On this episode of AvTalk, the Raccoon returns! Plus, the FAA is keeping Virgin Galactic grounded, and the list of places the MAX can fly gets longer.
Welcome back Mr. Porter
Porter Airlines restarted flights this week after an 18 month hiatus. And not to miss out on the party, Air Canada also brought back flights to Toronto City Billy Bishop Airport, the city’s downtown airport.
FAA grounds Virgin Galactic
During its trip to space in July, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity strayed outside of its assigned airspace safety area for nearly two minutes. Now the FAA has grounded the spaceplane pending the outcome of its investigation into the incident. Read The New Yorker’s article on the subject here.
Philippine Airlines shedding aircraft in bankruptcy
Philippine Airlines has long suffered financial pressures and the pandemic finally pushed the airline into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As part of its restructuring, the airline will shed 22 jet, including a handful of A350s and 777s.
Lufthansa Cargo adding A321P2F
Lufthansa Cargo will add a pair of A321P2F (passenger to freighter conversion) aircraft to its fleet. The A321s will be operated by Lufthansa City Line and fly within Europe in support of eCommerce operations.
Air Wisconsin’s CRJ200F
In even stranger news than Lufthansa’s A321P2F, Air Wisconsin is adding the CRJ200 freighter to its fleet.
More MAX, 787s still on hold
Singapore and Malaysia have now both cleared the 737 MAX for flight, while the FAA rejected Boeing’s proposed inspection regime for 787s with quality issues, pushing back the resumption of deliveries for the manufacturer’s main widebody until October at the earliest.
How to deliver and aircraft
Greater Bay Airlines gets its first 737 and the journey to its new home is circuitous.
Checkout of the Flightradar24 YouTube channel
Flight videos, tutorials, video versions of the podcast. We’ve got it all over on YouTube. Check out the latest videos and be sure to subscribe while you’re there to get notified when new videos are uploaded.
Meet up with us in Los Angeles next weekend
Jason and Ian will be at Dorkfest beginning at 11:00 am on Saturday, 18 September in the park across from the In-N-Out at Los Angeles International Airport. If you’re in the neighborhood, we’d love to chat. Stop by for airplanes and some Flightradar24 goodies.
Let us know what you think (and let your friends know too!)
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