Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

I’m just wrapping up a very fun trip, and rather than doing preview posts for each part of the experience, I’m instead just going to publish a full trip report shortly. Well, sort of. I just got off a nine-hour overnight Royal Jordanian Boeing 787-8 flight from Bangkok (BKK) to Amman (AMM), and I just can’t help but share some impressions. Of course there are bigger issues in the world, and my complaint isn’t that Royal Jordanian doesn’t know how to treat influencers. 😉 However, Royal Jordanian is currently undergoing a radical transformation that includes a fleet modernization, and I…

One question I’m often asked is if credit card issuers close card accounts due to inactivity. In other words, could your card be canceled if you don’t put any spending on it for some amount of time, and is that something to be worried about? Many of us into the miles & points game have a lot of credit cards — for example, personally, I have over a couple dozen cards. There are different reasons why I hold onto cards: Some cards I hold onto for the return on spending that they offer, so obviously those cards aren’t inactive Some…

Kuwait’s two national carriers resumed direct operations from Kuwait International Airport (KWI) on April 26, 2026, ending a nearly two-month forced exile in Saudi Arabia following Iranian retaliatory strikes that shut down regional airspace at the start of March 2026. Kuwait Airways will operate 35 flights from Terminal 4 (T4) over the first week, serving an initial network of 17 international destinations, including London, Istanbul, Mumbai, Cairo, Manila, Riyadh, and Jeddah. Acting CEO Abdulwahab Al-Shatti told Kuwait state news agency KUNA that Cairo flights would run daily, while Jeddah and Dhaka would each be served four times per week. Eight…

Dassault Aviation has selected Spanish propulsion company Arkadia Space to develop and supply the complete propulsion system for the VORTEX-D, the subscale demonstrator of its planned reusable European spaceplane.  The contract, announced by Arkadia Space on April 21, 2026, covers a full reaction control system built around the company’s 250-newton ARIEL monopropellant thrusters, along with associated propellant tanks and control electronics.   The system will handle precision maneuvering during the higher-altitude phases of the mission, where positional accuracy and reliability become critical for hypersonic re-entry.   ARIEL thruster gains second European reusable launch customer  ARIEL was developed by Arkadia Space starting in…

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The past several weeks have possibly been the strangest period I’ve ever seen in the airline industry. A couple of weeks ago, we learned how United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby secretly proposed to President Trump the concept of merging with American Airlines. This is based on an airline “trade deficit” argument (that by creating one US mega airline, they could better compete with foreign carriers), which makes no sense. American publicly “rejected” pursuing this merger (again, based just on what was rumored). Well, today Kirby put out a statement explaining his logic for wanting the merger, saying he’ll let it…

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on April 27, 2026, that Poland will build a national “drone armada” drawing on Ukrainian battlefield expertise, with financing pooled from European and Polish sources.   The announcement was made in Rzeszów at the ‘Road to URC – Security and Defence’ conference on April 27, 2026.  Speaking alongside Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, Tusk framed the initiative as a reversal of the wartime aid relationship.  “It is very important to me that these tragic and at the same time impressive experiences of Ukraine in its confrontation with Russia also become part of Polish know-how on how to defend…

Japan Airlines (JAL) is bringing humanoid robots to the tarmac. Starting May 2026, JAL Grand Service and GMO AI & Robotics Trading will begin testing humanoid robots at Japanese airports in what is being called the first experiment of its kind in the country.  The goal is to see whether robots shaped like humans can help with ground handling tasks such as loading baggage, moving cargo, and eventually even cleaning aircraft cabins. Why humanoid robots? Airport ground operations still rely heavily on manual labor. Workers operate various types of equipment in tight spaces around aircraft, load and unload bags, and…

A Qatar Airways pilot and an air traffic controller at Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) recently had a disagreement on frequency. While the pilots were primarily at fault, this gets at the issue of how phraseology differs in the United States vs. in most other parts of the world. It also felt like the air traffic controller was on a bit of a power trip. Qatar Airways pilots confused over ATC instructions This incident happened very late at night on April 23, 2026, and involves Qatar Airways flight QR8357. Specifically, this was a Qatar Airways Cargo flight, operated by a Boeing…

Solomon Airlines announced it is adding a new weekly service between Honiara International Airport (HIR) and Jacksons International Airport (POM) in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, giving travelers from the Solomon Islands same-day connections to several major Asian cities. The route launches on June 30, 2026, and will operate every Tuesday. Flights depart Honiara at 09:40 local time, and arrive in Port Moresby at 11:00 local time, with enough time for passengers to catch onward flights to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) and Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) on the same day. In the other direction, the return flight leaves Port…