The archive
Aviation stories, reporting and analysis.
1413 published articles across news, aircraft, airlines, airports, history and technical aviation.
24 shown / 1413 total
The Emirates First Class Experience — A Whole New Level of Luxury
Emirates claims the title of the World's Best Airline. Fittingly, the First Class cabin on Emirates Airlines is nonetheless a prestigious and luxurious flying experience - even being called the “hotel in the sky”. Emirates continues to…
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Why Was the Concorde Retired?
Almost 50 years ago, the first commercial supersonic jet was introduced into the world, revolutionizing air travel and opening a new chapter in the way people flew. Flying at 2 times the speed of sound and faster than the spin of the…
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SR-71 Blackbird: The jet that could outfly a bullet and a missile
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, which has a hard-earned reputation for making the impossible happen.…
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Fuel Servicing of Aircraft
Many of us have seen tanker trucks around when the aircraft is on the ground and think about the type of supply they are loading on the plane. Fueling servicing is only one part of Aircraft ground handling when the plane is at the…
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Avelo Airlines: The New U.S. Carrier To Enter The Market
From its base at Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), Avelo plans to start service on April 28 to underserved or secondary airports in the West using leased Boeing 737-800s. Tickets are now on sale at aveloair.com. Purpose & Aim Avelo has a…
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IATA Travel Pass - a way out of the pandemic?
While the COVID19 pandemic is still slowing down aviation and the globe in general, it is obvious (hopefully) that the travel movements will increase again. Besides the direct health status, the documentation will play a crucial role in…
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What Are Those Small Holes On Airplane Windows?
If you’ve ever been in an airplane, you might’ve noticed that there’s a small hole in the bottom of your window. If you haven’t noticed it before, look for it next time; it's on every plane. If you have noticed it before, you might have…
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What Is an ILS Approach?
Decades ago, airplanes started to get more and more automated than ever. The result is a rise in safety on and off the ground. Autopilot was a system that was already installed on several large airplanes over the years but the…
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Flap Track Fairings: What Are They?
If you ask most people who have flown, they would probably say they have seen these “pod-like” structures under the wings of an aircraft. Some people assume that they hold fuel. This is not correct, but in fact, they house the workings…
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Whenever you check in a bag, you get a baggage tag. The baggage tag (also known as luggage tag or bag tag) with some barcodes and some more, some less encrypted information. Why do you need them? What information do you find on them?…
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Which Planes Are Used for Short, Medium, and Long Haul Flights?
Have you ever wondered which type of aircraft you were going to be flying on when travelling? Were you going to fly on a relatively large plane or a small one? The answer depends on the type of route you were travelling on. Aircraft are…
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Fuel Hedging
The cost for fuel is one of an airline’s biggest cost driver. If fuel prices are getting out of control, the overall cost will be heavily affected, too. However, there are ways that an airline can protect itself against it – by hedging…
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How to Find the Cheapest Airfares
Searching for the cheapest airfares online can be a long and difficult process for many flyers. Finding a cheap price and a good deal for your airfares could take hours of searching and it could impede your travel plans. Whether it's…
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Nemeth Parasol
An unusual prototype with circular wing in parasol configuration, built in 1934 became a successful STOL airplane, making the way to circular wing aircraft such as the Flying Pancake the AvroCar among others. Using a fuselage from an…
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Ireland: The Underrated Emerald Isle Yet To Be Explored
Even though COVID-19 may have halted our travel plans to get away from home. Nonetheless, people are exploring new destinations to escape to once travel opportunities start to recommence. This week we will be exploring Ireland! Ireland…
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Science behind shockwaves and a sonic boom
Ever seen a fighter jet rush past you so fast that you hear a loud bang? Well, that loud bang is called a sonic boom. Now, what exactly is a sonic boom? A sonic boom is a thunder-like noise a person on the ground hears that is…
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Emergency calls
“Mayday mayday mayday Thomson 253H, engine failure, continuing northwesterly, inbound towards Wallasey” Flight crew of Thomson 253H This radio message was sent from Thomson253H on 29.04.2007. The aircraft had 233 persons on board. You…
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What are Codeshare Agreements?
The term “codeshare” has been used over the past decades by many people, even persons not travelling too frequently. But is it known what it stands for? And what is it all about? As per definition, a codeshare agreement is a business…
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What’s behind the Murphy’s Law?
Everyone has ever heard about the Murphy’s Law or probably is familiar to people who has mentioned it. And everyone knows that this law is neither positive nor optimistic. In fact, the law says something that at first glance gives you…
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Why Environmental Activists Broke Into Paris Airport and Painted a Plane Green
Overview Last Friday, a group of nine climate change activists from the organization Greenpeace broke into Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and painted an Air France 777-200ER green. The activists scaled the airport fence with ladders…
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Gliding flight in a helicopter?
Many of us know about the gliding capacity of airplanes, the fixed-wing aircraft can glide without the engine power until landing safely with appropriate conditions and well aerodynamic airplane performance. However, how do the…
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