Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby ran the idea of a colossal merger with rival American Airlines by US President Donald Trump during a meet-up at the White House, according to reports. According to Bloomberg, sources told the media organization that Kirby sounded out the potential move with senior government officials. Reuters later reported that conversations about a merger between United and American were held in late February 2026 and involved President Trump. The conversation took place while they met to discuss the future of Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), according to Reuters. The news follows a CNBC interview with the…

WARSAW, Poland — Swedish company Swebal is building the first trinitrotoluene (TNT) factory to be opened in Sweden since the end of the Cold War, aiming to expand the European-made supply of a key explosive input used to make ammunition.Meanwhile, the continent’s only major TNT plant in Poland is investing to boost its production capacity.With Russia’s manufacturing capabilities dwarfing Europe’s output and the Iran war creating new supply chain bottlenecks, European players should invest in expanding their explosive manufacturing capabilities, Joakim Sjöblom, the co-founder and chief executive of Swebal, told Defense News.“As the Cold War was ending, we had seven…

We’ve known for quite some time that Air Canada plans to introduce a new passenger experience on its long haul flights, launching on upcoming, newly delivered aircraft. There’s now an exciting update, as Air Canada has just unveiled those details. Air Canada rolling out new business class seats Air Canada plans to introduce two different kinds of new business class seats — this includes a new business class (branded as Air Canada Signature Class) for the carrier’s upcoming 30 Airbus A321XLR narrow body planes, plus 18 Boeing 787-10 wide body planes. The A321XLRs will start to be delivered in the…

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The Australian army has test-fired its first-ever locally assembled Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, a key step toward eventually producing long-range strike weapons locally rather than importing them.The milestone occurred at the Woomera Test Range in South Australia, with the rocket fired from an M142 HIMARS launcher.It was the third live-fire event for an Australian Army HIMARS since the first units arrived in Australia in March 2025. The country has ordered 42 HIMARS launchers to date.A Lockheed Martin production facility in Port Wakefield, South Australia, opened last December. The plan over the next several…

Lufthansa flight attendants have called a two-day strike to run concurrently with a pilot walkout that entered its second day on April 14, 2026. On April 13, 2026, the Independent Flight Attendants’ Organization (UFO) said that Lufthansa cabin crew would take industrial action on April 15 and 16, 2026, affecting flights departing Munich Airport (MUC) and Frankfurt Airport (FRA). “Over the past few months, the employers have made it clear that they are unwilling to adequately address our demands and are stalling. For this reason, negotiations have failed. We are therefore forced to enforce our demands through a strike,” said…

Estonia is halting a €500 million procurement of new infantry fighting vehicles and redirecting the funds toward counter-drone systems, air defense, and unmanned capabilities, while simultaneously ordering three more HIMARS rocket launchers to expand its deep-strike arsenal.  Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur announced on April 9, 2026, that Tallinn would suspend a planned joint acquisition of CV9035 MK IV IFVs, which had been explored alongside several NATO partners, including the Netherlands, Norway, and Lithuania. The existing CV90 fleet, acquired secondhand from the Netherlands in 2014, will instead have its service life extended by up to 10 years.  Pevkur argued that the role of heavy armored vehicles…

Guys, either Scott Kirby is losing his mind, or the Trump administration likes “big deals” even more than we already knew. Scott Kirby is pitching United buying American? Bloomberg is reporting that United CEO Scott Kirby has pitched the idea of United acquiring American to senior members of the Trump administration. Per the report: Kirby has pitched the idea to senior government officials, though it’s unclear if any overtures have since been made or if an actual process is underway to explore a deal, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the conversations are private. Jon…

Guys, either Scott Kirby is losing his mind, or the Trump administration likes “big deals” even more than we already knew. Scott Kirby is pitching United buying American? Bloomberg is reporting that United CEO Scott Kirby has pitched the idea of United acquiring American to senior members of the Trump administration. Per the report: Kirby has pitched the idea to senior government officials, though it’s unclear if any overtures have since been made or if an actual process is underway to explore a deal, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the conversations are private. Jon…

As the U.S. Navy continues to increase its presence and block passage in the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war, experts have published a report calling into question the country’s current shipbuilding strategy and recommending ways to improve its maritime industrial base.A Center for Maritime Strategy report, released Friday, argues that amid an “atrophy” of the maritime industrial base, the U.S. should utilize its partnerships with naval allies to boost its shipbuilding, technological and strategic capabilities.This assessment comes while the Navy is in the spotlight for playing a large part in the war in Iran, a conflict that puts…

Collectively I’d like to think that OMAAT readers know just about everything, so I’m wondering if anyone might be able to help with a solution to my problem… My one annoyance with using the iPhone camera I review airlines and hotels in great detail, though I take a pretty low-tech approach to doing so. For as long as I can remember, I’ve just been using my iPhone to take pictures for the blog, and I find that it does the trick. The iPhone does the trick for taking plane cabin pictures I’m not a professional photographer, and for me, the…