RF-A 24-3 168th Wing Refuels the Fight

Red Flag-Alaska 24-3, a Pacific Air Forces-sponsored exercise with approximately 1,800 service members joining together in unity, ramped up operations at Eielson Air Force Base, Aug. 15-29. The 168th Wing, a crucial part of the operations refueled combat fighters throughout the RF-A 24-3 exercise, enabling the mission to deliver lethal airpower in defense of National Military objectives, reports Senior Master Sgt. Julie Avey.

Red Flag Alaska showcases combat tactics and synchronizes capabilities with U.S. and NATO partners, including the Royal Australian service members.

"Interagency cooperation is essential in everything we do,” said Lt. Col. Dean Thibodeau, 168th Air Refueling Squadron commander. “The exercise allows us to strengthen international partnerships, refine advanced tactics, push limits, and sharpen skills. Red Flag focuses on training for individual skills and intricate and large-scale joint engagements.”

The KC-135 boom operators and pilots fuel the fight, assuring air-combat maneuvering sorties are carried out in a realistic environment over the more than 77,000 square miles of airspace in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, the world's most extensive combat training range.

US Department of Transportation approves AirExplore for U.S. operations.

AirExplore has received approval from the US Department of Transportation (US DOT) to begin commercial operations in United States airspace under conditional Foreign Air Carrier Permit (FACP) provisions. 

This approval allows AirExplore to engage in scheduled and charter air transportation of passengers, cargo, and mail to, from, and within US territory, using wet-leased aircraft operated by operators certified by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) part 129 and are from countries which meet standards set forth in the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program. Increased privileges are pending approval, which will further advance the air transport industry in Slovakia and the US.

“This is a fantastic moment for AirExplore to obtain the approval as the airline grows its international presence,” Martin Stulajter, Chief Executive Officer of AirExplore, said. “This approval reflects the benefits of being backed by the Avia Solutions Group.”

AirExplore reapplied for its FACP earlier this year after being acquired by Avia Solutions Group. The FACP stipulates that AirExplore will have full authority of an air carrier after Slovakia obtains its IASA certification, followed by the processing of FAA Part 129 Operations Specification for AirExplore.

The approval for operation in the United States follows other recent permits for the airline, as well as AirExplore’s placement of four 737NG aircraft with Air Peace in Nigeria. The airline has also recently announced the addition of three cargo aircraft to its fleet.

Brussels Airlines ranked amongst the most reliable major European airlines during a busy summer season

99% of the flights operated as scheduled, almost 3 out of 4 flights departed with less than 15 minutes delay so far this year.

Brussels Airlines is looking back to a successful summer. Numerous efforts to ensure reliable operations have worked out well, ranking Brussels Airlines in the top 5 of most punctual major airlines in Europe. The Belgian national airline will keep investing together with its partners to improve reliability even further in the future.

During the summer months, July and August, Brussels Airlines transported more than 1.7 million passengers on almost 12,000 flights. As always, summer is the busiest season in the aviation industry. This year, Brussels Airlines is happy to announce improved regularity and punctuality numbers.

99% of all Brussels Airlines flights operated as scheduled during July and August. Some cancellations occurred, mainly due to external factors like the tensions in the Middle East that led to flight cancellations on the route to Tel Aviv.

72% of all flights departed within 15 minutes from the scheduled departure time so far this year. Amongst all major European airlines, Brussels Airlines is in the top 5 most punctual airlines so far in 2024 according to data from aviation analytics agency Cirium.

Flight delays were mainly caused by weather (e.g. thunderstorms), shortage of Air Traffic Control staff in some European countries and occasionally long lines at border control at Brussels Airport.

Tilman Reinshagen, Chief Operating Officer, Brussels Airlines said: “At Brussels Airlines, we want to be the most reliable airline operating from the most reliable hub. We’ve taken numerous initiatives together with all our partners such as Brussels Airport and the Belgian federal police to improve our regularity and punctuality. I’m happy to see that our efforts paid off. There are still areas of improvement such as the further roll out of the electronic gates for passport control for flights to Sub-Saharan Africa. This will lead to shorter waiting times at border control and thus less flights we have to delay while waiting for some passengers.”

Not only did more flights leave as scheduled and on-time, Brussels Airlines and its partners also improved other parameters. The number of delayed luggage has dropped by 14% compared to last year. Less than 0.8% of all checked bags didn’t get to their destination on-time.

