Runway Girl
• Mary Kirby
Thompson Aero Seating says it is “absolutely exploring” ways to support airlines pursuing extra-opulent, enclosed first-class and multi-person “first class-plus” suite concepts on widebody aircraft. The move targets the ongoing shift toward premium cabin product differentiation beyond conventional First layouts.
Runway Girl
• Mary Kirby
By Runway Girl: Connected aircraft will exceed 70,000 by 2035, with penetration expected to rise to 72% in commercial aviation alone, Novaspace finds.
Air Data News
• Ricardo Meier
By Air Data News: Dutch carrier expects to receive its first A350-900 in late August before introducing the type plans to introduce its first Airbus A350-900 into commercial service on flights between Amsterdam and Toronto, making the Canadian city the launch destination for the airline's newest widebody.
Bloomberg
• Hayley Warren, Jack Wittels, Tom Fevrier
By Bloomberg: The closure of the Strait of Hormuz raised questions about the resilience of jet fuel supplies, so Bloomberg crunched the numbers to look at where the vulnerabilities lie.
Reuters
• Julie Zhu, Tim Hepher
By Reuters: China Eastern Airlines said on Friday it plans to buy 25 A330neo jets from Airbus for a catalogue price of about $9.35 billion, as the Chinese carrier expands its widebody fleet to serve more international routes.
Airline Economics
AirInsight
Bloomberg
• Siddharth Philip
By Bloomberg: The US Federal Aviation Administration issued several airworthiness directives Friday for Boeing Co. jets, including 737 Max aircraft and 787 Dreamliners, operating in Canadian airspace that could face interference from 5G radio waves.
Associated Press
• SIMINA MISTREANU
By Associated Press: A small aircraft crashed into Beijing’s tallest building, the global flight tracking service provider Flightradar24 confirms, following witness accounts and evacuations in the city’s business district.
One Mile at a Time
Paddle Your Own Kanoo
• Mateusz Maszczynski
By Paddle Your Own Kanoo: Delta Air Lines plans to go head-to-head with JetBlue and United Airlines after it announced plans on Friday to launch new non-stop flights between Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) beginning on April 12, 2027.
Airline Geeks
Paddle Your Own Kanoo
• Mateusz Maszczynski
FlightGlobal
• Jon Hemmerdinger
