Flight Safety Information - February 6, 2025 No. 027 In This Issue : Incident: Jazz CRJ9 at Chicago on Feb 1st 2025, lavatory fire indication on final approach : Accident: Wizz A321 near Bucharest on Feb 4th 2025, cabin pressure problem : Beechcraft B300 King Air 350 - Fatal Accident (Philippines) : Japan Airlines flight hits tail of parked Delta plane at Seattle SeaTac Airport : The same Boeing passenger plane keeps being diverted after take-off... what's going on? : Investigators are set to brief lawmakers on the DC midair collision Thursday. Here’s what we know : Pilots warned of safety concerns at Reagan National Airport for decades : FAA Expands Restrictions Around DCA : Passenger Restrained After Allegedly Punching and Cracking Airplane Window : FAA bars helicopters, planes from sharing air space over Potomac : These airlines are using Apple AirTags to help reunite passengers with lost luggage : Thai Airways to bolster fleet with eight factory-new Airbus A321neo aircraft : Embraer Books $7B Order from Flexjet : Boeing expects Indian, South Asian airlines to add over 2,800 jets in next 20 years : Trump Admin Invites Elon Musk and DOGE to Wreck Country’s Planes Next : Calendar of Events Incident: Jazz CRJ9 at Chicago on Feb 1st 2025, lavatory fire indication on final approach A Jazz Canadair CRJ-900, registration C-FJZN performing flight QK-901/AC-8901 from Toronto,ON (Canada) to Chicago O'Hare,IL (USA), was on final approach to Chicago's runway 09L when the crew received an aft lavatory fire alarm. The crew declared PAN PAN and continued for a safe landing. The Canadian TSB reported that no smoke was observed. A flight attendant touched the door of the lavatory and found it cool. Subsequently the captain investigated, found the mirror warm, removed it and found that the heat duct had not been attached. Contract maintenance was called to re-attach the heat duct. https://avherald.com/h?article=523ba0ee&opt=0 Accident: Wizz A321 near Bucharest on Feb 4th 2025, cabin pressure problem A Wizz Air Airbus A321-200, registration HA-LTK performing flight W4-3176 from Barcelona,SP (Spain) to Bucharest Otopeni (Romania), was enroute at FL330 about 140nm westsouthwest of Bucharest still in Bulgarian Airspace when the crew initiated an emergency descent to FL120 initially descending in a circle before crossing into Romania, subsequently descended to FL100 due to problems with the cabin pressure. In contact with Bucharest Center the crew cancelled Mayday as they were not at FL100. Later on approach the crew declared Mayday again advising a lady (32) in the middle of the cabin needed medical attention. The aircraft continued to Bucharest for a safe landing on runway 08R about 35 minutes after leaving FL330. The aircraft is still on the ground in Bucharest about 28 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=523b782d&opt=0 Beechcraft B300 King Air 350 - Fatal Accident (Philippines) Date: Thursday 6 February 2025 Time: 14:00 Type: Beechcraft B300 King Air 350 Owner/operator: Metrea Special Aerospace Registration: N349CA MSN: FL-349 Year of manufacture: 2002 Fatalities: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Destroyed Location: Ampatuan - Philippines Phase: En route Nature: Departure airport: Destination airport: Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources Narrative: A Beechcraft 350 King Air operated by a US defence contractor crashed in Ampatuan. All four occupants died in the crash. https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/475317 Japan Airlines flight hits tail of parked Delta plane at Seattle SeaTac Airport The right wing of a taxiing Japan Airlines flight hit the tail of a parked Delta plane at Seattle's SeaTac Airport on Wednesday, according to the airport and the Federal Aviation Administration. No one was injured but passengers on both flights were forced to deplane, SeaTac Airport said. Delta Flight 1921 was set to fly to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with 142 customers on board. Delta said in a statement, "While in sequence for deicing, the tail of a Delta 737 aircraft reportedly made contact with a wing tip of another airline's aircraft. There are no reports of injuries for crew or customers on the flight, and we apologize for the experience and delay in travels." The FAA said it will investigate. "The aircraft were in an area that is not under air traffic control," the FAA noted. The airport said the incident had a "minimal impact" on its operations. https://www.yahoo.com/news/japan-airlines-flight-hits-tail-202254015.html The same Boeing passenger plane keeps being diverted after take-off... what's going on? It was a bad few weeks for one particular Boeing plane, which appears to have been diverted four times in 25 days. An American Airlines 787-8 Dreamliner with the registration code N819AN