Many passengers transfer in Brussels, for example to one of the 18 sub-Saharan African destinations of Brussels Airlines. 96.6% of the transfer passengers made their connection, which is an improvement of 26% compared to last year.

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Digital innovations to take care of passengers

Despite an already very high regularity, Brussels Airlines remains committed to continue decreasing the number of cancelled flights and taking care of passengers who are confronted with irregularities.
During summer, some digital innovations have been rolled out in the Brussels Airlines’ app, in order to better assist passengers at all stages of their journey, and certainly during irregularities.
Chatbot “Charlie” on brusselsairlines.com has been enhanced with new features, allowing the chatbot to assist guests better during irregularities. The easier people can find answers to their questions via these digital tools, the more customer care agents are available for more complicated cases, leading to shorter waiting times.
Brussels Airlines is also implementing a new system that automatically detects changes in flights and sends messages to guests. Soon, passengers will receive notifications for events such as gate changes, boarding times, and delayed baggage.

AirAsia continues low-cost travel leadership with wins at the World Travel Awards Asia

AirAsia celebrated a double victory at the 2024 World Travel Awards Asia and Oceania ceremony in Manila last night, securing recognition as Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline for the ninth consecutive year and Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline Cabin Crew for the eighth year in a row.

Air Asia recognised as Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline for the ninth year in a row and Asia's Leading Low-Cost Airline Cabin Crew for eight consecutive years

AirAsia’s leading edge in the two major categories was secured once again, as voted by consumers, industry and travel professionals across the region. 

Building on its 23-year legacy of transformative multi-hub operations in Asia, AirAsia continues to enhance customer experience while maintaining its commitment to low-cost travel. Through ongoing improvements in booking processes, journey touchpoints, and innovative ancillary services, AirAsia ensures that affordability and quality go hand in hand. The reactivation and planned growth of its new fleet will not only support the airline’s expansion into new destinations but also enable the introduction of routes across different continents, all while staying true to its low-cost model.

Bo Lingam, CEO of AirAsia Aviation Group Limited said: “It is incredibly rewarding to be recognised by the voters which has led to this winning streak at the World Travel Awards. It is a clear sign that we are hitting the mark with our guests. Having flown over 800 million guests since day one, our journey of growth is built upon innovation and improvement.

“In 2024, we expect to operate 440,000 flights. Our growing momentum with new aircraft and routes is accompanied by an unwavering focus on operational resilience and customer experience and this has kept our Net Promoter Score robust as our flight operations expanded more than sixfold since 2021. Looking ahead, we are thrilled about our plans to connect more continents and deliver more choice, value and great service to our guests, as we embrace a greater degree of sustainability in our operations."

Virgin Atlantic to add Riyadh, Accra and Toronto to next year's schedule.

Virgin Atlantic has announced additions to next year's schedules from its home base of London Heathrow. The UK airline that's 49% owned by Delta Air Lines is adding two new destinations Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Accra, Ghana to its network for summer 2025 and also returning to Toronto, Canada.  

New route to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 

For the first time, the airline will launch a daily service to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The service aims to participate in the growth expected from Saudi Vision 2030. In 2023, annual trade between the UK and Saudi Arabia was worth £17.1 billion with an ambition to reach £30 billion of trade by 2030. Accordingly, air travel between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia is forecast to grow 24% between 2019-2035.  

Riyadh is in growth mode, with an expanded downtown business district, F1 circuit, theme park, shopping and entertainment complexes. The city is also the perfect base to explore cultural attractions across this vast country including the UNESCO World Heritage sites of historical Jeddah, the gateway to Mecca, Al Ula, Al Ahsa, and the stunning Rock Art in Hima.  

Saudi Arabia is the world’s 20th largest economy, the largest in the Middle East with a population of 37 million. The market is expected to have a predominantly Saudi Arabian point of sale, which will see customers visiting the UK, as well as seamlessly connecting to twelve destinations throughout North America, on Virgin Atlantic and Delta networks, including Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Boston and Detroit.  

Alongside business travellers, the route will serve the ‘visiting friends and relatives’ (VFR) market, which has seen a fivefold increase in Saudis living in the UK between 2000 and 2018. 

Flights to Riyadh will operate daily on the airline’s state-of-the-art A330neo, the newest aircraft in Virgin Atlantic’s fleet, with the first flight departing London Heathrow on 30 March 2025. Virgin Atlantic will offer 30 tonnes of cargo capacity on each flight for companies looking to export and import goods, such as fresh produce and specialised goods, including pharmaceuticals, between Riyadh and prime markets in the UK and US. 

