Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

Boeing said on March 23, 2026, that the Federal Aviation Administration has certified increased maximum takeoff weight options for the 787-9 and 787-10, a change that will give airline customers the ability to carry more payload or operate longer routes with the widebody jets. The company said the certification applies to an increased maximum takeoff weight, or iMTOW, for both models. Boeing said the first aircraft built with the capability are already moving toward delivery, marking the next step in bringing the higher-weight option into service. Boeing said the upgrade followed airline demand for more flexibility from the 787 family.…

The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse London Heathrow (LHR) is excellent, and I rank it as one of the best business class lounges in the world. However, the lounge definitely wasn’t feeling cutting edge anymore as of late, so there’s some positive news.Virgin Atlantic unveils Heathrow Clubhouse updatesWhile I wouldn’t call it a full renovation, Virgin Atlantic has just unveiled some positive changes that have quietly been rolled out at the Clubhouse, which should all either already be available, or be launching very shortly. I recently covered how we’re seeing the temporary return of a spa in the lounge, but there’s a…

Four weeks after the launch of Epic Fury, additional F-16Cs, EA-18Gs and E-2Ds are flying to the Middle East, the USS Boxer ARG is enroute and rumors say the 82nd Airborne Division might be on alert. We are now in the fourth week since the launch of Operation Epic Fury and the Israeli counterpart Operation Roaring Lion on Feb. 28, 2026. While the U.S. keeps stressing that Iranian military capabilities have been completely destroyed, additional assets are still being deployed to the Middle East. Among the assets that were observed deploying in the last few days are U.S. Air Force…

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers began assisting at airport security checkpoints on March 23, 2026, as a partial US government shutdown continued to strain Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staffing and push wait times higher at several major US airports.   The move follows a weekend order from President Donald Trump directing ICE personnel to report to airports to help support TSA operations as the funding lapse entered its sixth week.   The deployment affects more than a dozen airports, including Atlanta, John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark, Phoenix, Houston and New Orleans. ICE officers were assigned to limited checkpoint-support roles such as guarding exit lanes, helping manage crowds and,…

Tragedy struck on March 23, 1994, at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, on an aircraft parking ramp known as ‘Green Ramp.’ A number of paratroopers were lost and several injured after flames and debris rained down on their training and assembly area after a mid-air collision between a fighter jet and a cargo plane, the debris also igniting a large cargo plane parked on the ramp. The Paratroopers A force of over 500 paratroopers from the 504th and 505th Parachute Infantry Regiments, along with the 782nd Support Battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, had…

Lithuanian authorities are investigating after an unidentified object, believed to be a drone, exploded overnight near the village of Lavys in the Varėna district, close to the border with Belarus. According to Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, surveillance camera footage indicates the incident occurred at 03:04 local time on March 23, 2026. The Lithuanian Armed Forces said preliminary information suggests the object may have crossed into Lithuanian airspace before crashing into a lake in the area. Emergency services and the military were dispatched to the scene, and authorities activated plan “Skydas,” Lithuania’s standard response protocol for incidents involving possible explosives or…

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…