Premium aerospace journalism · 78 articles · updated September 04, 2026
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber As the Pentagon upgrades aging infrastructure across the Pacific theater to meet the rising threat from China, it is forced to tackle a daunting logistical challenge: securing…
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber The U.S. Navy has begun its long-anticipated search for a first tranche of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), seeking two fully-functional prototypes from industry within…
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber United Airlines limited itself to destinations in far Western Europe for its first deployment of the A321XLR, taking a more cautious view of the jet’s range than Airbus’s…
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Boeing ratcheted up pressure on SPEEA, the union representing 17,000 engineers, scientists and technical workers, after its members rejected the largest wage increases offered…
The Air Current is a subscription-based aviation news service that combines the highest standards of journalism with the level of technical detail and rigor expected by a sophisticated industry audience. We have deep…
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Boeing is poised to rewrite the saga of its CST-100 Starliner, the seemingly star-crossed capsule that stranded two astronauts at the International Space Station for nine…
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Tennessee-based startup Whisper Aero last week performed the first crewed flights with its ultra-quiet electric ducted fans, demonstrating that an Aeriane Swift 3 glider…
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber It was a sunny morning in March in the skies northeast of Alpharetta, Georgia, and I was struggling to maintain my bank angle in slow flight. As our Cessna 172 slowed to 60…
NTSB investigators are examining a suspected bird strike that caused a fan blade-out in a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 climbing out of Thessaloniki International Airport on July 10, resulting in fuselage damage and cabin…
Boeing's MQ-25 Stingray uncrewed aerial tanker was armed with a GBU-75 Joint Direct Attack Munition Long Range cruise missile during unpublicized testing aboard USS Nimitz in June, marking the first time any weapon has…
Archer Aviation announced on August 10 the acquisition of Boeing's Wisk Aero, SkyGrid, and Insitu subsidiaries in an all-stock transaction that will make Boeing the largest outside shareholder in the electric vertical…
The FAA reversed a proposed policy that would have imposed stricter certification requirements on eVTOL aircraft carrying passengers for hire, instead adopting a conventional approach aligned with existing airplane and…
The U.S. Navy issued a request for information on July 14 seeking defense contractors to develop an uncrewed strike aircraft with a 1,000-nautical mile combat radius for future carrier air wings. The platform would…
The Federal Aviation Administration certified Boeing's 737 Max 7 for commercial service on August 3, marking the company's first major airplane derivative to receive an amended type certificate in nearly a decade.…
Boeing presented four-year contract offers to negotiators representing 17,000 unionized engineers, scientists, and technical workers, seeking to avoid a potential strike before the October 6 contract expiration. The…
Major U.S. aviation manufacturers including Boeing and GE Aerospace formed an industry coalition called PRISM to work with the Federal Aviation Administration on accelerating aircraft certification. The initiative aims…
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Airbus CEO Guillame Faury acknowledged that while the dollar is not the European plane maker's preferred currency, it remains the dominant currency for aviation and many industries. Despite Europe advancing sovereign…
Airbus CEO Guillame Faury acknowledged that the U.S. dollar remains the necessary currency for pricing aircraft despite being an unpreferred choice from the company's perspective. Though the dollar is not ideal, its…
Anduril Industries and Archer Aviation unveiled Thunder at the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow, an autonomous hybrid-electric tiltrotor combining Anduril's mission systems and autonomy with Archer's powertrain…
Boeing disassembled one of its 777-9 aircraft in late summer 2025 after six years of dormancy, reflecting the costly rework challenges facing the delayed 777X program. The company took a $4.9 billion reach-forward loss…
Boeing is investing approximately $10 billion into a major 737 production overhaul, including $8.3 billion spent last year to acquire the program's primary supplier and another $1 billion to expand manufacturing…
Electra announced that the Federal Aviation Administration closed the G-1 issue paper for its nine-passenger EL9 "Ultra Short" aircraft, a major regulatory milestone confirming the company's ability to use a…
A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 window ruptured Friday morning following an apparent failure of a fan blade from its right CFM56-7B engine, which caused cabin decompression. The aircraft safely returned to Thessaloniki…