appeared to repeatedly take off and then changing its direction back to its departure airport throughout January into February. The incident was first pointed out by a user on Bluesky last week who said of the plane “If I'm getting the full picture, this 787 has had an incredibly bad month or so – like not quite like much I've really seen before really. Diversions, aborted take-offs, out of service, etc.” The first incident happened on 7 January. A flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Philadelphia, USA, ended up lasting only one hour and 46 minutes after changing its course and flying back to its departing airport, Amsterdam Schiphol, according to data collected by FlightAware. The plane did several circles around North Holland, chopping and changing its direction before flying out into the North Sea, turning around, and then landing back at the airport. Only three days later, another diversion happened with the same Boeing jet. On 10 January, the American Airlines flight left Philadelphia International at 10.17am for a journey to Dublin, Ireland. Just over an hour into the flight, it turned back to Philadelphia, unable to complete its transatlantic journey. The plane flew over New Jersey and out into the Atlantic Ocean before doing a U-turn back to the airport in Philadelphia. The unlucky streak continued for the aircraft, when two flights cancelled: one Dublin to Philadelphia journey on 13 January and a Barcelona, Spain, lfight to Philadelphia the day after. It is unclear what caused the cancellations, but this was not the end of this Boeing plane’s flight turmoil, as two more diversions followed suit. On 19 January, the plane yet again changed its intended destination of Philadelphia following its departure from Barcelona just after 2pm, spending very little time in the air – landing back in Barcelona following only 34 minutes of travel time. The Boeing jet completed a flight from Barcelona to Dallas Fort Worth, where American Airlines has a maintenance hangar, on 23 January, and stayed there for several days. The curious case of the Boeing plane that diverted four times in 25 days The most recent diversion occurred on 1 February, on a flight from Zurich, Switzerland, to Philadelphia, having departed at 10.39am. It didn’t even last an hour in the air, and was back at Zurich’s airport at 11.24am after circling the airspace near the airport a number of times. In between these diversions and cancellations, there has been successful completion of flights, such as a recent flight from Zurich to Philadelphia on Wednesday 5 February, that left on time and completed its eight-and-a-half-hour flight to the United States. American Airlines has yet to comment on what caused all these diversions. The Independent has contacted the airline for further information. https://www.yahoo.com/news/same-boeing-passenger-plane-keeps-111409276.html Investigators are set to brief lawmakers on the DC midair collision Thursday. Here’s what we know Investigators trying to figure out what led to the deadly midair collision between a US military Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines plane near Washington, DC, last week will brief lawmakers Thursday on what they’ve learned after combing through data from both aircraft and air traffic control. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are expected to speak to the bipartisan group as the effort to pull wreckage from the cold waters of the Potomac River continues less than five miles away. Here’s what we know about the investigation into the crash that left 67 people dead: Investigators analyzing data The NTSB is grappling with conflicting altitude data as it works to piece together how the collision unfolded. The agency said Tuesday the Potomac TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control) data for the Black Hawk, which was stationed at Fort Belvoir in Virginia and flying a training mission, showed it at 300 feet shortly before the collision. The helicopter’s designated route had a strict altitude limit of 200 feet, according to FAA charts. Potomac TRACON is a regional air traffic control facility that fuses information from multiple radar sensors and the data each aircraft broadcasts on its position using GPS technology. However, radar readings from the airport tower place the helicopter at 200 feet, while the commercial jet’s flight data recorder reported an altitude of 325 feet, NTSB board member J. Todd Inman stated over the weekend. The NTSB has said that a clearer understanding of the Black Hawk’s position will only emerge once its wreckage is recovered from the Potomac River, which is expected to happen in the coming days. In the meantime, the FAA has indefinitely suspended the use of most designated helicopter routes over the Potomac. Both the aircrafts’ flight data and cockpit voice