Aviation News

Bookings systems at American Airlines were down for a considerable portion of Monday. First reports of a systems outage began emerging late in the morning (east coast time), and systems appeared to remain down for approximately four hours. Customers were unable to search for flights or complete bookings on either the website or app. Both were providing an automated message saying "Our system is having trouble", encouraging users to try again in a few minutes.

The Airbus A350-900 is Delta Air Lines' flagship subfleet, at least until its -1000s are delivered. According to ch-aviation.com, it has 37 A350-900s, not all active. They have three very different configurations, with five examples—all ex-LATAM—having 339 seats. For now, at least, no other aircraft in Delta's fleet has that many seats.

Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and IndiGo will partner to give passengers more extensive travel options and seamless connectivity between North America, Europe, and India. The carriers will look to grow the partnership on a global scale.

A truck has hit a Saudia Boeing 787-9 that was parked in London, the United Kingdom, causing damage to the aircraft’s fuselage near the aft section. The aircraft’s return flight to Saudi Arabia was canceled.

On the first day of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM), Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, and IndiGo announced a groundbreaking partnership to connect India with Europe and North America.

The crew of Southwest Airlines decided to divert to Myrtle Beach after a passenger's battery charger overheated and began to emit smoke during flight, according to The Aviation Herald. A Boeing 737-700, registration N7713A, WN-1844 from Baltimore was headed to Tampa, Florida.

Redmond Municipal Airport (RDM) announced on Friday that starting June 5, and lasting through October 6, American Airlines would offer direct seasonal service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). DFW is the largest hub in American's network, serving 240 global destinations with more than 10,000 connections.

WestJet is heading back to the Netherlands with almost daily service (six times weekly) to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) via Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ). WestJet will be the first nonstop option available connecting the two cities, according to FlightAware data.

British Airways' widebody fleet consists of 130 aircraft. It has 11 Boeing 787-10s, 12 Airbus A380s, 12 787-8s, 16 777-300ERs, 18 A350-1000s, 18 787-9s, and 43 777-200ERs. No wonder London Heathrow is the world's third-busiest airport for widebody flights.

On Friday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that Runway 4L-22R at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) would be reopened two weeks ahead of schedule. The runway has been closed for a planned rehabilitation, regular runway operations are scheduled to resume on Monday, June 2.

Chicago's hometown airline, United, has announced its plans to add more flights to its already busy schedule from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) this fall. The airline, which is set to mark its busiest fall schedule ever, will add several extra direct flights to warm-weather destinations.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that a broken wire and hydraulic fluid leaks caused the landing gear failure on the FedEx Boeing 757. This conclusion was included in the NTSB’s final report on the incident, which occurred on October 4, 2023.

The New Terminal One at John F. Kennedy International Airport is being built at a massive scale and promises to be not just one of the best in the country but also globally. As part of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's $19 billion transformation of JFK Airport, it will be completed in two phases – the first phase, including the new arrivals and departures halls and the first set of 14 new gates, is expected to open in 2026. Once completed in 2030, it will have a total of 23 gates and will sprawl over 2.6 million square feet.

IndiGo has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase its existing Airbus A350-900 firm order by 30 planes, bringing the total to 60. The move was announced at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Delhi earlier today, attended by Simple Flying.

Delta Air Lines plans to launch a brand new route between Atlanta, United States and Delhi, India as part of a broader cooperation agreement that it signed today with low-cost giant, IndiGo. The new route is "subject to government approval" and no start date has been announced just yet.

Earlier this month, two flights marked for United Airlines came scarily close to a mid-air collision above the skies of San Francisco. On Tuesday, May 13, United was operating an Airbus A320 service to Dallas, Texas, when it took the wrong turn during its climb, and ended up in the exact flight path of a Skywest Canadair CRJ-200 departing for Fresno.

At the Bernstein 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan outlined the extensive revenue and cost-cutting initiatives now underway at the carrier. This includes everything from basic economy fares to extra-legroom products. These changes primarily aim to generate around $1.8 billion in additional earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in 2025 and $4.3 billion in 2026. The conference took place on May 29. The backbone of Southwest's fleet is its Boeing 737 family aircraft, and the airline has big plans for how these will change.

Yesterday, it was published in an article by Eye of the Flyer, that a young girl provided some musical entertainment for Delta Air Lines passengers during a delayed flight, by singing her rendition of “How Far I’ll Go” from the Disney film, Moana. The impromptu concert was captured in a TikTok video that was posted three days ago, and is embedded below. The video inspired a conversation on the r/Delta Reddit thread, where customers had mixed opinions.

Qantas, the flag carrier of Australia, has adjusted its schedule to Singapore between June and August, which will see the Airbus A380 operating double daily on select dates between Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD), and Singapore Changi Airport (SIN). This will boost the city pair with premium seats, and provides an easy stopover to the airline's onward flights to London, or through its code-share partners.

Air Serbia is a small player on the global scale, all things considered. It operates to four long-haul destinations, two of which are in China and the remaining two in the United States. The carrier is truly a bridge between the two economic and political powers of the current world. As I have reflected on before, the carrier has engaged in a sort of balancing act, facilitating ties between Serbia and both countries in competition with one another.