Plane gets a bovine licking after emergency touchdown

A herd of beef cattle at Te Horo, Kāpiti, surround a plane that touched down in their paddock on Sunday. A herd of beef cattle did what they do when a plane touches down in their paddock - they got licking. It was Sunday afternoon and Bryn Whyman was sitting at his Te Horo, Kāpiti, home looking out the window. "All of a sudden we saw a plane coming down onto the [paddock]," he said. (www.stuff.co.nz) More...

Air NZ boss to United: Don't waste a good crisis

Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon says United Airlines ''shouldn't waste a good crisis'' created when a passenger was dragged from an overbooked plane. He said the US airline's ''abysmal failure'' to handle the situation was a great opportunity to completely turn around its culture. ''When you see big failures in customer service like that, it is really linked to the failure of a development of a culture over 20 or 30… (www.nzherald.co.nz) More...

Man shuts down 'racist' woman at airport over first class dispute

A man's reaction to an apparently racist woman at a US airport apparently caused onlookers to burst into applause, and has attracted hundreds of thousands of shares online. Emmit Eclass Walker said he was approached by a woman at a Washington airport who assumed he was not a first class passenger. He believes it was due to the colour of his skin. "Excuse me, I believe you may be in the wrong place... this line is for priority boarding," she told him, according to his Facebook… (www.msn.com) More...

Air New Zealand's new seats up to 3cm wider on Airbus planes

Air New Zealand's new seats for planes joining its short haul international fleet are wider than existing ones and may help passengers stuck in the middle breathe a little easier. At the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg it revealed the seats made by British firm Acro Aircraft Seating for Airbus A320/A321neo (new engine option) fleet that are joining the fleet. The window and aisle seats will be 1cm wider than those on the airline's current international Airbus fleet, with the middle… (www.nzherald.co.nz) More...

The 16 coolest airline paint jobs in the world

As planes crisscross the globe, their exterior graphics not only represent the companies that operate them but in many instances also serve as visual ambassadors for their respective homelands. A great airline livery gives onlookers a taste of a carrier's values or its culture's ethos in an attractive and effective colour scheme. Airlines like Southwest, Spirit, and American have updated their liveries in recent years, with mixed results. Others have hit home runs. Here's a… (www.msn.com) More...

Sully the movie – one pilot’s perspective

For those yet to see the movie Sully, I highly recommend it. I came away entertained, and as an Airbus A320 pilot, pleased with the technical accuracy. Obviously the culling demands of screenwriting call for year-long investigations to be severely paraphrased and certain items were tweaked for dramatic effect, but all in all, it is a great film. But I walked away with something more. (australianaviation.com.au) More...

More debris from Island where MH370 possible went down found

A beach cleaner has come across more debris which was found next to the B777 plane wing which was found a few days back a suitcase containing clothing and other items were found next to this big piece that was washed up on shore. Many of the island residents say they had seen the MAS B777 fly over low a year ago and it may have come down out at sea not far from the last sighting of MH370. But who is to say this belongs to the flight and just maybe it's possible the wreckage is near by and… (www.9news.com.au) More...

First A350-1000 enters final assembly line

Airbus has added three new A350 stations at its Toulouse facility as the manufacturer begins final assembly of the first of three A350-1000 flight test aircraft while it increases production of the A350-900. The first A350-1000 has entered the final assembly line and is expected to begin test flights before the end of 2016, Airbus said in a statement on February 10 (European time). First delivery was slated for mid-2017 to A350-1000 launch customer Qatar Airways. The Doha-based oneworld alliance… (australianaviation.com.au) More...

Cargolux 747-8F First to reach 1 Million hours ON THE GENX ENGINE

Five and a half years after entry into service of its first GEnx-powered 747-‑8F, Cargolux, became the first operator worldwide to fly one million hours with this new engine type and remains GE’s GEnx fleet leader in total operating hours. With the first delivery of the 747-8F, Cargolux also became the launch customer of the GEnx engine that represents a giant leap forward in propulsion technology, using the latest materials and design processes to reduce weigh and improve performance. It is… (50skyshades.com) More...

Hawaiian Boeing 767-300 near San Jose on Apr 22nd 2016, turbulence injures 4 cabin crew

A Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N582HA (up until today, this aircraft has been seen in zero other incidents while Hawaiian is listed in totally 22 incidents, accidents or reports so far) performing flight HA-43 from San Jose,CA to Honolulu,HI (USA), was climbing through about 14,000 feet out of San Jose's runway 12L when the aircraft encountered turbulence causing injuries to 4 cabin crew. The flight crew continued the flight to Honolulu where the aircraft landed safely on… (www.aeroinside.com) More...