Former JetBlue FA Steve Slater will undergo a mental health evaluation with a view to a possible plea bargain.  Mr Slater shot to fame last month following his dramatic exit from an aircraft will be assessed for an alternative sentencing program, and could face community service or counseling instead of jail. The former FA captured [...]

Beware that word stabilize.  But they used it anyway – Airbus says it expects to meet or exceed its 2010 delivery target of 20 A380s. They have delivered 13 A380s for the year to August, including six in the past two months. Production is now “well-stabilized” at a rate of two per month. Aircraft for [...]

Delta Air Lines – Load factor for August was stable, at 86.5%, as RPMs rose 1.1% on a 1.2% increase in capacity. That is an amazing performance and clearly demonstrates the demand levels in the economy. During August domestic load factor declined 1.0 ppts, to 85.8%. However, international load factor was up 1.3 ppts, to [...]

This image sends mixed messages to communities around the world.  For travelers in regional cities like Manchester, this is great. For "home" airlines of  these cities. this is awful. Emirates' A380 has arrived at Manchester – making the city the first regional destination to receive the plane.  The airport has spent £10m over the past [...]

Citing growing business between the Istanbul and Atlanta, Turkish announced that its new Istanbul/Washington Dulles flight will be extended to Atlanta, pending approval.  Airlines typically find tag flights with big aircraft and no local traffic rights drag the entire operation into the red. When begun in November, the Turkish operation may be the only foreign [...]

Emirates plans to suspend one of its three daily Dubai-Sydney services from the end of October. The carrier's 777-300ER Dubai-Bangkok-Sydney service will be maintained, as will the non-stop A380 service. But Emirates will transfer the 777-200LR used on the third Sydney service to increase Dubai-Los Angeles service from daily to twice daily. Once there are [...]

Two men on a United flight were arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport yesterday on suspicion they had a mock bomb in a suitcase.  Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al-Soofi, believed to be from Yemen, and Hezam al-Murisi, nationality unknown, were arrested at the request of the American authorities. Al-Soofi had been searched by airport security staff as [...]

In a very interesting move, Google announced plans to place traditional phone booths in public places, including some US airports, to promote its new Google Voice via Gmail. The service allows Gmail users to make internet phone calls. Domestic calls are free, while most international calls cost 0.02 cents per minute. Google did not disclose [...]

Here's the official word: Boeing Sets 787 First Delivery Date for Mid-First Quarter 2011 EVERETT, Wash., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The Boeing (NYSE: BA) Company said today that it now expects delivery of the first 787 in the middle of the first quarter 2011. The delivery date revision follows an assessment of the availability of [...]

The story of Dubai is remarkable.  The city that never stops growing seemed to chiefly produce hubris. Last year's meltdown was enjoyed by everyone who does not live there, but most especially by the residents of Abu Dhabi. Yet even as the city's finances and real estate were hammered, its primary infrastructure hardly missed a [...]