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Qatar Airways

Three Points: Qatar gives Delta a hand, supersonic squishiness, 737 Max miscellany

Jon Ostrower·August 11, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has made strange bedfellows out of Delta Air Lines and Qatar Airways, who are on the same side to save bankrupt LATAM. Virgin Galactic's Mach 3 concept for a supersonic airliner is more than a little squishy. The FAA has started the clock on public comments for the 737 Max return to service and other goings on for the grounded airliner.

Boeing 787 deal in jeopardy, too, as Emirates weighs killing A380 for A330neo

Jon Ostrower·February 1, 2019

The biggest buyers of the Airbus A380, A350 and Boeing 777X, 777 (and second largest airline customer for 787) are...

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.

Afghans surround a Kam Air Airbus A340 at Hamid Karzai International Airport. Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images

Three Points: A reflection on Afghanistan, Embraer’s turboprop rethink, A350’s paint headache

Jon Ostrower·August 17, 2021

Afghanistan is lost. Beyond the crushing enormity of the human tragedy unfolding there, the jarring images from Kabul Airport capture not only the desperation to escape the Taliban, but the very essence of what aviation represents as a path to the future. Embraer heavily revised its turboprop concept and with it the company is shifting its focus from Asia squarely to North America. Qatar Airways has pulled 13 A350s from service on the order of its home regulator, but what's paint issue facing the aircraft?

A British Airways A380 executes a high-performance takeoff during a flying display at the 2013 Paris Air Show.

Three Points: Reactivating A380s, BizAv’s big picture, flying the B-36 Peacemaker

Jon Ostrower·October 22, 2021

The A380 is back, sort of. Airlines are reactivating the double-deck aircraft ahead of the loosening of COVID-related travel restrictions that promise to breathe life into dormant international routes. Just don't call it a comeback for the superjumbo. By all metrics, business aviation in 2021 is thriving. Back above 2019 levels, the industry is seeing a strong uptick in new development and commercial activity, but examining Honeywell's 10-year forecasts TAC steps back to look at the uncomfortable big picture for the industry's trajectory. What was it like to fly on the Convair B-36? We listen to a first-hand recollection about an aircraft that needed six turboprops and four jet engines just to get off the ground in the early years of the Cold War.

Air India joins aircraft boom, but history of airline busts loom

Jon Ostrower·February 27, 2023

Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Release DateFebruary 27, 2023Air India joins aircraft boom, but history of airline busts...

Three Points for the 2021 Dubai Air Show

Jon Ostrower·November 13, 2021

The 2021 Dubai Air Show is a test of the new normal and the first large-scale civil international air show since COVID-19 ravaged aviation. Yet, Dubai is set against the backdrop of a world that is not as flat as it used to be. Freight has kept the civil aviation business alive through the pandemic. The A350 is set for launch here, the 777XF is coming, too, but not yet. Russia’s MC-21 is making its debut in Dubai. It’s a project that represents the geopolitical tension disrupting once open east-west supply lines, but its biggest opportunity may be at home where domestic air travel is booming again.

How the war in Ukraine transformed Finnair

Madhu Unnikrishnan·June 2, 2023

Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber. Release DateJune 2, 2023How the war in Ukraine transformed FinnairPurchase a PDF of...

United and Emirates plot codeshare agreement

Jon Ostrower·August 29, 2022

Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Release DateAugust 29, 2022United and Emirates plot codeshare agreementPurchase a PDF of this...

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.

Once an afterthought, new Boeing & Airbus freighters get tailored in pandemic era

Jon Ostrower·January 31, 2022

In a bid to reconstitute twin-aisle jet production, Airbus and Boeing create bespoke airplanes in the A350F and 777-8F for the world’s cargo haulers.

Boeing ‘mothballing’ development of ultra-long range 777X

Jon Ostrower·August 14, 2019