recorders – commonly known as black boxes – have been recovered. Investigators have been working to synchronize the recordings to better understand the events leading up to the collision. And separate teams continue to review maintenance records for both aircraft. “Every piece of the information is critical to the investigation, and the NTSB is about transparency,” NTSB board chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN’s Pete Muntean on Monday. Officials have cautioned against drawing premature conclusions into the cause of the crash. Determining the Black Hawk’s precise altitude at the time of the collision is seen as a crucial step in understanding how two aircraft collided under clear skies over some of the country’s most tightly controlled airspace. The NTSB is expected to release a preliminary report on the crash within 30 days. While final investigations often take more than a year to complete, Homendy voiced optimism that this case could progress more quickly. “I would hope it would be much less than that,” Homendy said. What investigators are examining on the wreckage Crews led by the NTSB and the US Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving have pulled significant pieces of the passenger jet from the Potomac River, including its right wing, sections of the fuselage, the cockpit and key flight systems, according to the NTSB. The wreckage is being sent to a secure location “for a full wreckage layout and examination,” the NTSB said. The investigation will include a detailed inspection of the jet’s major components, structural damage, and fracture surfaces as well as an assessment of its overall “airworthiness,” the NTSB said. Investigators will also examine cockpit switch positions and instrument readings, the agency said. Crews working on the wreckage recovery face another day of cold and wet conditions Thursday. A winter weather advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. for icy conditions, before transitioning to rain later in the morning and clearing by the afternoon. All 67 victims have been identified All 67 victims have been recovered and identified, officials said Wednesday. Among those victims was Ian Epstein, a charismatic American Airlines flight attendant who was remembered in a celebration of life In North Carolina Wednesday, CNN affiliate WBTV reported. “He was just the greatest guy who made everybody happy all the time,” Lynne Southmayd, a former flight attendant, told WBTV. https://www.yahoo.com/news/investigators-set-brief-lawmakers-dc-104343092.html Pilots warned of safety concerns at Reagan National Airport for decades Pilots and air traffic controllers notified authorities about airplanes and helicopters flying alarmingly close at Reagan National Airport (DCA) in at least 15 incident reports dating back to 1991, according to an ABC News review of the reports. Some of the reports warned that the flight space was "an accident waiting to happen" with others describing scenarios eerily close to what occurred when a military Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 last week as the passenger jet approached the airport. "One of these incidents would have been too many," said former Air Force pilot and ABC News aviation consultant John Nance. "This barometer is in the red. It's telling us there is a real problem here. There is a very, very clear track record of something that needs to be fixed." There are at least four reports of safety incidents associated with runway 33, the same runway that AA 5342 was approaching when the collision that took 67 lives occurred. "This has been happening too many times over the years, and it’s now led to a tragedy that could have been prevented," said Steve Ganyard, a former Marine Corps fighter pilot and ABC News contributor. The safety reports were filed with the Aviation Safety Reporting System, a program established by the FAA and managed by NASA that enables professionals within the aviation community to voluntarily and confidentially report safety concerns and incidents in a non-punitive manner. In response to questions from ABC News, the FAA said, "Due to the ongoing NTSB investigation, we cannot provide information at this time." The FAA added that ASRS reports are "one of many data sources we use to identify system-level safety risks." The reports detail accounts of airplane flight crews at DCA who were surprised by helicopters flying too close, oftentimes describing near misses in the air within just hundreds of feet. One captain for a major carrier went so far as to call DCA "probably the most dangerous airport in the United States" in a report concerning their broader safety concerns about flying in and out of the airport. In 2015, the flight crew of a regional jet reported a near mid-air collision when it was switched from landing on runway 1 to runway 