U.S. contractors Leidos and RTX Corp. are leveraging concerns about Chinese business relationships and national security to oppose foreign competitors in the Federal Aviation Administration's bid for a Common Automation…
The Air Current is a subscription-based aviation news service that combines high journalism standards with technical rigor and detail for a sophisticated industry audience. The publication leverages deep expertise and…
Boeing and 17,000 engineers, scientists, and technical workers are starting contract negotiations using an interest-based bargaining method for the first time in 25 years to avoid a labor showdown. The union SPEEA will…
Boeing experienced a widespread IT outage that disrupted commercial and military production across factories from Washington to Florida. The outage occurred on the last day of the quarter when Boeing typically seeks to…
Beta Technologies CEO Kyle Clark stated that electric aircraft could begin commercial operations before FAA type certification through the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, with the agency appearing open to medical and…
The U.S. military deployed Boeing's MQ-28A Ghost Bat, an uncrewed fighter aircraft, for the first time during Valiant Shield 2026, a multinational combat simulation exercise in the northwestern Pacific from June 22 to…
U.S. Coast Guard aviation leaders criticized the FAA's 2025 airspace revisions around Washington, D.C., stating that while the changes reduced helicopter-to-fixed-wing aircraft conflicts, they increased risks of…
Alaska Air Group plans to deploy Boeing 737-800s to replace Hawaiian Airlines' Boeing 717s on interisland routes, with the airline's newly-appointed president Shane Tackett describing the 737 as the most likely solution…
The Pentagon increasingly employs helicopters as counter-drone platforms following lessons from global conflicts where unmanned aircraft have proven lethal and cost-effective weapons. Starting June 22, U.S. Air Force…
Boeing engineers are preparing for labor negotiations with a contract expiring October 6, seeking work-from-home options, addressing artificial intelligence concerns, and securing market-leading compensation increases.…
The Federal Aviation Administration is poised to award Boston-based Air Space Intelligence a contract for its AI-powered air traffic management tool called SMART, which is central to the FAA's national airspace system…
Jeppesen ForeFlight, spun off from Boeing in November under private equity ownership, is implementing an expansion strategy centered on building trust around AI in aviation rather than rushing to market. CEO Brad Surak…
Germany's eVTOL industry suffered major setbacks in 2024 when Lilium and Volocopter ran out of funding, allowing momentum in the sector to shift toward the U.S. and China. The country's approach to the industry is…
Helios Horizon, a nonprofit organization, conducted the first crewed flights of a human-piloted electric plane powered by solid-state batteries on June 5 at Zephyrhills Municipal Airport in Florida, using a modified…
U.S. airlines operate within constrained capacity limits created by rising fuel costs, airport infrastructure spending, and systemic inflation, while facing operational challenges from limited runways and insufficient…
Boeing is exploring production increases for its 737 aircraft family to approximately 70 jets monthly, a rate that would approach Airbus's 75-jet monthly target for 2027. The higher production cadence would test the…
United Airlines took delivery of the first increased performance 787-9 in May 2026, with the aircraft beginning revenue service shortly after. The jetliner, registered N81105, entered service on May 12 and operates…
Whisper Aero revealed lab test results demonstrating that its JetFoil ducted fan design produces a "stall-proof wing" capable of maintaining lift even at extremely low airspeeds, potentially enabling near-vertical…
Honeywell Aerospace will present its growth strategy to investors ahead of its June 29 initial public offering, as the company separates from Honeywell International. CEO Jim Currier highlighted that the standalone…
The U.S. Navy plans to resume operations on Wake Island, a largely dormant WWII-era airfield in the Pacific, after more than 70 years of reduced staffing as part of a broader Pentagon effort to rehabilitate Cold War and…
The Federal Aviation Administration has clarified that commercial passenger and cargo operations by eVTOL aircraft are possible under the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, potentially before type certification is…
Boeing plans to increase 737 production to 47 aircraft per month this summer following regulatory approval, with subsequent rate increases scheduled at roughly six-month intervals to strengthen the company's finances.…
MHI RJ announced for the first time its willingness to retrofit the North American CRJ regional jet fleet with ADS-B "In" traffic awareness technology to avoid forced retirement, as this technology may become federally…
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Tinian's North Field, the U.S. Air Force's largest historical airfield in the Pacific, is set to resume operations on May 31, 2026, after four years of construction and rehabilitation on the remote island in the…
