The World of Aviation

In a buoyant year for Airbus, the European manufacturer delivered a record 588 aircraft to 89 customers, including 17 new customers, during 2012. The number of deliveries was 10 per cent higher than the record set in 2011.  Some 30 A380s were delivered during the year. Airbus also massively exceeded its target for orders, having

After confirmation that an inflight battery fire caused the crew of an ANA 787 to declare an emergency landing during a domestic flight, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded US-registered 787s. In issuing an emergency airworthiness directive (AD), the FAA said: “The FAA will work with the manufacturer and carriers to develop a corrective

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has conditionally granted interim approval for Qantas and Emirates to proceed with their proposed alliance covering passenger and freight services between Australia and Europe. The interim authorisation allows the two airlines to now prepare a joint sales and pricing strategy, joint marketing, system integration, customer handling, scheduling and

Australia will host test flights of the British unmanned stealth drone Taranis. According to reports carried in the UK’s Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald, the $195 million aircraft built by BAE Systems will be tested in outback areas of Australia later this year, flying simulated missions to identify potential targets while evading “pop-up” threats. First

Airbus continues its charge into the new year announcing firm orders for 75 A320 family aircraft. Garuda Indonesia’s low-cost subsidiary CitiLink has ordered 25 A320neo aircraft to add to the 25 already on order.  The airline currently has 12 leased A320s in service. At the same time Airbus announced that Bank of China subsidiary BOC

JAL and ANA have grounded their combined fleets of 24 787s in the wake of another incident involving onboard electrical systems that resulted in passengers of an ANA 787 being evacuated after a precautionary emergency landing at Takamatsu. Pilots of the aircraft en route on the domestic light from Ube to Tokyo received a battery