33 at DCA, coming "within very close contact" of a helicopter also in air. The safety report continues, "This occurred about 400 feet off the ground to the point where the pilot monitoring had to take the controls to make a correction in order to prevent it from becoming a midair collision." The reporting crew says that only after taking action to avoid a collision was the regional jet informed by DCA air traffic control of the close traffic, with the flight crew adding "at that point it would have been too late." American Airlines Flight 5342 was also switched to runway 33 after lining up for runway 1, in order to keep traffic moving, a common practice at DCA. It is not yet known whether air traffic control ever communicated the helicopter's close proximity to the American Airlines flight crew, though the Black Hawk helicopter was asked if they had the airplane in sight and replied that they did. One airplane captain reported a near mid-air collision with a helicopter in April 2024, writing, "We never received a warning of the traffic from ATC so we were unaware it was there." The captain urged "better separation for DCA traffic on the river visual to the helicopter traffic that is flying up and down the river." In 2013, an airplane captain reported coming within 200 feet of a military helicopter while approaching DCA to land, writing, "There are always numerous military and government helicopters running up and down that river at all times of the day and night. Because of this, what would normally be alarming at any other airport in the country has become commonplace at DCA. The FAA allows these aircraft to operate in this environment and we have no choice, but to accept it and deal with it." The concerned airplane pilot in that incident continued, "I cannot imagine what business is so pressing that these helicopters are allowed to cross the paths of airliners carrying hundreds of people!" Nance said this collection of safety incident reports "details a tale of dress rehearsals for what happened last week." In a separate incident report filed in 1997, an airplane first officer detailing a close encounter with a military helicopter said, "I was not comfortable with the level of safety involved with flying within 400 ft [vertically] of a heli and that is considered a normal op." In 1993, a captain of an airplane that came close to a helicopter flying above the Potomac River said, "This heli conflict around DCA is a daily prob!... This is an accident waiting to happen." In 1991, yet another flight crew reporting a converging flight path with a military helicopter wrote, "Here is an accident waiting to happen." Nance said an examination of these reports illustrates "flight crew confusion at critical junctures in the approach caused by alarming interactions with helicopter traffic," "wildly variable altitudes flown by the helicopter traffic," and "overburdened tower controllers" who "appear to consider the pace of operations and the number of close calls with helicopters in critical areas as business as usual." "The helicopter routes around DCA allow for little margin for error," Ganyard said. "You cannot have aircraft constantly flying so close together and expect to maintain safety." "In the AA crash we see the consequences of a minor mistake becoming a tragedy," Ganyard added. "Step one for the FAA is to reroute helicopter traffic around DCA." In the aftermath of the crash last week, the FAA restricted helicopter traffic over the Potomac River around DCA while the NTSB completes its preliminary investigation. At that point, the FAA said, it will review the airspace based on the NTSB’s report. The Aviation Safety Reporting System was established in 1976 to "support the FAA in its mission to eliminate unsafe conditions in the national aviation system, and prevent avoidable accidents," according to its website. The program is managed by NASA as an independent third party with no regulatory or enforcement role, which says it "ensures that de-identified incident data and the results of special studies are communicated to those responsible for aviation safety." On its website, the FAA said it established it is "a positive program intended to ensure the safest possible system by identifying and correcting unsafe conditions before they lead to accidents." In a report last year on near mid-air collisions, ASRA said, "Such incidents are independently submitted and are not corroborated by NASA, the FAA or NTSB. The existence in the ASRS database of reports concerning a specific topic cannot, therefore, be used to infer the prevalence of that problem within the National Airspace System." https://www.yahoo.com/news/pilots-warned-safety-concerns-reagan-191104195.html FAA Expands Restrictions Around DCA The FAA has temporarily banned all mixed helicopter and fixed-wing flying along