Jon Ostrower

The Russian aircraft fleet is set on a course to crumble, but it won’t happen overnight

Jon Ostrower·March 24, 2022

The most far-reaching sanctions of the modern economic era have disconnected Russia and its civil aviation industry from much of the world. Its digital connection is severed, along with its access to parts, services, international markets and crucial airspace. Yet what will come of the fleet that operates today inside of Russia?

China Eastern 5735’s sudden sharp dive put in context

Jon Ostrower·March 22, 2022

China Eastern flight 5735 crashed near Wuzhou on March 21 during a flight between Kunming and Guangzhou. Chinese state media...

Textron buys its way into the electric revolution

Elan Head and Jon Ostrower·March 18, 2022

The industrial giant Textron has the attributes – favorable and unfavorable – of having been around for a long time. It doesn’t have to loudly hype its technological and product viability to excite investors, it doesn’t have to stand up an organization from nothing, and it has a balance sheet and engineering bench that would make any newcomer envious. It also is weighed down by the institutional inertia, silos and competing internal priorities and executive attention spans that come with a sprawling aerospace conglomerate, antithetical to the fast-moving and creative startups.

The western airliner fleet inside Russia: An interactive data visualization

Jon Ostrower·March 17, 2022

As part of our on-going detailed coverage of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the resulting impact to global aviation, The Air Current has constructed an interactive data visualization of the fleet of Western-made aircraft flying today inside of Russia.

Inside a failed attempt to repo an Aeroflot A321neo in Egypt

Jon Ostrower·March 7, 2022

The failed March 2 mission was one of the very first known attempts by a lessor to repossess a Russian-based commercial aircraft, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Air Current. What is typically an unremarkable journey connecting Moscow to Cairo would shine a spotlight on the unfolding collapse of Russian commercial aviation, shaking the foundations of international law.

Boeing reliance on Russia underscores aerospace industry’s failure to have it all

Jon Ostrower·March 2, 2022

The western civil & defense aerospace business has long believed that Russia could be its customer, supplier and adversary to its patron governments – all at the same time.

Disconnecting Russia from aviation’s world order came gradually – then all at once

Jon Ostrower·February 28, 2022

Denial of aviation is a weapon that predates the 21st century battlefield. Yet, with the return of war to Europe, it is also aviation’s Achilles’ heel. With it comes a cascading series of immediate and longer term consequences in the skies as commercial and industrial links are quickly broken after decades of cultivation following the fall of the Soviet Union.

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Jon Ostrower·February 24, 2022

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Three Points: Joby’s crash, FAA’s Dickson resigning, EK231 update

Elan Head and Jon Ostrower·February 17, 2022

Joby Aviation's lead test aircraft crashed on Feb. 16, kicking off an NTSB investigation that could have implications for the aggressive timeline the company has embraced to be the first eVTOL company to fly passengers in 2024. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson has resigned. The U.S.'s top aviation regulator was about half way though his five year term. His dealings with Boeing will be the defining characteristic of his time at the agency. The UAE offered its preliminary report on the bizarre circumstances around Emirates 231. The brief report confirms much of The Air Current's reporting on the Dec. 20 botched takeoff out of Dubai.

Eviation zaps its uncharacteristically candid founder

Jon Ostrower·February 14, 2022

His public comments at recent events — including an interview with The Air Current — have provided a previously unseen glimpse at Alice’s design and Eviation’s technical assumptions, nuances and operational necessities that accompany the world’s first all-electric commercial aircraft — including a begrudging acknowledgement of the slow pace of battery innovation.

FAA not giving an inch as Boeing big jet programs face slide

Jon Ostrower·February 7, 2022

Influential customer has “hard time seeing” 787 deliveries resuming before July, 777X certification likely to slip past 2023.

Three points: Exhausted Gulf pilots, Wisk’s pilotless ambition, United’s new academy

Elan Head and Jon Ostrower·February 2, 2022

Reuters took a close look at Qatar Airways and claims its pilots are making around crew scheduling in the wake of the pandemic, which significantly resized the airline. The result is a broader discussion around fatigue and the risk of cockpit mistakes that should serve as context given other recent incidents, including Emirates 231. Boeing is betting on Wisk to be its pathfinder to autonomy, so how does the eVTOL entrant plan to do it? United Airlines formally launched its own flight academy, giving aspiring pilots a private certificate and a leg up to an eventual job flying with the airline. Yet, there are still very real obstructions that are clogging the pipeline of pilots.