Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

The Airbus A321XLR is currently flown by Aer Lingus, American, Iberia, Qanot Sharq, Qantas, and Wizz Air UK. The Uzbek carrier Qanot Sharq welcomed its first frame on December 20. It has already been flown to London twice, replacing the bog-standard A321neo. Meanwhile, Air Canada, Aegean, IndiGo, and Saudia have all announced routes on the equipment. Air Canada’s current plans see the variant enter service in May. Nine routes are planned. Seven are to Europe, including to Palma de Mallorca, while two are newly added domestic links. The XLR’s Ten Longest Flights: First Half Of 2026 Credit: GCMap They’re summarized below.…

Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system has entered active service in Belarus, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday, as the U.S. efforts to broker a deal to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine have entered a pivotal stage.The ministry released a video showing combat vehicles that are part of the mobile intermediate range ballistic missile system driving across a forest as part of combat training. The announcement followed a statement from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who said earlier this month that the Oreshnik had arrived in the country. Lukashenko said that up to 10 such missile systems will be stationed in…

The two largest widebody aircraft ever to be built are the Boeing 747 and the Boeing 777. These two aircraft are each massive intercontinental airliners that feature passenger cabins with two passenger aisles. They each seat hundreds of passengers and serve some of the most important routes between global transit hubs. Each of these aircraft has had a significant impact on the passenger air travel market, and both types remain in service today after decades of operation. The latest model from the Boeing 747 family is the dynamic Boeing 747-8. This jet was built in both an international passenger and…

Air China has signed an agreement with Airbus to purchase 60 A320neo family aircraft, marking one of the largest single narrowbody orders announced by a Chinese airline in 2025. The Air China deal caps a late-December order bonanza for Airbus in China, as multiple airlines and leasing companies have disclosed large narrowbody deals in the final days of 2025.The purchase, disclosed in a regulatory filing on December 30, 2025, values the aircraft at approximately $9.5 billion at list prices, although airlines typically receive discounts. The order includes 60 A320neo aircraft and will be split between Air China and a wholly owned subsidiary.Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2028 and continue through 2032, according to the filing. Air China said…

JERUSALEM — The U.S. government is slated to allocate $8.6 billion to Boeing for the sale of 25 F-15 fighter jets to Israel, the Pentagon announced on Monday.According to the statement, the deal covers the production of the F-15IA version of the fighter jet, with an option for an additional 25 such aircraft.Boeing will make the warplanes at its St. Louis, Missouri, plant, with a completion date pegged at the end of 2035.The Pentagon announcement came at the end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and is considered Israel’s largest known…

A sticker shock is coming to the United Kingdom in 2026, as property taxes begin to significantly influence the cost of airfare at regional airports. As the tax rate increases by nearly three times its current level, even with government regulation that alleviates cost impacts by over 30%, there will be a significant change for consumers. The largest hubs in the nation, London Gatwick Airport and London Heathrow,are also being impacted by the change in tax rate to property value, but where the largest difference will be shown is with regional airports across the United Kingdom. Taxation Hikes For Aviation…

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is preparing to roll out a nationwide system allowing pilots to give feedback on designated pilot examiners (DPE) after check rides for new licenses and ratings, a move that comes as growing strain on the pilot certification system fuels scrutiny of examiner availability, cost, and testing consistency.  In a Federal Register notice published December 29, 2025, the FAA said it is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to introduce a voluntary “post-activity survey” for pilots who complete practical tests conducted by DPEs. The survey would include roughly a dozen yes-or-no questions covering examiner professionalism, the testing…

The Boeing 757 is one of the most distinctive narrowbody aircraft ever to grace the skies above us. Designed in the late 1970s and introduced in the early 1980s, the aircraft uniquely combined narrowbody economics with performance bordering on widebody capability. Although production ended in 2004, the 757 has enjoyed an unusually long and influential second life, particularly among US carriers. Two airlines stand out as the aircraft’s most prominent remaining operators – Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. The two carriers inherited large 757 fleets through mergers and strategic acquisitions, and both continue to rely on the aircraft for…

Earlier in December, a Malta Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating on behalf of Ryanair experienced an in-flight engine shutdown in one of the more bizarre aviation incidents that most will ever hear about. According to Malta’s aviation regulator, one of the CFM LEAP-1B engines temporarily shut down due to a cockpit sun visor! How could this have happened?! source

Airbus has secured a firm order from long-time partner China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (CALC) for 30 A320neo aircraft with delivery scheduled through to 2033. On December 30, 2025, the two companies announced that CALC had placed its fifth order with Airbus in a relationship that stretches back to 2012. Under the terms of the agreement, Hong Kong-based CALC can convert the order to other variants of the Airbus A320 family aircraft. CALC’s remaining Airbus orderbook will rise to 105 aircraft, bringing its total Airbus orders to 282 of which 203 are A320 family aircraft “Our partnership with Airbus…