the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), taking extreme measures to eliminate the risk of another mid-air collision. Restrictions put in place two days after the Jan. 29 collision of an American Airlines CRJ-700 and an Army UH-60L Black Hawk limited helicopter operations in a designated area over and around DCA to essential flights—first responders, active air defense missions, and presidential transport. A temporary flight restriction (TFR) issued late Feb. 4 expanded the limitations to prohibit civil traffic in the restricted area when helicopters are there. The limits, in place through at least March, effectively require pausing all DCA departures and arrivals when helicopters are nearby. “The mix of helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft operating in the affected area at the same time will not be permitted,” the FAA notice to air missions containing the TFR said. It is not clear how DCA operations will be affected. But the sharp restrictions on types of helicopter missions should significantly reduce the volume of rotary-wing activity in the TFR area, limiting ramifications for commercial air traffic. Protocols governing mixed flying are among many factors the NTSB is exploring to help piece together how the mid-air collision happened and what will prevent a similar occurrence. Investigators have confirmed that the collision between American flight 5342 and the Black Hawk took place at 300 ft at the intersection of a designated helicopter flight path, route 4, and the approach path of DCA’s runway 33. Helicopter traffic on that portion of route 4 is supposed to stay below 200 ft. While the apparent altitude deviation may have played a role in the accident, investigators are expected to look at more far-reaching factors. The FAA’s extreme TFR suggests these will include all aspects of helicopter operations on the routes around DCA. Despite years of operations without anything close to the flight 5342/Black Hawk disaster, plenty of signs pointed to risks linked to helicopters operating near DCA. The NASA-managed Aviation Safety Reporting Systems database has more than 40 reports dating back to the 1990s that reference problems with helicopters and commercial flights maintaining safe separation. Despite these and the existence of the route 4/runway 33 approach path intersection, little was done to highlight risks or improve situational awareness. Commercial pilots that operate in and out of DCA are provided with a special, general advisory covering the airport’s unusual characteristics. A version reviewed by Aviation Week covers eight pages. It discusses the Washington D.C. area’s congested airspace, further constricted by its proximity to Prohibited Area 56 (P-56), the heavily restricted airspace over downtown Washington, including the White House. And while it references military operations, it neither discusses helicopter flying specifically nor references their routes. Airport-specific flight manual supplements provided by airlines are similarly quiet on helicopter operations. One major carrier’s supplement reviewed by Aviation Week discusses DCA’s unique River Visual approach that snakes south down the Potomac to Runway 19, highlights P-56 for awareness, and has a section on the runway 33 approach procedure. The runway 33 guidance highlights “numerous” towers and other obstacles along the Potomac’s east bank. Helicopter operations and routes are not covered. https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/safety-ops-regulation/faa-expands-restrictions-around-dca Passenger Restrained After Allegedly Punching and Cracking Airplane Window A Frontier Airlines passenger was restrained on a flight from Denver to Houston after he allegedly began screaming and punching the aircraft window A Frontier Airlines passenger was restrained after he allegedly punched the aircraft's windows on a Tuesday, Feb. 4, flight from Denver to Houston, Fox 26 and ABC News report. A fellow passenger filed the incident, during which the passenger was "banging on the windows" mid-flight. The Frontier Flight 4856 was traveling from Denver to Houston and landed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 11:10 p.m., per Fox 26. Twenty minutes into the flight, the combative passenger attempted to speak to the woman in the row in front of him, but she didn't reply, police said, per Fox 26. He then started punching the seat in front of him and the plane window. "He was screaming in multiple languages, punching at the window, lying back, and trying to kick it out," passenger Tanner Phillips said on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir. The window sustained damage, and there were cracks in the glass and the passenger's blood was on the glass. Other male passengers then restrained him and put him back in his seat. "It took a couple