The World of Aviation

Piper Aircraft has announced it is indefinitely suspending further development of the Piper Altaire business jet following a review. Formerly dubbed the PiperJet, the company says the review into the Altaire program allowed it to “align the company’s business goals with the light jet market outlook, investment strategies and overall economic forecasts.” “Following an evaluation

The first Airbus A380 for Malaysia Airlines made its first flight on October 20, after completion of final assembly at Airbus’s Toulouse plant. The Trent 900 powered aircraft, the first of six on order for the airline, will undergo cabin fit out and painting in Hamburg before being delivered to MAS in the second quarter

Airbus has installed a Trent XWB test engine onto A380 development aircraft MSN001 in advance of the engine beginning flight test trials. The 118in diameter Trent XWB is the exclusive powerplant for the Airbus A350 XWB. Airbus says flight testing will commence “in coming weeks”.

The planned commercial alliance between Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines has cleared a key regulatory hurdle, with the Competition Commission of Singapore giving the arrangement its tick of approval. “The Competition Commission of Singapore’s decision to grant approval for this strategic alliance is welcome news for our airline,” Virgin Australia group of airlines CEO John

DAHER SOCATA has rolled out the 600th TBM high performance turboprop single during a ceremony at its Tarbes, France, production facility on October 20. “With the roll-out of TBM no. 600, we celebrate the success of this program, which initially targeted building just 600,” said Stéphane Mayer, president and CEO of DAHER-SOCATA. “While this goal

Boeing says it has begun ramping up the 737 production rate to 35 per month, up from the current rate of 31.5, with the commencement of assembly of the wing spar for the first aircraft to be assembled at the new rate. “The start of spar assembly today demonstrates the progress the 737 team has