US carriers eye unclaimed Boeing 737 MAX jets amidst fast recovery in domestic air travel

SEATTLE — Boeing finds new customers for its unclaimed 737 Max jets thanks to the faster-than-expected recovery in domestic air travel after more than a year pandemic period that crippled the airline industry severely.Some airlines are now buying these jets from canceled order books amid a vaccine-fueled travel rebound in the U.S. and other parts of the world. (www.airlinerwatch.com) More...

Time Capsule: Delta Pilot Finds Letter In Parked Aircraft Written In Early 2020 During The Start Of The Pandemic

Delta Air Lines First Officer Nick Perez was part of a crew tasked with shuttling one of the fleet’s parked Airbus A321s from Victorville to its Minneapolis/St. Paul hub. He was not expecting to find a letter from the previous pilot written 435 days before, just around the time when the pandemic started. (www.gatechecked.com) More...

Workers found a plane at the bottom of a California lake, potentially solving a 56-year-old mystery

A plane that crashed in 1965 and was never found may have been located in a California lake. Workers testing underwater surveying equipment found a plane in Folsom Lake, CNN reported. The plane's propellers and tail match that of the one that crashed 56 years ago. The wreckage of a small airplane was found deep underwater in a California lake as workers were testing surveying equipment, CNN reported. The wreckage in California's Folsom Lake could likely be the remains of a plane that… (www.yahoo.com) More...

Flying with world leaders: How pilots land big aircraft into small airfields

This week, President Biden made his first trip to the U.K. for the G7 Summit, making the transatlantic journey in his modified Boeing 747 with the callsign Air Force One. The aircraft departed from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk. After addressing American servicemen and women at the predominantly U.S. Air Force-used base, he then made a much shorter flight across the U.K. to Newquay Airport (NQY) in Cornwall. (thepointsguy.com) More...

Delta Air Lines Airbus A320 Returns To Minneapolis After Multiple Issues

A series of faults saw a Delta Air Lines Airbus return to Minneapolis on Thursday, May 27. The incident, which has only recently come to light, caused the pilots to declare an emergency and, facing braking problems, ask for the longest available runway. (simpleflying.com) More...

First Air Canada freighter routes include Miami, Mexico and S. America

Air Canada is becoming a hybrid passenger-cargo airline. (www.freightwaves.com) More...

Larry Page’s air taxi startup is buying former DJI rival 3D Robotics

Kitty Hawk, the air taxi company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, is buying what’s left of one-time DJI competitor 3D Robotics. As part of the acquisition, 3D Robotics co-founder Chris Anderson will become Kitty Hawk’s chief operating officer. (www.theverge.com) More...

What Was The Boeing 747 ASB?

he Boeing 747 family has proven to be a very diverse line of aircraft. In terms of passenger variants alone, the US manufacturer has produced six variants. These have ranged from the original 747-100 to the next-generation 747-8. The only short-fuselage version has been the 747SP, whose suffix stands for Special Performance. However, did you know that Boeing also proposed another shortened version? This is the story of the 747 ASB. (simpleflying.com) More...

Alaska Airlines And Qatar Airways File For US Codeshares

The newest member of the oneworld alliance, Alaska Airlines, and Qatar Airways have filed with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to codeshare on US routes. If granted by the DOT, this codeshare will see Qatar Airways place its QR designator code on many of Alaska’s flights. (simpleflying.com) More...

Airbus focus is on evolving existing jet models, CEO says

Airbus (AIR.PA) Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said in remarks aired on Thursday that the planemaker is looking at how to evolve existing models, and he also voiced optimism about long-term progress toward hydrogen-powered aviation technology. (www.reuters.com) More...

Delta A350 pilot retirement water canon salute

I dont have any details on the retiring pilot. N509DN DAL276 from HND 6-12-21 (www.youtube.com) More...

American Airlines is Rapidly Expanding their Austin Network

Austin Airport, already one of the fastest-growing airports in the United States just received new city pairs commencing this fall thanks to American Airlines. American Airlines is now adding 14 new routes from AUS set to begin daily this fall. (aeroxplorer.com) More...

737 Max report calls for overhaul of Canada’s approval process for new planes

Transport Canada needs more stringent procedures for vetting new aircraft, and less reliance on the U.S. federal aviation authority, in the aftermath of the Boeing 737 Max disasters, says a new federal report that examined the department’s approval of the plane. The long-awaited report from the House of Commons Transport Committee comes after hearings were held last year into the government’s role in clearing the 737 Max to fly. It recommends Transport Canada review several of its policies,… (www.theglobeandmail.com) More...