of guys to get his arms secured," Phillips said. He reportedly remained calm for the rest of the 2-hour, 30-minute flight. Upon arrival, the Houston Police Department performed a welfare check at Bush Airport for the passenger, and the HPD questioned him. Frontier Airlines reportedly declined to press charges. Japan Airlines Wing Slices into Delta Air Lines Tail at SeaTac Airport During Collision Passenger Jessica Brown told Fox 26 that the incident was "absolutely chaotic." "The most terrifying thing I've ever been through. We turned around, and we saw this guy just punching out the window, and immediately we screamed for help," Brown said. "I just thought we are not having another 9-11. Like, this is not going to happen, and I was just so thankful that my husband and the other men jumped in immediately, so he didn't break the second panel of the window," Brown continued. "We were using shoestrings and belts, headphones, just to get him restrained." Another passenger, 13-year-old Chloe Starcevic, said she was "absolutely terrified" and that her "anxiety was really bad." "Me and my mom were shaking the whole time, and we were praying the whole time. I didn't know what was going to happen. It was really scary," Starcevic told Fox 26. "I didn't really know what to think. I didn't know what was going to happen to all of us. I was really concerned for my dad, because he's very brave for wanting to do that." The recent aviation incident is the latest of several making headlines in the last week, including the plane and helicopter collision in Washington D.C., the medical jet that crashed in Philadelphia, the two planes that collided on the tarmac at the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and the plane that caught fire before taking off in Houston. https://people.com/passenger-restrained-after-allegedly-punching-and-cracking-airplane-window-8786796 FAA bars helicopters, planes from sharing air space over Potomac FAA issues guidance to pilots after deadly crash near Washington Helicopters will be prohibited from flying over the Potomac River When exceptions are made for emergencies, planes to be rerouted Helicopters and airplanes are no longer allowed to share air space over the Potomac River near busy Reagan Washington National Airport, the FAA announced after a deadly Jan. 29 mid-air collision there killed 67 people. The swath of airspace over the river will be reserved for airplanes, with exceptions, the FAA said in a Temporary Flying Restriction posted Tuesday. If a medical, police, military or presidential helicopter must fly in that space, civilian aircraft will not be allowed, “to prevent potential conflicts in this airspace,” officials said. In last week’s air tragedy, a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter with three crew aboard collided with an American Airlines regional passenger jet with 60 passengers and four crew members. Both aircraft plunged into the icy Potomac River. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are trying to determine whether the Black Hawk was too high at the time of the crash, among other facts. The restriction on planes and helicopters near the Washington area airport is in effect until March 31, the agency said. All 67 victims of the collision have been recovered and identified, authorities have said, and much of the jet, a Bombardier CRJ700, has been pulled from the water. https://thehill.com/regulation/transportation/5129625-faa-helicopters-planes-barred-air-space-sharing/ These airlines are using Apple AirTags to help reunite passengers with lost luggage Major airlines are integrating an Apple AirTag location feature into their bag tracing services. Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic are some of the first to use the feature Apple announced in November. Lufthansa, which briefly banned AirTags in 2022, said it's part of ongoing "digital innovations." A number of major airlines are rolling out a new baggage service that will come in handy for anyone using AirTags. Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa announced this week that passengers can now share the location of their AirTags with customer service teams to help find and retrieve their lost luggage. Lufthansa said in a press release that passengers can now "privately and securely" share the location of an AirTag with their baggage tracing service. "The group's airlines integrate this information into their systems accordingly and can therefore digitally support baggage tracking," said the German carrier, which also owns Austrian, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways. Corneel Koster, COO at Virgin Atlantic, said the innovation would give customers peace of mind on progress to locate a mislaid bag. Apple AirTag Apple AirTags are being integrated into the baggage tracing services of major