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A320neo

Three Points: Alaska, Delta & Air Canada fleet notes, MU5735’s dive in context, Whisper Drone

Jon Ostrower and Elan Head·March 25, 2022

It's been a frenetic week for fleet moves. Alaska Air is formally removing the asterisk on its Proudly All Boeing moniker, Delta got an all-new aircraft type, Air Canada's getting in line for early A321XLRs and the FAA is putting a significant question mark over the availability of the 737 Max 10. After the crash of China Eastern 5736, The Air Current compares historical high rates of descent for key air accidents. It's an important dose of perspective in the early phases of the investigation into what brought down the 737-800. Whisper Drone charts a course for high-speed electric flight. TAC spoke with Whisper Aero founder Mark Moore about its new drone testbed and its prospects as a promising early application for its ultra-quiet electric propulsors.

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.

Spirit and Frontier merger is about the search for high-hanging fruit

Courtney Miller·February 21, 2022

In this TAC Analysis, we look at both the benefits and the risks of the proposed merger between Spirit and Frontier. We look beyond the traditional metrics to the futures of the airlines, both together and separate, as well as how the combination of the two ultra-low-cost airlines changes the competitive landscape for the remaining U.S. carriers.

A Boeing 737-7 and 737-8-200 (Boeing Photo)

The duopoly is alive, well, and working to the benefit of the 737 Max

Courtney Miller·February 3, 2022

A backlog with available delivery slots is both a curse and a blessing, And that’s how Allegiant Air picked its horse.

Aeroflot took delivery of seven A350-900s from Airbus in 2021 and has 14 more on order.

Ukraine-Russia conflict could derail global aerospace

Jon Ostrower·January 25, 2022

The threat of increased conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the resulting fall-out leaves the civil aerospace industry acutely vulnerable to everything from astronomical jet fuel prices and disrupted airspace to the potential for full-scale derailment of commercial aircraft production.

Three Points: Allegiant’s 737 Max buy, eVTOL’s certification race, revisiting EK231

Jon Ostrower and Elan Head·January 7, 2022

At first glance, the purchase of 50 new-generation aircraft looks out of character for Allegiant Air, here's why it jumped on the Boeing bandwagon. There's a rivalry brewing between eVTOL entrants Joby Aviation and Archer. The quiet war of words over certification milestones are increasingly important to watch as both eye 2024 for regulatory approvals and the bragging rights for first to fly paying passengers. Emirates 231 wasn't the only incident of its kind. There's no global system of incident reporting -- and that's what makes independent aviation journalism so important.

The pandemic could soon mean a shortage of new airplanes, too

Courtney Miller·December 15, 2021

Beyond labor shortages, constrained maintenance capacity, and a still-significant portion of the world’s fleet parked, a previously unthinkable challenge faces the industry as the global economy marches on. We may not have enough airplanes.

X-Wing comes to light as major new Airbus demonstrator program

Jon Ostrower·September 16, 2021

The Air Current has focused recent months extensively reporting on Airbus’s, until now, secret research effort to completely re-wing a Cessna business jet and rapidly accelerate a suite of new advanced flight control technologies -- including a foldable wingtip designed to flap freely in turbulence and maneuvers.

The global aircraft fleet recovery is a tale of trifurcation

Courtney Miller·April 21, 2021

The global airline fleet is not recovering evenly. With global scheduled capacity up over 92% from April 2020, that metric serves better to illustrate just how terrible last April was than how good we find it in 2021. Compared to 2019, the global fleet is producing 53% fewer seat-miles. We’re a long way from where we were before the pandemic.

The first Wizz Air Abu Dhabi flight arrives in Athens on January 15, 2021.

Until business travelers return, every airline is a low-cost carrier

Judson Rollins·January 21, 2021

As we begin 2021, low-cost carriers are in the driver’s seat.

Boeing’s MCAS on the 737 Max may not have been needed at all

Jon Ostrower·January 10, 2021

An unexpected competitive box awaits Embraer’s E3 turboprop

Jon Ostrower·November 23, 2020

With receding regional aviation competitors, Embraer studies a return to a market that hasn’t had the choice of an all-new product in decades. Unique quirks of the turboprop market and Embraer technology planning will pressure E3 market potential. Big leaps in efficiency of single-aisle jets compresses the list of small markets that need a big turboprop.