Riyadh is also home to the airline’s SkyTeam partner, Saudia. The partnership will offer onward connections to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, with further destinations within Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh and China to follow as the airline continues to grow its strategic partnership with Saudia. Flying Club members will earn and redeem Virgin Points across Saudia’s flying programme, alongside SkyTeam partners. All Saudia-operated flights from London Heathrow and Manchester to Riyadh and Jeddah are already marketed by Virgin Atlantic, and on sale across all sales channels, offering multi-daily departures between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Return to Accra, Ghana 

Virgin Atlantic will return to Ghana for the first time since 2013, with daily flights to Kotoka International Airport in the nation’s capital, Accra, from May 2025.  The airline will provide much-needed competition on the route, which currently lacks a choice of routes between the two countries.    

The UK is home to the third largest Ghanaian diaspora in the world and the new service will respond to demand to visit friends and relatives. Around 10% of customers are also expected to connect through London onto Virgin Atlantic’s New York JFK service.  

Launching on 1 May 2025, the daily service will operate on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft boasting the airline’s Upper Class, Premium and Economy Delight, Classic and Light cabins, as well as an onboard bar. Accra is expected to be a very strong cargo route and Virgin Atlantic will offer 30 tonnes of capacity on each flight carrying goods, such as fresh produce, between Ghana and key markets in the UK and US. 

O Canada! 

A4E welcomes new team members

Airlines for Europe (A4E), Europe’s leading airline trade association, confirmed the appointment of Davide Maistro as Policy Director and Beatrice Pepe as Communications Officer.

They bring with them extensive knowledge and experience of the Brussels landscape. Davide has previously spent many years working as a consultant, advising companies and trade associations in the transport and travel, energy and technology sectors. Beatrice previously worked in several Brussels-based trade associations in the chemicals and energy sectors.

Ourania Georgoutsakou, Managing Director of A4E, said, “I am delighted to welcome Davide and Beatrice to the A4E team. They join at an important time for A4E as we work to ensure our members continue to thrive and connect millions of Europeans across Europe and with the rest of the world while accelerating our industry towards more sustainable flying for
the years to come.”

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Airlines for Europe (A4E) is Europe’s largest airline association. Based in Brussels, A4E works with policymakers to ensure aviation policy continues to connect Europeans with the world in a safe, competitive and sustainable manner. With a modern fleet of over 3,600 aircraft, A4E airlines carried over 718 million passengers in 2023 and served nearly 2,100 destinations. Each year, A4E members transport more than 5 million tons of vital goods and equipment to more than 360 destinations either by freighters or passenger aircraft.

Etihad's A380 arrives in Mumbai starting anniversary celebrations

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, landed its iconic A380 in Mumbai on Sunday evening, signalling the start of its celebrations marking 20 years of flying to India. The airline is operating its superjumbo between Mumbai and Abu Dhabi for a limited time only, with three flights per week until the 31 December.

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STEM feature debuts at this year's Sound of Speed Airshow

The upcoming STEM Expo at the 2024 Sound of Speed Airshow and Open House on 14th and 15th September, promises to be an exciting blend of education and entertainment, aiming to inspire the next generation of aviators, engineers, scientists and innovators. Although this is the first time the Sound of Speed Airshow has featured a STEM experience, it is sure to be nothing short of spectacular.

Set against the backdrop of thrilling aerial displays, the expo will feature interactive exhibits and demonstrations that bring the wonders of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to life.

The expo will showcase the KC STEM Alliance and the FIRST Robotics display, along with a demonstration of STEM education by the St. Joseph School District. Missouri University of Science and Technology will present a small robotics exhibit. The Air Force will feature a display called the Hangar where guests can use VR to perform an in-flight refuelling mission, test and modulate jet engines, and control the landing gear of a jet. Attendees can also view five Tesla vehicles, including the Cybertruck, and explore a display by the local pilot academy, FlyTech. This is just a sampling of the various STEM displays guests will experience at the show.

Delta Sync seatback rolls out to more planes, BBC News joins live tv lineup

One year after its debut, Delta Sync seatback has expanded the smart TV-like update to more than 330 aircraft. A new software release introduces updated features designed to put more day-of travel information at customers’ fingertips. What’s more – BBC News joins the lineup of global networks available on live TV. 

One year after debuting Delta Sync seatback on the first A321ceo, customers travelling on more than 330 Delta aircraft can now enjoy the personalized experience that makes the airline’s beloved seatback screens feel more like a smart TV while offering a host of day-of-travel tools for SkyMiles Members designed to streamline their travel journey.  