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Boeing ended nearly a decade-long sales drought to China with an initial commitment for 200 aircraft that could potentially reach 750 aircraft total, with GE Aerospace supplying engines for the exported planes.…
The Air Current is a subscription-based aviation news service that combines high journalistic standards with technical rigor tailored for sophisticated industry audiences. The service leverages deep expertise and an…
The Federal Aviation Administration's selection of foreign contractors from Spain, France, and Austria for air traffic control system modernization has prompted U.S. competitors including RTX Corp and L3Harris to argue…
Finnair had identified a Russia-related geopolitical crisis as one of its two worst-case scenarios before 2020, and the country's 2022 invasion of Ukraine brought this prediction to pass. The invasion destroyed…
The FAA proposed rules requiring commercial eVTOL pilots to hold powered-lift certifications and instrument ratings, plus type ratings for each aircraft model, contradicting manufacturer claims that the aircraft are…
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth announced the "Experienced Pilots Save Lives Act" at Honeywell's Advanced Air Mobility Summit, which would increase the required cross-country flight time for an Airline Transport Pilot…
Whisper Aero, a Tennessee startup founded by former Uber Elevate leaders, unveiled its proprietary electric ducted fan technology and the Whisper Jet, a nine-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft designed for regional air…
The Trump administration is pursuing a rescue of Spirit Airlines through a proposed merger or government bailout despite the airline industry viewing the carrier's collapse as beneficial to remaining competitors.…
Log-in here if you’re already a subscriber Ten years ago this October, Uber announced in a white paper by its newly created Elevate unit that it was all-in on flying cars. Not that Uber actually called them “flying…
Malaysia's AirAsia Group ordered 150 Airbus A220 jets, marking the largest order in the program's history and revitalizing sales for the narrowbody aircraft. The deal, signed at Airbus's Mirabel facility with Canadian…
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The Air Current is a subscription-based aviation news service that combines journalistic standards with technical rigor for a sophisticated industry audience. The publication leverages deep subject expertise and an…
The Air Current is a subscription-based aviation news service that emphasizes technical depth and journalistic rigor for sophisticated industry audiences. The service leverages deep expertise and an extensive network of…
The Air Current is a subscription-based aviation news service that combines journalism standards with the technical detail and rigor expected by sophisticated industry audiences. The publication leverages deep expertise…
Alaska Air phased out non-Boeing aircraft, Delta acquired a new aircraft type, Air Canada ordered early A321XLRs, and the FAA questioned 737 Max 10 availability amid ongoing fleet modernization. Berkshire Hathaway's…
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The Air Current maintains a historical archive of aviation industry articles covering topics including aircraft production, safety, technology, and airline history. The collection features analyses by contributors such…
Germany implemented more extensive economic support measures for its aerospace industry during the pandemic compared to the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. While the U.S. provided limited airline payroll…
Alaska Airlines completed its transition to an all-Boeing aircraft fleet as of September 2023. The airline is positioning itself for growth and expansion beyond its recovery phase.
The Air Current is a subscription-based aviation news service that combines rigorous journalism with technical expertise to cover industry topics typically overlooked by other publications, drawing on deep source…
The Air Current's Aircraft Production archive displays recent aviation industry news covering major aircraft manufacturing developments from 2023 to 2025. Coverage includes Boeing's 737 Max production ramp-up efforts…
The Air Current's analysis archives feature articles examining geopolitical disruptions, labor negotiations, competitive airline dynamics, and economic trends affecting commercial aviation from 2022 through 2026. Topics…
The Air Current's Industry Strategy archive lists articles on aviation and aerospace topics spanning January 2026 back to May 2025. Featured articles cover major aircraft manufacturers like ATR and Spirit AeroSystems,…
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The Air Current's technology archive indexes articles on aviation industry developments, with recent coverage addressing artificial intelligence certification in aircraft, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL)…
The Air Current is a subscription-based aviation news service that combines rigorous journalism with technical detail tailored for sophisticated industry readers. The publication leverages deep expertise and an…
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