The World of Aviation

What Airbus describes as “minor cracks” have been discovered in the wings of several of its flagship A380 superjumbo jets. The affected aircraft include the Qantas aircraft, VH-OQA, that suffered a mid-air engine explosion after taking off from Singapore in November 2010. Both Qantas and Airbus say the cracks do not present a safety risk.

A series of record aircraft orders gave Boeing a late year rally against arch-rival Airbus, but the US planemaker still trailed its European rival in both orders and deliveries for 2011. According to figures released by the company on Thursday, Boeing tallied gross orders of 921 aircraft, led by 625 orders for its single aisle

Boeing will close its production facility in the US city of Wichita in response to looming defence cuts. The closure of the Boeing Defense, Space and Security plant will cost 2160 workers their jobs and undercut Wichita’s claim as the aviation capital of the world, based in large part on the city’s longstanding relationship with

Tiger Airways will add more than 380,000 additional seats in the coming months as the budget carrier looks to find its footing after a disastrous 2011. The extra capacity will be spread over Tiger’s existing network of four routes based out of its Melbourne Airport hub. Melbourne-Sydney will see three additional return flights for a

The NSW government will continue its opposition to a second international airport in Sydney despite reports that a site to the city’s west has emerged as a leading option under a joint federal-state study. According to a report by News Limited, the Nepean option – covering Luddenham, Wallacia and Greendale – has pulled “streets ahead”

US leasing company GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) has announced an order for two ATR 72-600 turboprops with two options. The announcement builds on an order placed at the Paris Airshow in June last year and brings GECAS’s ATR orders to 17 with 17 options. The aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric, GECAS