Aggressive intra-European expansion planned

In simulator centers worldwide, training providers are coming up with clever and creative ways to boost the relevance of virtual flight-training scenarios, where pilots experience and respond to unusual circumstances like upsets. The trick will be to keep the pilots from trumpeting their experiences on social media and alerting pilot colleagues of what awaits them in the simulator.

The global airline industry is notorious for losing money. But for various reasons, 2014 looks set to be the most profitable year ever. That is the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) upbeat forecast and it applies to profits in absolute numbers. While the figure may look impressive, it only corresponds to a margin of 2.6%; the industry has had some better profit margins, most recently in 2010.

By the logic of “bigger is better,” Alaska Airlines should be in real trouble. It operates a modestly sized fleet from a relatively small home market with a business model somewhere between a low-fare carrier and legacy airline. Seattle-based Alaska, however, proves that logic does not always apply.

The FAA finalized a new pilot training rule on Nov. 5 giving the airlines five years to begin exposing pilots to full stalls in flight simulators. But how much exposure should they get? The rule came primarily as the result of the 2009 Colgan Air Q400 crash near Buffalo, N.Y., the product of an improper control input that put the aircraft into a deep stall. To support the rule, hundreds of full-motion simulators will have to be upgraded with expanded envelopes that include performance in a stalled state for more than 50 aircraft models and configurations.

Hawaiian Airlines shifts focus to tap into Pacific Rim potential

People focused on the potential benefits of autonomous vehicles

Not so fast, says Bombardier aircraft chief