airlines.Dave Johnson In November, Apple announced it was working with more than 15 airlines, including United, British Airways, Vueling, and Qantas on incorporating a new "Find My" software feature of iOS 18.2 into their "customer service process for locating mishandled or delayed bags." Aviation news site Paddle Your Own Kanoo reports that the AirTag location-sharing feature also has additional security measures. Passengers can stop sharing the AirTag's location with the airline at any point, and location-sharing ends as soon as bags are returned. "We have been able to achieve significant improvements in the last few months in the area of baggage tracing," said Lufthansa's Oliver Schmitt. "The integration of our customers' AirTag data opens up additional possibilities for us to act even more efficiently and quickly." Lufthansa's integration of AirTags into its baggage tracing service comes after the airline briefly banned active AirTags in 2022. As BI previously reported, the ban was scrapped a few days later after the airline decided the tracking devices did "not pose a safety risk." https://www.yahoo.com/tech/airlines-using-apple-airtags-help-114310680.html Thai Airways to bolster fleet with eight factory-new Airbus A321neo aircraft Thai Airways has entered a lease agreement with Dublin-based SMBC Aviation Capital for eight factory-new Airbus A321neo aircraft. The agreement between Thai Airways and SMBC was confirmed on February 5, 2025, with delivery of the new Airbus A321neos scheduled to arrive in 2026 and 2027. The narrowbody aircraft form part of SMBC’s own orderbook with Airbus which, according to ch-aviation, includes 19 A321neos, 27 A321-200NXs and four A321-200NX(LR) jets. On February 20, 2024, at the Singapore Airshow, Thai Airways announced that it had placed an order with Boeing for 45 787-9 aircraft. The following day Thai Airways and lessor AerCap announced that the national flag carrier would lease a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft which would include 10 A321neos. The flurry of orders and agreements over the last 12 months is part of Thai Airways’ plans for sustainable long-term fleet growth to replace gradually expiring leased and aging aircraft. “The Airbus A321neo aircraft will not only boost Thai Airways operational efficiency, it will enhance the overall customer experience with more comfort and advanced features while also promoting a more sustainable aviation industry,” said Conor Stafford, Head of Airline Marketing, SMBC Aviation Capital. Stafford added: “We are delighted to support Thai Airways in the growth and modernization of their fleet and we look forward to many years of working together.” Thai Airways was forced to file for bankruptcy protection in 2020 as its financial position was decimated by the collapse in air travel during the pandemic. However, over the four intervening years, the company has undertaken a wide-ranging restructuring process across its entire organization and operation, with the primary goal being to turn around the airline’s financial position. Thai Airways total current fleet includes 79 aircraft with the Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777-300ER among the most numerous. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/thai-airways-smbc-aviation-airbus-neo-lease Embraer Books $7B Order from Flexjet The fractional-ownership aircraft service contracted for more than 200 private jets, including after-sale services and support, in the largest order ever for both the manufacturer and its customer. Brazilian aircraft builder Embraer S.A. will supply more than 200 jets to Flexjet under a $7-billion contract that the supplier reported is the largest ever placed by the Florida-based, fractional-ownership aviation service. The agreement from Embraer Executive Jets represents a firm order for 182 Embraer Praetor 600, Praetor 500, and Phenom 300E aircraft, and options for up to 30 more, plus enhanced jet services and support. Neither the manufacturer nor its customer indicated the delivery schedule for the new aircraft. The new booking also represents the largest firm order ever for Embraer Executive Jets. The jet-builder offers a range of private aircraft for seven to nine passengers, and ranges from 3,300 to 4,624 miles. Flight Options, a predecessor to Flexjet, became the first fractional-ownership program to introduce the Embraer Legacy executive jet. It was the launch customer for several Embraer private aircraft models – the Legacy Executive in 2003, the Phenom 300 in 2010, the Legacy 450 in 2016, and the Praetor 500 / 600 in 2019. Today, Flexjet has more than 150 Embraer jets in its fleet. According to CEO Michael Silvestro, “Both the Praetor 500 and 600 are high performers in the Flexjet fleet. In fact, the Praetor 600 was so well accepted in Europe, we opted to include it in