 

Delta Sync seatback is now available on five fleet types as part of the first phase of the rollout: all A321ceos, , A320s, A319s, most 75Ds and many 738s, representing 40% of total in-flight entertainment enplanements. With more than 165,000 seatback screens across Delta’s fleet—the most of any U.S.-based carrier—the airline expects to begin expanding the product to additional fleet types soon.  

“We have introduced customers to a seatback product that is meaningful and relevant to how they go about their lives,” says Julieta McCurry, VP of In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity Strategy. “SkyMiles Members have already logged in to Delta Sync seatback more than a million times, enjoying personalized content and seamless guidance through their travel day.”  

Customers can also look forward to a major in-flight entertainment software release on their seatback, which includes updates like a new kids’ entertainment view, reimagined flight tools and more, as well as platform performance and stability improvements.   

“We’ve learned a lot from our customers in the first year of Delta Sync seatback,” McCurry says. “Most importantly, we’ve learned that Delta has our finger directly on the pulse of what they want – a seamless, elevated and personalized in-flight experience. Our focus remains on listening, learning and innovating to deliver exactly that.” 

Harnessing the power of connectivity  

Aeradvise Group promotes Mike Byrt to Lead International Engineering Services Sales

Aeradvise Group,  an aviation regulated independent CAMO, technical consulting and asset management company serving high-value aircraft leasing clients worldwide, has confirmed the promotion of Mike Byrt, Chief Operating Officer of Technical Operations, to a broader role that now includes overseeing International Engineering Services Sales.

Pat Toner, Aeradvise CEO, commented: "I would like to express a huge thanks to Mike as a key member of the senior management team for his work in managing the growth of our CAMO department & team to date.  With over two decades of experience in the aerospace industry and a proven track record of operational excellence, Mike's expanded leadership will drive our AerAdvise global growth strategy, bringing our world-class engineering services to new international markets. His dedication and expertise make him the perfect leader to guide this next phase of our company's planned evolution".

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AerAdvise - Independent Aircraft Leasing Consultants

AerCap Holdings announces pricing of $2.4 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes

AerCap Ireland Capital Designated Activity Company and AerCap Global Aviation Trust, each a wholly-owned subsidiary of AerCap Holdings N.V, priced an offering of senior notes, consisting of $1,300 million aggregate principal amount of the Issuers' 4.625% Senior Notes due 2029 and $1,100 million aggregate principal amount of the Issuers' 4.950% Senior Notes due 2034. The Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by the company and certain other subsidiaries of the company.

The Issuers intend to use the net proceeds from the Notes for general corporate purposes, including to acquire, invest in, finance or refinance aircraft assets and to repay indebtedness.

RBC Capital Markets, Wells Fargo Securities, BofA Securities, HSBC, Fifth Third Securities and SOCIETE GENERALE are serving as joint book-running managers for the underwritten public offering.

flyExclusive enters exclusive agreement to provide aircraft management services to Volato Group Inc.

flyExclusive has announced that it has entered into an Aircraft Management Services Agreement with Volato Group, the largest HondaJet operator in the United States.

“As a fully integrated operator, flyExclusive is well-positioned to offer synergistic value to Volato’s clients and deliver enhanced value for our overall growing customer base,” said Jim Segrave, Founder and CEO of flyExclusive. “Over the years, we’ve made strategic investments to remove industry bottlenecks and grow and maintain a leading, consistent customer experience. We’re proud to welcome Volato’s customers and look forward to offering them access to our growing fleet of light, midsize and super-midsize jets.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will manage flight operations, sales and expenses of Volato’s fleet, consisting of 13 fully fractionalized aircraft, 8 leased aircraft and 4 managed aircraft. The goal is to transfer aircraft to the flyExclusive certificate, which will occur over the coming months in coordination with the FAA. The Company will also execute the flights for the Volato customer base of approximately 184 fractional customers and 265 block customers on the Volato certificate, until they are moved over to FLYX agreements, in addition to Volato’s retail and wholesale business. This will significantly increase the FLYX direct-to-customer facing business as planned nearly immediately.

Rocket Lab sets launch date for second dedicated Kinéis mission to deploy IoT constellation

Rocket Lab USA, a global leader in launch services and space systems, announced it has set the launch window for its 53rd Electron Launch. The mission will be the second of five dedicated launches for the French company Kinéis.

