After taking off from the Mojave Desert in California, the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo successfully reached an altitude of 82.7km, well beyond the altitude that space, or the thermosphere, begins at 80km, but below the recognised 100km altitude, the Karman Line, where the Earth’s atmosphere ends and outer space begins. It is understood that the rocket
Brazil’s fourth-largest carrier, Avianca Brazil, has cited the threat of repossession of aircraft as the reason why it had filed for bankruptcy protection, fearing that such an action would see it unable to continue operations. Currently 50 of its 58 aircraft are leased and recent negotiations with lessors have failed to find any common ground.
Airbus China Innovation Centre (ACIC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Royole Technology – a global pioneer in flexible displays, flexible sensors and foldable smartphones. The two parties will collaborate to develop applications that implement flexible electronic technologies in cabin environments and investigate the possibilities for commercial cooperation. Airbus has been dedicated to
Avianca CEO Hernan Rincon has announced that the Latin American carrier is looking to renegotiate the US$10 billion 2015 deal it had struck with European plane maker Airbus for 100 A320neos. Commenting on the forthcoming talks with Airbus, Rincon stated that: “Of those 100, we’ll probably receive between 50 and 80 planes,” adding: “We don’t
Avolon, the international aircraft leasing company, has announced an order for 100 Airbus A320neo family aircraft valued at US$11.5 billion at current list prices. Dómhnal Slattery, Avolon CEO, commented: “Our order for 100 A320neo family aircraft builds on our leading industry position and reflects our ambition to become the global leader in the sector. We
Fly Leasing (FLY) has contracted to sell 12 narrowbody aircraft from its portfolio. The 12 aircraft have a weighted average age of 10.6 years and an average remaining lease term of 3.2 years. FLY anticipates the sales will generate in excess of US$125 million of cash after repaying debt and satisfying other transaction-related expenses. It
The future for Iceland’s low-cost carrier WOW Air looks bleak with Icelandair Group scrapping plans to buy out the struggling airline. Icelandair confirmed that conditions for the share purchase were “unlikely” to be filled by the company’s shareholder meeting November 30, 2018. WOW Air first took to the air in 2012 as a no-frills budget
Indonesian investigators have confirmed that the Lion Air Boeing 737 Max jet was not in an airworthy condition the day before its fatal crash on October 29 which killed all 189 passengers and crew on board. They have released that on the flight from Bali to Jakarta on the October 28, the pilot had to
With the successful acquisition of Rockwell Collins, United Technologies Corp. (United Technologies) has announced its intention to divide up its commercial businesses into three major companies – United Technologies, Carrier and Otis. Carrier will produce HVAC, refrigeration, building automation, fire safety and security products, while Otis will manufacture elevators, escalators and moving walkways. United Technologies
Owing to “the state of insolvency of the company,” Italy’s Piaggio Aerospace has turned to the Italian government with a request to be put into receivership. This comes despite a current firm order for eight P.1HH unmanned aircraft (a variant of the P-180 business aircraft) from the United Arab Emirates with deliveries expected to commence
