Business & Military

Following House approval earlier this month, the Senate on Tuesday passed a tax package that includes the revival of bonus depreciation on capital investments, including aircraft. The measure allows businesses to write off up to 50 percent of the value of equipment purchased in and put into service in 2014. Industry groups applauded Congress’ approval […]

Fractional service AirShares Elite closed Dec. 1 and is now selling off its large fleet of Cirrus aircraft. AirShares pioneered the fractional model for high-performance GA aircraft and was in operation for almost 15 years before it quit the business with no explanation.The company had aircraft in more than 15 cities and was planning to […]

The Center for Environmental Health, which filed a lawsuit in 2011 seeking to prohibit the sale of leaded gasoline in California, has reached a settlement, NATA said on Tuesday. Under the agreement signed last week, FBOs at 23 airports will provide warnings of lead exposure to individuals residing within one kilometer of the airport, will […]

Letter of the Week:Orion a Step Backward I viewed the test flight of the Orion crew capsule with mixed emotions. I’m glad that we are finally getting our act together so that we are not relying on the Russians to get us into low Earth orbit and sad that we are now back to shooting […]

The world’s biggest airliner may have one of industry’s shortest production runs. Airbus has announced it could end production of the A380 in 2018 after going through the whole past year without a new airline order. The aircraft went into service in 2007. It did get a 20-plane order from a leasing company but there […]

Sweden says Russian spy planes are getting in the way of commercial flights and the Swedes would like it to stop. “This is serious. This is inappropriate. This is outright dangerous when you turn off the transponder,” Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said on Swedish radio. According to ETurbo, Hultqvist said a passenger aircraft taking […]

The FAA has funding security (assuming presidential approval) for nine months after the Senate passed the so-called “Cromnibus” spending bill that approves appropriations for most government departments through September 2015. The vote was held late Saturday. The $1.3 trillion spending bill also rejects an administration user fee proposal and gives the FAA more money than […]

British air traffic control has restored operations after a computer glitch Friday afternoon that caused delays at London’s Heathrow Airport and other travel hubs. Meanwhile, airlines continued to catch up after the delays and the UK media are questioning the reliability of the system, which has had issues since it launched in 2002. A report […]

Daher-Socata will design and certify Airbus Group’s electric E-Fan aircraft with plans to develop the existing prototype into an all-electric series of production aircraft, the companies announced Thursday. Airbus subsidiary VoltAir, which developed the prototype, will be the project manager as Daher-Socata designs and tests the aircraft, including its electric powerplant and batteries. Airbus announced […]

National Geographic will release a new documentary, “Living in the Age of Airplanes,” in April. The film, produced and directed by Brian Terwilliger — maker of the 2005 GA documentary “One Six Right” — is about how air travel has transformed civilization.Harrison Ford narrates, while the score comes from Academy-Award-winning composer James Horner, also a […]