May 29: It’s 40 years since the Franco-German agreement was signed that launched Airbus’ first ever aircraft programme, the A300. On May 29, at the 1969 Paris Air Show the French Minister of Transport, Jean Chamant and the German Minister…

May 26: Guernsey Airport was forced to close for the day due to a long-running industrial dispute with its firefighters over pay and conditions. All flights were either cancelled or diverted to Jersey after talks broke down between the union…

May 26: On the eve of its 25th birthday, Virgin Atlantic announced a pre-tax profit in the last financial year of £68.4million, up from £34.8million the year before. The results are in marked contrast to British Airways, which posted a…

May 22: British Airways presented its preliminary results for year ending March 31 posting a record loss of £401 million, contrasting with a profit of £922 million for the previous year. Declining passenger numbers and soaring fuel costs through 2008…

May 18: The first A320 aircraft built at China’s Airbus Final Assembly Line China (FALC) made its maiden flight. “The flight was a complete success thanks to excellent teamwork,” said Fernando Alonso, Senior Vice President Flight & Integration Tests, Airbus.…

May 27: Fuel retailer and distributor, Gulf, has signed a long-term supply agreement with Kemble Airport in Gloucestershire. “We are delighted that Kemble has chosen Gulf Aviation as their new Avgas and Jet A1 supplier,” explained Paul Muncey, General Manager…

Airbus’ A330-200 payload and range capabilities will be further improved with a 5 metric-tonne increase in maximum takeoff weight. The enhancement to the twin-engine jetliner has been achieved without changing the aircraft’s acoustic category or runway loading, which means it…

May 11: Boeing announced that its BBJ Convertible, based on the highly successful 737, is now available to prospective customers. The aeroplane can reconfigure from all-passenger to all-cargo configuration in less than eight hours. Governments, corporations and individual operators can…

Farnborough International Ltd (FIL), joint organiser of the inaugural Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) has confirmed Gulf Air as the official carrier for the show to be held under Royal patronage at the Sakhir Airbase in Bahrain, January 21–23 2010, in…

May 6: Airbus is slowing its A380 aircraft delivery schedule for 2009/2010 due to the current economic crisis and following specific customer requests for deferrals. According to the new plan, it expects to deliver 14 aircraft in 2009 and over…