our North American fleet in 2023, extending our Embraer fleet across two continents. And as the first fractional provider of the Praetor 500, our maintenance technicians and our pilots are intimately familiar with the aircraft and are looking forward to the continued growth of this fleet.” https://www.americanmachinist.com/news/article/55266175/aircraft-oem-books-7b-order-from-flexjet-embraer Boeing expects Indian, South Asian airlines to add over 2,800 jets in next 20 years (Reuters) - Boeing said on Thursday it expects Indian and South Asian airlines will add 2,835 commercial aircraft to their fleet over the next 20 years, a four-fold increase over current levels, as a rising middle class and healthy economic growth spur travel. The U.S. planemaker's previous rolling 20-year market forecast, issued last year, was for 2,705 jets. "People will have greater access to air travel, and the region's airlines will require a modern fuel-efficient fleet to meet increased demand over the next two decades," said Ashwin Naidu, Boeing's managing director of commercial marketing for India and South Asia. The planemaker estimated in the closely-watched forecast that carriers in the two regions will take delivery of 2,445 single-aisle aircraft, representing roughly nine out of ten deliveries, while widebody fleet size will quadruple after adding 370 aircraft. It also expects the region's air traffic will grow more than 7% annually through 2043. India is the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world after the U.S. and China and it is also the fastest-growing market, with IndiGo and Air India the top two airlines. Indian airlines have about 1,800 aircraft on order with global planemakers and are scheduled to take delivery of 130 jets this year, according to data from UK-based Cirium Ascend. However, airlines worldwide are struggling to procure jets on time as supply chain issues pressure production at Boeing and Airbus. Boeing's deliveries dropped in 2024 to the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic in part due to a crippling strike, but the planemaker said last month it was making progress on increasing plane production. Airbus, meanwhile, fell fractionally short of its 2024 target. The Indian aviation industry also faces challenges such as currency pressures, jet fuel price volatility, lower airfares than the global average and an imbalance in long-haul market share compared to foreign carriers, Boeing added on Thursday. https://www.yahoo.com/news/finance/news/boeing-sees-delivery-over-2-073050211.html Trump Admin Invites Elon Musk and DOGE to Wreck Country’s Planes Next After a horrific start to his tenure, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has decided that our aviation system needs Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE’s help. “Big News–Talked to the DOGE team. They are going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system,” Duffy wrote Wednesday on X. “With the support of President @realDonaldTrump, the @DOGE team will aim to make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system,” Musk replied. “Just a few days ago, the FAA’s primary aircraft safety notification system failed for several hours!” The United States is now getting aviation safety consultations from the adolescent minions of a man whose cybertruck is a death trap and whose rockets often explode. That’s not to mention the Teslas regularly crashing and erupting in flames. Duffy faces a populace that is shaken after the devastating crash near Reagan National Airport, thanks in part to an aviation system that is outdated and understaffed. We can only hope, for all of our sakes, that Elon isn’t letting a bunch of recent college graduates handle these “rapid safety upgrades.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-famous-self-crashing-213102077.html CALENDAR OF EVENTS • · Sponsor the 2025 Fuzion Safety Conference! March 4 & 5, 2025 (Orlando) • · "Automation in Transportation: Lessons for Safe Implementation," on March 11-12, 2025, in Washington, DC. • · Annual Women in Aviation International Conference, Gaylord Rockies Resort & Conference Center | Denver Colorado, March 27-29, 2025 • · 59th Annual SMU Air Law Symposium is scheduled March 31 - April 2, 2025 • · Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) Safety Symposium April 7-9, 2025 • · AIA Conference: The Aviation Insurance Association's annual conference in Orlando, Florida from April 25–28, 2025 • · Sixth Edition of International Accident Investigation Forum, 21 to 23 May 2025, Singapore • · The 9th Shanghai International Aerospace Technology and Equipment Exposition 2025; June 11 to 13, 2025 • ISASI ANNUAL SEMINAR 2025'September 29, 2025 – October 3, 2025, DENVER, COLORADO • CHC Safety & Quality Summit, 11th – 13th November 2025, Vancouver, BC Canada Curt Lewis