Categories: Airplanes

Being Thankful for Airplane Legroom

Posted by: Justin Bachman on November 23

Forget the annual tally of how much it costs to fly this Thanksgiving, consider your legs. Will you arrive surly and sore or able to walk normally? Price plays an...

So Which VIP Bought the Biggest 747?

Posted by: Justin Bachman on October 26

Boeing delivered its first two new 747-8 cargo planes to Cargolux this month. The passenger version of the stretched 747 goes to Lufthansa for commercial service in the first quarter...

Boeing's Future, Circa June 2001

Posted by: Justin Bachman on October 26

As the long-delayed 787 Dreamliner finally entered commercial service today in Asia, it's worth remembering that this was not the jet Boeing initially planned to build. The 787 is sold...

Delta Offers Some Legroom for a Fee

Posted by: Justin Bachman on October 21

Let your poor knees rejoice: A bit more legroom is coming to Delta Air Lines' domestic economy cabins next year. The airline will expand its "economy comfort" seating to its...

Air France 447 and Cockpit Confusion

Posted by: Justin Bachman on October 13

A book published today details precisely how horrific the final minutes of a June 2009 Air France flight really were: The pilots had no idea what was happening to their...

The Future of Flying at Airbus

Posted by: Justin Bachman on September 21

Airbus recently offered a glimpse into what engineers conceived of when pondering future air travel, circa 2050. The biggest splash would be transparent cabins allowing passengers unfettered views, much like...

ANA Brings Women Only Bathrooms

Posted by: Justin Bachman on February 23

All Nippon Airways is unveiling lavatories for women only March 1 on international flights aboard larger aircraft. The Japanese carrier said Tuesday the change comes “following numerous requests from passengers...

Boeing 787 Has Landing Gear Glitch on Second Test Flight

Posted by: Justin Bachman on December 22

The second flight of Boeing’s 787 was not as smooth as the first a week ago, according to reports. The flight lasted just over two hours, but the landing gear...

Boeing's 787 a Big Bet that Business Travel Will Migrate From the Hubs

Posted by: Justin Bachman on December 15

Boeing's (BA) revolutionary carbon fiber airplane achieved its first flight on Tuesday with a surfeit of media coverage and palpable excitement among both the test pilots and company executives....

United Finds a Holiday Bargain on 50 New Long-Haul Jets

Posted by: Justin Bachman on December 08

United Airlines (UAUA) announced its first jet order in 11 years on Tuesday with a 50-aircraft order split between Airbus and Boeing (BA) for their latest “next-generation” models. The airline...

Air France Flight Raises $447K for Charities

Posted by: Justin Bachman on November 20

Air France flew its first Airbus A380 today, with the inaugural flight from Paris to New York carrying 538 people, with most of the passengers having bid for their...

Business Jet Makers Could Book Negative Orders for 2009

Posted by: Carol Matlack on August 06

Manufacturers of business jets are likely to book more cancellations than new orders this year, as corporate and private customers cancel orders worth billions of dollars. “Some companies will buck...

The Pilots' View on Air France 447

Posted by: Justin Bachman on June 02

It’s now clear that something horrendous befell the Air France flight from Brazil as military crews reported finding a fuel slick and metal debris roughly 400 miles northeast of the...

Boeing Spruces up the 737 Interior

Posted by: Justin Bachman on May 05

I’ll admit there a few planes I often dread boarding, and the 737 is one of them. This workhorse of domestic fleets is the most popular commercial airplane in history...

Big Boeing Customer Feeling Cash Pinch

Posted by: Justin Bachman on March 25

Shares of Boeing (BA) rose nearly 3% on March 25, despite two seemingly ugly bits of news. First, FedEx (FDX) said it may scrap an order for 30 of Boeing’s...

Southwest's Racy New Paint Job

Posted by: Justin Bachman on February 11

Southwest, an airline that garnered widespread attention two years ago for wrangling with passengers about attire choices, is offering this: The 2009 Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model painted on a...

Ever wonder what it takes to paint a plane?

Posted by: Dean Foust on January 14

Here's your answer. Here's an interesting time-lapse video showing a Northwest 747-400 being repainted with the Delta livery....

A Big Bet From Spain Amid Downturn

Posted by: Justin Bachman on November 08

Amid the daily doom and gloom about the world’s economic state, a Spanish charter airline is piling its chips on a massive new-jet order. The largest tour operator in Spain,...

Airline food: How it's made

Posted by: Dean Foust on August 11

Ever wonder how airline meals are made? This clip from the TV show How It's Made shows. How much would you pay for this? $15? $25? $39? One airline,...

The A380: A New Way to Travel?

Posted by: Justin Bachman on August 04

Enough about the showers, I sat thinking, waiting for my turn in the media queue to chat with Emirates’ outspoken president, Tim Clark. We were all gathered in the...

Wheel Well Wiring, Redux

Posted by: Justin Bachman on April 08

If you have a ticket this week on American Airlines it would be a good time to check on the status of your flight. Step 1: Ascertain whether you're scheduled...

A 777 Whatdunit Puzzle

Posted by: Justin Bachman on February 27

It's the Mystery of the 777 for aviation authorities probing the crash landing of a British Airways flight last month at Heathrow. USA Today published an interesting story about...

Skimming the Ground at 300 mph

Posted by: Justin Bachman on February 25

Did you hear the one about the pilot who did a runway fly-by in a brand new jumbo jet? Nope, not a joke. It really happened -- there's video of...

Safer Skies, Scarier Ground

Posted by: Justin Bachman on January 10

It used to be that folks got nervous about the idea of zipping through the sky in a metal tube at 500 miles an hour. Now, with the numerous astounding...

The next social networks: Airplanes

Posted by: Dean Foust on January 03

Jeff Jarvis authors the BuzzMachine blog and is a pretty creative thinker about how the Internet is changing our lives. He recently posted an interesting entry noting the potential...

China marks an aviation milestone

Posted by: Justin Bachman on December 21

It's no cause of immediate concern for the likes of Embraer or Bombardier, but China rolled out its first all-homemade jetliner today at a major ceremony in Shanghai. The 85-seat...