Economy Class & Beyond

Airplane Art – US Airways Airbus A321 (Now with a Poll!)

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It's Sunday again, so it must be time for some more airplane art. This week, sitting in the evening sun is a US Airways Airbus A321 (and not a Boeing 757) resting at New York John F Kennedy International Terminal 7. Ohhhhkay. We're all fighting what this is... so lets take a poll! The image is clickable if you want to see a larger version – and yes you … [Read more...]

787 Watch: Boeing proposes a fix…

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It's time for another edition of 787 watch, with late breaking news that Boeing is proposing a fix to the 787 issues. The FAA has released a statement Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari, FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta and other FAA officials met with senior executives from The Boeing Company today to discuss the status of ongoing work to address 787 battery … [Read more...]

More operators accept A320’s … with Sharklets!

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The spread of the midlife update of the A320 - the A320E with Sharklets wingtip devices is spreading further. A quick re-cap on what a Sharklet first though - It's a device on the end of a wing that increases the lift generated at the wingtip, whilst reducing the educe the lift-induced drag caused by wingtip vortices, leading to better performance of an aircraft in terms of … [Read more...]

Lufthansa to take a cut to First Class Cabins

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Lufthansa is to take an axe to some of its first class seats aboard its international services by 25% according to Bloomberg. The cuts will be targeted in two ways - on certain routes (such as Vancouver) and plane classes (Airbus A340-300 and Boeing 747-400). Chief Executive Officer Christoph Franz says: "They’ll serve routes where there is simply no more demand for … [Read more...]

Etihad buddies up with… Kenya Airways

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It seems today is "talk about Etihad day" as they announce a a  "strategic partnership" with Kenya Airways. The partnership will involve codeshared services and a new service between Nairobi and Abu Dhabi to be operated by Kenya Airways 3 times a week in addition to Etihads current service. Etihad will have 27 extra destinations covered by Kenya Airways (and the EY flight … [Read more...]

Etihad/KLM Codeshares increase

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Etihad and KLM co-operation is increasing over the summer timetable with more routes having KL and EY flight codes added. The codeshares will be applied in two tranches with the first set going live from 31st March 2013 KLM codes on Etihad operated flights: Abu Dhabi – Muscat Abu Dhabi – Singapore – Brisbane Etihad codes on KLM operated flights: Amsterdam – … [Read more...]

787 Watch: Batteries in the ANA 787 incident showed signs of swelling

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Time to turn our attention back to the 787, and to the issues with batteries that the class is having. Investigators in Japan have been analysing the lithium-ion battery that powers the auxiliary power unit (APU) have revealed swelling in two of the eight cells - as well the main battery aboard the plane (also Li-ion) failed and overheated too. Investigators have been … [Read more...]