TIMEDESKHEADLINESTATUS
23:13PAXFlying Blue Just Split Every Award Ticket Into Three Tiers — And the Cheapest One Skips the BagJUST IN23:13SAFInstalled Backward: The FAA's New Order for Thousands of AS350 and EC130 HelicoptersUPDATED23:13AIR8.2 Billion Yuan in Red Ink: How a Fuel Shock Sank China's Big Three AirlinesNEW23:13ACFCFM Just Doubled the 737 MAX Engine's Toughest-Climate Lifespan — And 40% of the Fleet Already Has the FixNEW
Flying Blue Just Split Every Award Ticket Into Three Tiers — And the Cheapest One Skips the Bag
Starting September 8, Air France-KLM's Flying Blue program is unbundling every reward flight into Light, Standard and Flex fares — and keeping the old benefits now costs up to 25% more miles.
Rajkumar Agarwal · 31 August 2026
Safety & Regulation
Installed Backward: The FAA's New Order for Thousands of AS350 and EC130 Helicopters
Airlines
8.2 Billion Yuan in Red Ink: How a Fuel Shock Sank China's Big Three Airlines
Aircraft & Manufacturing
CFM Just Doubled the 737 MAX Engine's Toughest-Climate Lifespan — And 40% of the Fleet Already Has the Fix
Flying Blue Just Split Every Award Ticket Into Three Tiers — And the Cheapest One Skips the Bag
Starting September 8, Air France-KLM's Flying Blue program is unbundling every reward flight into Light, Standard and Flex fares — and keeping the old benefits now costs up to 25% more miles.
31 August 2026$17.7 Million and a Loan From the Airport: How American Airlines Is Tripling Its Nashville Lounge
No Boarding Pass Required: Memphis Airport's New Lounge Will Let Anyone In for $45
Installed Backward: The FAA's New Order for Thousands of AS350 and EC130 Helicopters
The FAA has ordered inspections of Airbus AS350 and EC130 helicopters after reports that a coupling flange can be fitted upside down — a defect the agency says could cut power to the main rotor entirely.
31 August 2026A Cracked Steel Tube and a Loss-of-Control Warning: Inside the FAA's New Bell 407 Directive
8.2 Billion Yuan in Red Ink: How a Fuel Shock Sank China's Big Three Airlines
Air China, China Eastern and China Southern swung to a combined 8.2 billion yuan ($1.22 billion) first-half loss as jet fuel costs surged 35-38%, erasing a profitable start to 2026.
31 August 2026Akasa Air Bets on Vietnam: Why Mumbai-Hanoi Is India's Newest Nonstop — and a Retreat From the Gulf
Carl Icahn's JetBlue Bet Ends: Two Board Seats Vanish as His Stake Falls to 3.3%
CFM Just Doubled the 737 MAX Engine's Toughest-Climate Lifespan — And 40% of the Fleet Already Has the Fix
CFM has produced more than 1,200 high-pressure turbine durability kits and upgraded 40% of Leap-1A-powered A320neos, with the Leap-1B version for Boeing's 737 MAX now FAA- and EASA-certified — doubling time on wing in the Gulf and India, where sand and heat wear engines fastest.
31 August 2026$4.5 Billion, Four Tankers, One Embargo: Inside Qatar's Boeing KC-46A Deal
One Runway, One Airline, 2.28 Million Passengers: Inside Florida's Punta Gorda Airport Building Boom
Punta Gorda Airport just opened six new gates in a $44 million Bailey Terminal expansion, after passenger traffic jumped 18.5% in a single year to a record 2.28 million — nearly all of it flying Allegiant.
31 August 2026