Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

Korean regional airline SUM Air placed an order for up to eight ATR72-600 aircraft (four firm orders and four purchase rights) on April 3, 2026, with deliveries set to start from 2028. The deal was signed during the state visit to Seoul of French president Emmanuel Macron.  While SUM Air is new to the market, it is, technically speaking, not an entirely new ATR operator, since this deal has been signed just days after SUM Air launched scheduled operations with an ATR72-600 leased from Singapore-based lessor Avation.  Although it was founded as a subsidiary of a firm called ‘Mobility as…

Embraer delivered 44 aircraft during the first quarter of 2026, a 47% increase over the 30 units handed over in the same period a year earlier. The Brazilian manufacturer disclosed these figures in a securities filing on April 2, 2026, with growth recorded across all three business segments.  Growth across all segments  Commercial aviation accounted for 10 deliveries, up 43% from seven in Q1 2025. This comprised six E175s, one E190-E2 and three E195-E2s. Executive aviation contributed 29 jets, a 26% increase from 23 a year earlier, with the breakdown including 15 Phenom 300s, one Phenom 100, nine Praetor 500s and four Praetor 600s. The defense and security division delivered five aircraft, one KC-390 Millennium and four A-29…

In the summer of 2025, the government of Portugal relaunched a project to privatize national carrier TAP Air Portugal, with the goal of selling a large stake within a year or so. All too often, not much comes of this, though it seems like this is moving along. Two major airline groups have just submitted bids to invest in TAP, so this should get interesting. TAP Air Portugal privatization effort underway Portugal’s government has relaunched an effort to privatize TAP Air Portugal, with the goal of selling a 44.9% stake within a year, with the possibility to give up a…

Unverified images circulating on social media on April 3, 2026, appear to show the wreckage of a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle on Iranian soil.   If authentic, markings visible on the remains of a vertical stabilizer would identify the aircraft as belonging to the 494th Fighter Squadron, part of the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom.   However, neither the images’ origin nor the circumstances of the alleged crash have yet to be independently confirmed.  Second, the hills in the background don’t illicit a sense of this being anywhere in Kuwait, the site of the 3 shot down early in the war by…

Earlier this week, JetBlue became the first airline in the United States to increase checked bag fees in recent times. This is an area where JetBlue tends to “lead,” and there’s now an update, as one of the “big three” carriers has followed JetBlue’s lead. United tries to boost revenue with higher checked bag fees Airlines are obviously in an incredibly tough spot at the moment. We’ve seen a massive increase in fuel costs, which is one of the biggest variable expenses that airlines have. If oil prices don’t decrease from these levels, even the world’s most profitable airlines will…

Jet fuel prices have more than doubled since the start of Operation Epic Fury, but the financial damage is landing unevenly across the global airline industry. The difference comes down to a single question: who hedged, and who didn’t? Since hostilities began on February 28, 2026, spot prices have surged from roughly $96 a barrel to as high as $197, driven by the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the loss of refinery output across the Persian Gulf. On April 3, 2026, northwest European jet fuel hit $1,840 per metric ton on the Platts assessment, a new record. …

By Bjorn Fehrm April 3, 2026, ©. Leeham News: We have started a series of articles on the Blended Wing Body (BWB) as a potentially more efficient design for passenger-carrying airliners than the classical Tube And Wing (TAW) configuration. In the third article last week, we saw that the large wing surface area of a Blended Wing Body does not come from cruise-phase requirements; it comes from the lift needed in the landing phase, where BWBs lack flaps to increase wing lift. It needs a large wing area to compensate. Now we will see that the wingspan does not come…

Disconnecting and reconnecting pipes can be laborious. Assuming the pipes use permanent fittings, you may have to cut them. An alternative to permanent fittings, however, is pipe unions. Pipe unions eliminate the need for cutting while allowing pipes to be quickly connected and disconnected. Here’s everything you need to know about pipe unions. What Are Pipe Unions? Pipe unions are specialized fittings that connect two threaded pipes (or tubes). As shown in the adjacent photo, they feature threaded ends. You can connect two threaded pipes to the ends of a pipe union. If you need to disconnect the pipes, you…

For quite some time, Air France-KLM Flying Blue has been offering a paid status match promotion. This status match has long had residency requirements for eligibility, and that continues to be the case. The good news is that we’ve just seen the list of eligible countries expanded, and it now includes the United States and Canada, among other countries. The website statusmatch.com is currently partnering with Air France-KLM Flying Blue to offer a status match promotion, with the option to earn Silver, Gold, or Platinum status. This offer is available to residents of several countries, at different price points, and…

Nowadays the major airlines in the United States earn much of their profits from their loyalty programs, and in particular, their co-branded credit card businesses. Even though the “big three” carriers are already raking in billions per year from these programs, they still see a lot of upside. As a result, a lot of the decisions that we see at airlines are based on trying to increase credit card revenue. Free inflight Wi-Fi? It’s all about getting loyalty program sign-ups, so that airlines can market to members. New destinations? They’re also about getting people interested in the loyalty program, by…