The ‘Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star’ mission is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during a 14-day launch window that opens on September 17, 2024, NZST.

This mission will launch just three months after the ‘No Time Toulouse’ mission, Kinéis’ first launch with Rocket Lab. ‘Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star’ will be the second of five dedicated Electron launches for Kinéis, a company backed by private and public investors including the French government’s space agency CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales) and CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites), an international space-based solutions provider, to improve global Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity.

Kinéis’ constellation will connect any object anywhere in the world and guarantee the transmission of targeted and useful data to users, in near-real time, with low energy consumption with more powerful 30kg-class nanosats that integrate IoT technology. The constellation also includes a second mission: a ship-tracking Automatic Identification System (AIS). Once deployed, these technologies will allow Kinéis to expand across multiple industries and scale from 20,000 devices connected to millions. The second constellation launch will add an additional five new satellites to its planned 25 and will enhance Kinéis’ ability to connect the planet and address essential challenges for humanity, its activities, and its environment.

“We’re excited to welcome the Kinéis team on board Electron again as we help them build out their constellation," said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck. “Dedicated launch is key for the kind of precise orbital deployment requirements many constellation operators need, so we’re proud to make that possible once again.”

“The Kinéis teams are ready to build on the success of the first launch. They have capitalized on this first and delicate technical experience of putting our first five satellites into position and are delivering a real technical performance in managing the five new satellites simultaneously, in addition to the five already in the air,” said Alexandre Tisserant, Chairman of Kinéis. “Rocket Lab's Electron launcher made a major contribution to this success, thanks to the precision with which it injected our nanosatellites into their positions. The IoT revolution is underway. Thanks to our space-based connectivity, we'll be able to connect any object anywhere in the world in near real time. Go Kinéis!”

Archer completes 400 test flights this year

Four months ahead of schedule

Archer Aviation has confirmed it has passed the 400 test flights mark thus far this year, approximately four months ahead of schedule.

The 402 flights were conducted over the last eight months as the company ramps up flight test operations in advance of for-credit flight testing with the FAA.

Adam Goldstein, CEO and founder of Archer said, “When we first set our goal for 400 flights this year it was viewed as aggressive, but here we are in August already knocking it out. I’m proud of the Archer flight test team and the supporting groups that made it happen.”

Each flight produces critical data that Archer’s teams use to evaluate and refine aircraft loads, vibrations, performance and handling qualities.

Most recently, the Archer flight test team has focused on five key testing areas:

Transition Flights: Continuing to conduct longer-distance and higher-speed transition flights to gather data, extend endurance and ensure maximum safety.

High-Rate Operations: Increasing per-day flights to simulate the high cadence of Archer’s anticipated commercial operations and test Midnight’s durability.

Advancing Landing Profiles: Completing a series of hover landings in various wind conditions with different rates of descent and flare heights to expand Midnight’s wind envelope and further optimize its landing profile.

Enhancing Acoustic Measurement: Conducting a series of hover operations with various microphone arrays to collect supplemental data for the FAA and to further evaluate and tune Midnight’s noise signature.

Optimizing Control Laws: Regressing through the envelope with a series of optimizations made to the control laws which will extend Midnight’s endurance.

Condor selects Cirium as its strategic partner for aviation analytics

Cirium is now Condor's new partner for aviation analytics, with the new agreement making Cirium the airline’s single source of external aviation data, providing end-to-end data services.

The partnership between Cirium, the aviation analytics firm, and Condor, will empower the German carrier to further improve its operations, driving quality insights aimed at improving the business's efficiency and overall customer satisfaction.

As part of this new agreement, Cirium will provide the airline with three key data sets: historical flight data, schedule data, and real-time flight data.

Having utilised Cirium's historical flight data for two years, Condor's decision to now integrate Cirium’s additional suite of products presents a unique opportunity to further streamline operations, driving direct improvements for both the business and its customers.

This investment in data will enable the business to swiftly identify operational trends, allowing for quick solutions that reduce costs and enhance efficiency. It will empower teams to optimise fleet management, network planning, connections, and crew scheduling, driving significant improvements across all aspects of operations.

Cirium’s highly regarded flight schedules product is also part of the deal, offering deeper insights into service opportunities and market demand. With the up-to-date data, Condor will be able to optimise network and crew planning, boosting efficiency and profitability across the business.

The addition of Cirium’s real-time flight data will also provide live updates on aircraft around the world, meaning flights can be tracked and monitored with greater detail.