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Sir Philip Green takes delivery of £46m private jet

Sir Philip Green is understood to have taken delivery of a new private jet, adding a £46m Gulfstream G650ER to a transport collection that includes a speedboat, a helicopter and three yachts. The billionaire businessman – who last week appeared before MPs to be questioned on his role...

President plans to spend €22k on Government jet flights to Euros

President Michael D Higgins will travel to Euro 2016 in France at huge expense to the taxpayer after he was given clearance to use the Government jet for two separate trips to the games. The Sunday Independent has learned Mr Higgins will fly into Paris tomorrow on the Government's Lear jet ah...


How Iron Maiden Made the Boeing 747 Badass Again

Celebrity endorsements are a cornerstone of advertising nowadays, but an industrial manufacturing giant like Boeing seldom gets the chance to play that game. What celebrity is going to tout stuff like cargo hold capacity and cruising range? Well, Boeing's chance came several weeks ago, when one of its 747-400 jumbo jets touched down at the company's manufacturing plant in Everett, Wash....

Germany grounds Merkel's helicopter after fatal Norway crash

The German Defence Ministry decided on Friday to ground the three Airbus Cougar AS532 helicopters used to transport Chancellor Angela Merkel, after a Europe-wide grounding of the civilian version of the aircraft, a ministry spokesman said. An Airbus H225 Super Puma helicopter ferrying passengers from a Norwegian oil platform operated by Statoil crashed on April 29, killing all 13 people on boar...

Boeing Names John Bruns as President Boeing China

The Boeing Company named company veteran John Bruns president of Boeing China, effective July 1.  He will be based in Beijing.  As president of Boeing China, Bruns, 51, will serve as Boeing’s senior in-country executive and lead company-wide activities. He will be responsible for expanding Boeing’s local presence, for managing business partnerships, government affairs, and...

Ashley Bryant’s Olympic hopes in doubt after airline loses his pole vaults

The Rio Olympic ambitions of Great Britain’s top decathlete Ashley Bryant could be dashed because his pole vaults failed to arrive in Götzis due to an airline cock-up. The 25-year-old finished the two days of competition in Austria with 8,056 points – an agonising 44 short of the 8,100 required to make it to Rio. The pole vault proved to be the difference as Bryant struggled to...

Nicole Kidman sells Etihad Airways in virtual reality movie

Nicole Kidman is flying high. The Australian Oscar winner stars in a just-released ad campaign by Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates. The commercial, a five-minute 360-degree virtual reality film, showcases the deluxe service and accommodations of the new Airbus A380. It also raises a couple of burning questions. How do you get a falcon on the UAE’s national...

Ryanair Appoints New Non-Exec Director Capt. Mike O'Brien

Ryanair Holdings plc, confirmed that Capt Mike O’Brien has joined the Board as Non-Exec Director with oversight of Air Safety. An Irish national, Capt O’Brien has a long and distinguished career in the aviation industry having just retired as Head of Flight Operations with the Maltese Civil Aviation Authority whom he joined in 2001, having previously served for 10 years as the Head of...

Why private jets ‘have to get away from the Hollywood image’

You could say that Thomas Flohr, founder, chairman and owner of the executive jets business VistaJet, has an affinity with his product. “I fly as much as 700 hours a year, so I know what our clients want. They want luxury and comfort, of course, because they have certain lifestyle expectations. But they also want efficiency, because their time is a premium. That’s what we aim to giv...

Female British aviator survives desert plane crash

British adventurer on a round-the-world journey has escaped without serious injury after her 1940s bi-plane crashed in the Arizona desert. Tracey Curtis-Taylor suffered only bruises to her thigh after the vintage Boeing Stearman aircraft turned upside down after hitting a bush during takeoff at Winslow, where it had stopped for re-fuelling. Ewald Gritsch, Ms Curtis-Taylor’s Austrian pa...

Former head of Google’s Project Ara on leaving to start Airbus’ new Silicon Valley lab

At this point in Silicon Valley’s history, it’s nearly impossible to walk down the street without tripping over some incubator or accelerator created by a major corporation hoping to magically capture a little bit of the region’s innovative pixie dust. Most of these efforts don’t amount to much more than sightseeing trips, however. And nobody knows that better than Paul...

Ryanair’s CEO Isn’t Afraid to Scare a Few People to Keep Britain in the EU

Ryanair Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary, emerging as one of the strongest business advocates of Britain staying in the European Union, said the anti-Brexit campaign should be ready to scare voters to secure victory in June 23’s referendum. Asked what he would do to bolster the “Remain” cause if the outcome of the poll is still in doubt 10 days b...

Etihad Airways CEO Hogan to Head Wider Group in Management Revamp

The parent company of Etihad Airways promoted the airline’s chief executive officer to lead the broader group, while giving his position to the chief commercial officer as part of a revamped management structure. James Hogan becomes president and CEO of Etihad Aviation Group, having led the airline since September 2006, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier said Sunday in a statement...

Fly Blue Crane, First Airline Founded By A Black Woman, Is Preparing For First International Takeoff

Fly Blue Crane, the first airline established by a black woman, is already spreading its wings and expanding onto bigger and better horizons. Launched by CEO Siza Mzimela in September 2015, the airline has been operating domestically in South Africa since its inception. However, Fly Blue Crane will be taking off for its first international flight on May 13 with service between Cape Town and Windho...

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TECNAM unveils leadership transition as Giovanni Pascale Langer becomes CEO and Paolo Pascale Langer assumes Presidency

The Board of Directors of Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam S.p.A. has unanimously appointed Giovanni Pascale Langer as Chief Executive Officer, while Paolo Pascale Langer, who...