two deadly crashes but could return to the air on a […]

Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia X has ordered 42 Airbus aircraft worth a total catalogue price of five billion dollars, Airbus said Friday. The Malaysian carrier has placed a firm order for 12 long-range A330neo planes and 30 medium-range A321XLR models, the European aircraft manufacturer said in a statement. Major purchases are often finalised at a […]