Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

Quote: ADS-B is a safety tool, and it should be used for safety, not as a revenue generator to charge general aviation pilots ramp fees or landing fees…” Source: A quote from NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, appropriately timed as Florida legislators are finally cutting the general aviation community a little slack, with the state’s House of Representatives voting 108 to 2 in favor of a bill that would block airports from using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) tracking data to issue landing fees or other fines.

Boeing’s long recovery from years of manufacturing, safety, and supply-chain turmoil hit another speed bump on March 17, 2026, when the company said its commercial-airplane division is now not expected to return to profitability until 2027, a delay tied largely to the cost of bringing Spirit AeroSystems back in-house.   Reuters reported that Boeing Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave told an investor conference the business is now expected to turn a profit next year rather than in 2026 because the Spirit acquisition is proving more expensive than Boeing had anticipated.   The revised timeline underscores how Boeing is still working through the aftereffects of…

The CEOs of 10 major US passenger and cargo airlines urged Congress to ensure federal aviation workers are paid during government shutdowns, warning that long airport lines and travel disruptions are already straining the system as the spring travel season accelerates.   An open letter, published in The Washington Post on March 15, 2026, was signed by leaders from Alaska Air Group, American Airlines, Atlas Air Worldwide, Delta Air Lines, FedEx, JetBlue, Southwest, United, UPS, and the trade group Airlines for America (A4A).   In the letter, the airline chief executives called on lawmakers to immediately fund the Department of Homeland Security and then move to prevent similar disruptions in future shutdowns.   They…

Europe’s biggest airline group is set to challenge the European Union’s synthetic aviation fuel (SAF) rules, arguing that the timetable for adoption no longer matches market reality as the Iran war drives up conventional jet fuel costs and puts added pressure on airline economics.   Airlines for Europe, whose members include Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Ryanair, easyJet, and British Airways owner IAG, is preparing to call for at least a delay to the EU’s planned SAF mandate, and is also discussing whether to seek its removal altogether.   The EU’s SAF rule currently requires 2% SAF use at EU airports in 2025 and is due to rise to 6% in 2030. Within that 2030 target, 1.2% must come from synthetic fuel, or eSAF,…

SEAD missions appear to be still a big focus of Operation Epic Fury, with EA-18Gs shown flying with four AGM-88s and F-16s flying with mixed AGM-88/JDAM loads. New photos released by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) show U.S. fighter jets being launched for new missions over Iran. Notably, in the latest batch, assets involved in the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) are the focus. The new photos Among the aircraft shown, the most interesting is the EA-18G Growler. In fact, the jet is sporting a rarely seen loadout with four AGM-88 anti-radiation missiles, together with an AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming…

By Scott Hamilton Jay Malave, EVP and CFO of The Boeing Co. Credit: Boeing. March 17, 2026, © Leeham News: Boeing’s deliveries in the first quarter may be lower than originally forecast, but will catch up throughout the remainder of this year, the company’s chief financial officer said today. Jay Malave said that a quality defect on the 737 line affected about 25 airplanes. The defect was spotted by Boeing and involves scratched wiring traced to a miscalibrated machine at a Boeing facility. “We’ve got about a population of about 25 aircraft that are impacted by that, so they’ll have…

Europe is preparing to build its own very low Earth orbit (VLEO) military satellites.  On March 13, 2026, the European Defence Agency (EDA) allocated €15.65 million to research the development of its first VLEO satellite concept, which it calls VLEO-DEF.   VLEO satellites operate at 150–350 km altitude, much lower than the 400-1200 km altitude of standard low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites or the 35,000 km of geostationary satellites (GEO). This allows for higher resolution images of the surface of the planet as well as lower latency in communications to and from the ground.  Although the investment is not large by…

Wildberries, a leading Russian online retailer, is reportedly considering the acquisition of an airline, several Russian media outlets have reported.  According to these reports, which appeared on Aviatorshchina (Авиаторщина), a Russian Telegram channel focused on aviation news, and were later amplified by other mainstream news outlets, Wildberries has been looking at two Russian carriers, Nordwind and Azur Air.  Both airlines have roots in the leisure charter business, although pivoted towards the scheduled flight business in recent years. Both have traditionally had strong links to Turkish tour operators, Nordwind Airlines to Pegas Touristik and Azur Air to Anex Tour, respectively.   Russia’s…

The Air and Space Power Conference 2026 (ASPCon26) took place on March 17, 2026, at the National Convention Centre in Canberra, Australia.  The one-day conference, hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Air and Space Power Centre in coordination with the Joint Capabilities Group, has brought together over 1,000 in-person attendees and more than 850 online participants from around the globe to explore the critical role of air and space power in national defense. The conference kicked off with an opening address by Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, Chief of Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, followed by a strategic…

Editor’s note: When LNA is asked about the progress of Boeing’s recovery, we always express a caveat before answering: It depends on events outside Boeing’s control. The Iran war is just such an event.March 17, 2026, © Leeham News: The paradox at the heart of modern commercial aviation is that the materials engineered to insulate airlines from oil price volatility are themselves creatures of the petrochemical complex.Boeing’s 777X and 787 programs, with their heavy use of composites, face high risks of disruptions and costs due to the Iran War. Source: Boeing.Carbon fiber composites reduce fuel burn by 20% over legacy…