Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

Publication Air Mail ran a story entitled “The Bonvoy Problem,” with the subheading being “Points programs are destroying the luxury-hotel experience. Can anything stop the freeloaders?” While the thesis isn’t completely wrong (in terms points programs having an impact on the hotel experience, and also impacting economics), I consider this to be a very bad take, and the level of pretentiousness here is next level… let’s unpack. Are people redeeming points terrible freeloaders? Okay, that’s not my take, but that’s essentially what’s being argued in this story. Let’s first go over the claims being made, and in the next section,…

Sikorsky has delivered to the US Army an experimental UH-60MX Black Hawk helicopter equipped with its MATRIX autonomy suite, as the service advances work on optionally piloted and autonomous rotorcraft. The Lockheed Martin subsidiary announced on March 23, 2026, that it had completed the integration and flight testing of the aircraft before handing it over to the Army for further evaluation.  The UH-60MX is a full-authority fly-by-wire, optionally piloted UH-60. The helicopter will now be used by the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, DEVCOM, as a testbed to assess autonomy concepts and human-machine teaming.  The aircraft is designed to help the Army explore how future helicopters could operate with…

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Spain’s government has indicated that the Spanish Air and Space Force’s F-18 fleet could remain in service until as late as 2040, a sign that Madrid is preparing to keep at least some of its legacy fighters flying longer than previously expected.   In a written parliamentary reply dated February 23, 2026, the government said that extending the F-18’s service life to “2035-2040” would require adapting the aircraft’s sustainment system so the fleet can be supported until retirement while maintaining both operability and safety.   The reply also makes clear that this will come at a cost. According to the government, the maintenance plan for the aircraft’s avionics…

While this obviously pales in comparison to the Air Canada Jazz CRJ-900 accident we just saw, a United Boeing 737 had a very strange incident, whereby the pilots tried to take off on the edge of the runway. After rejecting the takeoff, the pilots didn’t even have the aircraft inspected, but just headed right back to the runway, to take off again. United plane has botched takeoff at Chicago O’Hare Airport The Aviation Herald has the details of an incident happened a little after 8PM on Thursday, March 19, 2026. It involves United Airlines flight UA1394, scheduled to operate from…

Subscription Required By Karl Sinclair Updated with March 13, 2026, oil prices. March 23, 2026, © Leeham News: Airlines and lessors around the world are clamouring for their aircraft, which have been ordered and scheduled for delivery years in advance. As the Trump Administration begins to cobble together an economic plan to combat rising oil prices due to the Iran war, this is especially true in the narrow-body segment, where fuel-efficient aircraft are badly needed. The IATA fuel price monitor has jet fuel selling at $175/bbl for the week ending March 13, 2026, which applies more pressure on OEMs to…

The doors may have finally closed on the latest edition of PTE World (Passenger Terminal Expo & Conference), but the conversations about this stimulating segment of aviation will continue long throughout the year. As a media partner of PTE World 2026, AeroTime was on the ground over the three-day event from March 17 to 19, 2026, to speak with industry stakeholders and learn more about the technology shaping airports. As one of the largest and highly regarded airport conferences in the world, many of aviation’s most prominent companies were in London at the ExCel center to exhibit their work and…

In early 2025, Lufthansa Group acquired a 41% stake in Italy’s ITA Airways. Italy is an important market for all major European carriers, and it’s one where SkyTeam has historically been strongest, so Lufthansa Group wanted to change that. Shortly after that happened, ITA Airways left the SkyTeam alliance, with plans to eventually join the Star Alliance, and adopt Miles & More as its loyalty program. We now know the timeline with which that will happen, and we won’t have to wait much longer. ITA Airways will enter its next chapter on April 1, 2026 ITA Airways has announced that…

With the current partial government shutdown, many federal workers aren’t receiving paychecks. This includes TSA officers, and that’s leading to an increasing number of sick calls, which has meant longer lines at security. Some airports have even seen over 50% of TSA agents call in sick on some days. Past government shutdowns have sometimes ultimately ended because of the impacts on our aviation ecosystem. Along those lines, a couple of days ago, President Trump suggested he’s going to do something that’s sure to be controversial. We’re now starting to learn more details about what this will look like… Trump sends…

A Russian Progress cargo spacecraft heading to the International Space Station (ISS) will have to be docked manually after one of its automated rendezvous antennas failed to deploy following launch, according to Roscosmos.   The uncrewed Progress MS-33 spacecraft lifted off aboard a Soyuz-2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 22, 2026, and is still due to reach the station on March 24, 2026.  In a statement on Telegram, Roscosmos said the issue affects one of the spacecraft’s KURS automated rendezvous antennas, a key element of the Russian docking system. While engineers continue to troubleshoot the malfunction, NASA said all other systems are operating normally,…