Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

Emirates seems to think that this is a good time to devalue its loyalty program, which strikes me as a questionable decision, given what’s going on in the world… Emirates Skywards changing award costs May 20, 2026The Emirates Skywards mileage calculator has been updated to reflect that there will be changes to award costs for bookings as of May 20, 2026. Specifically, this will impact classic rewards and upgrade rewards, the two best ways to redeem Skywards miles.Emirates Skywards will change award costsNow, technically we don’t know how award costs will change. I suppose in theory, Emirates may decide to…

By Bjorn Fehrm May 15, 2026, ©. Leeham News: We have finished a series on Blended WingBody (BWB) airliners, where one of the tougher challenges will be the design of the airframe structures. In aircraft design, the aerodynamic shape of the aircraft gets a lot of attention for obvious reasons; it’s what we see, and if it’s well-made, it’s aesthetically beautiful. For successful aircraft designs, a well-thought-out and designed structure is equally important. Aircraft designers and experts recognize a well-thought-out, well-designed structure when they see it, and it is an equally beautiful experience. In the series, we will see that…

Air India Group posted a $2.8 billion annual loss in the year ended March 31, 2026, underscoring the scale of the challenge facing Tata Group as it works to rebuild the airline into a global competitor. The loss comes during one of the most ambitious airline turnarounds in the world. Since taking control of Air India in 2022, Tata has ordered hundreds of new aircraft, merged Vistara into Air India, started upgrading cabins and systems, and moved to restore the carrier’s reputation after decades under government ownership. But the airline continues to face a difficult operating environment. Air India has…

Virgin Galactic’s new suborbital space adventurer, SpaceShip, is advancing through ground tests and is on track to commence flight testing from July 2026. On May 14, 2026, Virgin Galactic confirmed in an update that the first SpaceShip had reached ‘Weight on Wheels’ in April 2026, bringing the assembly phase to a close. The company also announced that its former spacecraft Unity will return for an “encore performance” later this month, in the first of several glide flights. “It’s an outstanding real-world proxy for our pilots ahead of flight testing for the new ship,” said a spokesperson for Virgin Galactic. Virgin…

Finnish space technology firm ICEYE has handed over a four-satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) reconnaissance constellation to the Polish armed forces, less than 12 months after contract signature. The company has described this as the fastest operational deployment of a satellite program on record.  The system, built under the MikroSAR program and operationally designated POLSARIS (Polish SAR Intelligence System), was transferred to Poland’s Geospatial Reconnaissance and Satellite Services Agency (ARGUS) on May 15, 2026. The contract with Poland’s Ministry of National Defense, worth approximately €200 million, was signed in May 2025.  ICEYE acted as consortium leader, delivering the satellites and space segment, while Wojskowe Zakłady Łączności Nr 1, part of the Polish…

House lawmakers and government watchdogs expressed skepticism Wednesday about the Defense Department’s ability to produce a clean financial audit by a Dec. 31, 2028, statutory deadline. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on the DoD years-long struggle to produce a clean financial audit despite claiming around half of the government’s discretionary spending.Congress passed a measure as part of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act that requires the DoD to produce a clean audit by Dec. 31, 2028. “Clean” means a clear enough accounting of the military’s assets, what was budgeted and spent, along with evidence…

US President Donald Trump has indicated that an agreement with China for 200 Boeing commercial aircraft could rise to 750, if the planemaker does a “good job”. President Trump was speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he left China following an official state visit to meet with President Xi in Beijing. The US president first announced that he had secured an order from China for 200 Boeing aircraft on May 14, 2026, but his latest comments went much further. Speaking on May 15, 2026, President Trump said: “We made a lot of great trade deals, including over 200…

On May 15, 2026, Air Astana marked the 24th anniversary of its first commercial flight, a milestone that reflects the airline’s growth from a small regional carrier into the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus. The airline launched in May 2002 with just three aircraft. Today, Air Astana Group operates a fleet of 63 aircraft, serving 44 international and 14 domestic destinations across Asia, Europe and Kazakhstan. Air Astana – 24 YearsThe largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus by fleet size and revenue:• 63 aircraft• Over 100 destinations• 7,000 employees• 9,7 million passengers annuallyThank…

I’ve written in the past about the best airline boarding music and the best airline safety videos. Continuing with the theme of enjoying airline-related things at home, today I want to share some of my favorite airline ads that were produced in the past 25 or so years. I’m a huge fan of both airlines and marketing, so when you combine the two, I enjoy airline ads more than others. It’s hard to rank these ads since they’re all so different, but below are some of my favorites (and then in the comments section, I’d love to hear which ads…

United Airlines has announced an expansion of its services to Japan for the season of Winter 2026/27.  The US carrier is to launch a new daily year-round service, connecting its base at Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Tokyo-Narita (NRT) with a Boeing 787-8 aircraft.   This nonstop service, the only one offered by a US airline between these two airports, will start on October 24, 2026, complementing United’s existing service between Chicago O’Hare and Tokyo-Haneda (HND).    At Narita, United Airlines’ passengers will be able to connect to 21 other destinations in Asia through United’s Star Alliance partner All Nippon Airways (ANA).  The…