Paddle Your Own Kanoo
• Mateusz Maszczynski
American Airlines is dealing with malfunctioning business-class seats aboard its new Airbus A321XLR aircraft. While seat breakdowns are common in airline operations, the reported failures are drawing attention because they affect a premium cabin on a newly introduced long-range narrowbody, with the underlying cause still unclear.
Airbus
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American Airlines is dealing with malfunctioning business-class seats aboard its new Airbus A321XLR aircraft. While seat breakdowns are common in airline operations, the reported failures are drawing attention because they affect a premium cabin on a newly introduced long-range narrowbody, with the underlying cause still unclear.
Airbus has appointed Nicolas Boltoukhine, an experienced corporate aviation executive and pilot, to lead Airbus Corporate Helicopters. He succeeds Frederic Lemos, who is departing after serving as the unit’s CEO since 2017.
Iberia has received authorization to perform comprehensive, end-to-end maintenance on its Airbus A350 fleet. The approval is notable because it was granted without limitations, expanding the Spanish flag carrier’s ability to manage the aircraft’s maintenance requirements in-house.
French all-business carrier La Compagnie plans to add a third A321LR in 2027 and its first A321XLR in 2028, potentially doubling its fleet. The airline is also launching nonstop Düsseldorf–New York Newark service next spring, expanding its transatlantic network beyond its existing operations.
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Avio completes the second successful Vega C launch of 2026, deploying the European Space Agency’s FLEX and Copernicus Sentinel-3C Earth-observation satellites from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The mission places two science and environmental-monitoring spacecraft into orbit and demonstrates continued Vega C operations.
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Airbus expects Asia-Pacific’s expanding middle class, new city-pair routes and fleet growth to sustain demand for thousands of aircraft over the next two decades. Despite geopolitical headwinds and supply-chain constraints, the manufacturer sees no significant regional slowdown and forecasts the region will account for about 45% of new jet deliveries.
ESA’s FLEX and Sentinel-3C Earth-observation satellites are ready for launch on Vega-C from French Guiana, while Airbus and Unseenlabs won a contract for France’s next SIGINT satellites. Cailabs is advancing shared optical ground infrastructure, and Satellogic plans three additional Earth-observation satellites.
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Etihad Airways has revealed a four-seat First Class cabin for its incoming Airbus A330-900s, with the suites more closely resembling the carrier’s latest Business Class product than its A380 First Apartments. The Abu Dhabi-based airline expects to receive its first A330neo in September 2027.
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