Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

Hurricane Melissa is set to make landfall in Jamaica, as the Caribbean island prepares to face what is reportedly set to be the strongest storm anywhere in the world in 2025. However, while this means that commercial aviation operations have ground to a halt, other planes are still in the sky. Most notably, such extreme weather events often attract specialized aircraft known as hurricane hunters. These modified planes are designed to be able to withstand the full force of such atmospheric phenomena, meaning that they can fly right through the eye of the storm. While a seemingly dangerous task, such…

Honeywell has introduced a new process to convert agricultural and forestry waste into renewable fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The US company describes it as a technological breakthrough and a major step toward lowering carbon emissions in hard-to-decarbonize industries such as aviation and shipping.  Announced on October 28, 2025, the new Honeywell UOP (Universal Oil Products) Biocrude Upgrading process transforms inexpensive biomass feedstocks — such as wood chips, crop residues, and plant waste — into a renewable biocrude that can be refined into finished fuels. The company said the technology enables cost-effective production of “drop-in” fuels that meet existing performance and infrastructure requirements.  Honeywell described the process as capable of producing SAF,…

Not long after airplanes were first used in war, armies realized that close air support required specialists on the ground to coordinate with the pilots. Hence the advent of forward air controllers, and later the U.S. military’s Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, or JTACs.But if you need JTACs to call in air strikes, and space-based weapons are becoming a reality, then don’t you also need specialists to call in space strikes? That’s why there should be Space Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, or SJTACs, argue two experts.For example, “the space JTAC would connect tactical, on-the-ground SOF [special operations forces] units with space…

New York is the US’ largest city, and it’s routinely ranked among the most economically influential cities in the world. Its only true rival is London, and the route between the two cities is the busiest across the Atlantic. In addition, New York has nonstop service to every inhabited continent, but its distance from some of these places means its home to some of the world’s longest flights, with the majority going to John F. Kennedy International Airport(JFK). New York-JFK is the newest of the three major New York airports. Newark Liberty is the other international airport, but it’s dominated…

BERLIN — The German military has received a demonstrator for a high-energy laser weapon developed by Rheinmetall and MBDA, marking a milestone toward fielding an operational directed-energy system for naval use by 2029.The containerized laser system was relocated to the Laser Competence Centre at the Technical Centre for Weapons and Ammunition (WTD 91) in Meppen on Oct. 28, following a year-long trial phase aboard the German Navy frigate Sachsen, Rheinmetall said in a statement. The hand-off comes after the demonstrator completed more than 100 live-firing tests under operational maritime conditions, proving its ability to track and engage drones and other…

For years, we haven’t seen any major US airlines introduce co-branded debit cards, due to lack of ability to make money there. Fortunately that’s a trend that’s now changing, and Southwest Airlines is the first carrier to roll out such a product. Details of the new Southwest Rapid Rewards Debit CardThe new Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Debit Card has just launched, powered by Galileo. The card is issued by Sunrise Banks N.A., member FDIC, with Visa as the payment network. Customers can now sign up for this product at southwestdebit.com, and there’s no credit check when applying.The Southwest Rapid Rewards…

In an intriguing development, ZIPAIR has confirmed the start of flights from Tokyo Narita to Orlando International. However, it is not quite as it seems. It will, for now at least, only be served on a time-limited charter basis. It’ll operate in partnership with Disney Destinations International. Package tours to Orlando are now bookable. Despite being a charter service, the carrier says seat-only ticket sales will be available in early December. It is bound to make my celebratory Weekly Routes newsletter (see the most recent edition). Zipping To Orlando Credit: GCMap The long route will cover 6,301 nautical miles (11,669 km)…

Lufthansa offers one of the few widely available first class products across the Atlantic, and for that matter, it’s one of the best first class products between the United States and Europe that’s bookable with miles. With the the IATA winter 2025-2026 schedule having just kicked in as of late October, I want to recap which Lufthansa planes feature first class, which routes they fly, what to expect from the experience, and how to redeem miles for the product. There are a lot of seasonal changes coming to the aircraft and routes featuring first class, plus the expansion of A350…

It really is the “end of an era” with commercial passenger quadjet production having ended. Not only will everyday-passengers eventually lose out on the experience of stepping onto these large and spacious behemoths, but the ultra-ultra-wealthy and some heads of state may have less options when it comes to flagship executive transports! Yes, quite tragic, isn’t it? But, well, Boeing’s business-jet division recently announced a plan to turn commercial-passenger 747-8s into private business jets. source

For the first time in history, we’re going to see nonstop passenger flights between Japan and Florida. That’s super exciting, though there’s one major catch… Florida lands nonstop Japan flights in early 2026 There are currently no nonstop flights between Florida and Japan. My home airport of Miami International (MIA) has been trying to get an airline to launch such a flight for a long time, but it has never come to fruition (though it continues to be a goal). Well, we’re now going to see a nonstop flight between Florida and Japan. The catch is that it’s not going…