The latest restructuring plan solidified by US-based ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines is a survival blueprint, not a growth story. On March 13, 2026, the airline said it expects to shrink to just 76 to 80 aircraft by the third quarter, down from 214 when it entered its latest Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, all while cutting […]
Canada originally procured its fleet of McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets in 1982, and the jets were dubbed the CF-18 when they entered service with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The aging fighter jets are near the end of their usable service lives, and a successor is direly needed to defend the skies of Canada. […]
This year, American low-cost carrier Breeze Airways will turn five years old, with the then-startup airline having operated its first flight back in May of 2021. Since then, its fleet has grown to include 54 Airbus A220-300s (2.5 years old on average) and eight Embraer E190s (18.6 years old on average), with another 44 units […]
Estimating which air force bases have the most fighter jets present is difficult for a range of reasons. One factor is that units, especially in the United States, are rotated and deployed around the world. This means that numbers are constantly fluctuating. Another factor is that there just isn’t a good open-source dataset available for […]
Reissued after periodic review with minor edits. Exercise normal precautions in Switzerland. Read the country information page for additional information on travel to Switzerland. If you decide to travel to Switzerland: Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive messages and alerts from the U.S. Embassy and make it easier to locate you […]
Qatar Airways and Emirates are in a premium flying arms race, with each currently undertaking multi-billion-dollar fleet-wide retrofits and upgrades. As each of these industry leaders is aiming to outdo the other, the landscape of business class flying is poised on the precipice of a watershed moment. The Qatar Airways Qsuite is the gold standard, […]
Simple Flying’s latest podcast is live and ready for you to enjoy! Hosted by Managing Editor Tom Boon and Senior Editor Channing Reid, the 281st episode is now available for your listening pleasure.
The headline here is not intended to be deceiving. American Airlines really did, by its own account, send a non-ETOPS-certified Airbus A321 on a long-haul flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu in August 2015. That makes the core claim here fundamentally true, but while the […]
Chicago-based United Airlines is one of the largest carriers in the world by fleet size and destinations served. The airline, which has a fleet of more than 1,070 aircraft (as per ch-aviation), connects travelers to most corners of the globe. Back home in the United States, the airline also operates several small, short, and convenient […]
When the Airbus A380 took to the skies in 2005, it was heralded as the future of long-haul air travel. The world’s first full-length double-deck passenger aircraft, the A380 was built to carry more travelers, more comfortably, than any airliner before it. Its sheer size and technical ambition captured global attention. At a time when […]