airline

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who last year purchased his own Hawaiian island, bought a small airline that services the island chain.

Island Air announced the acquisition in a press release today that noted there would be no staff or operational changes as a result of its sale to Ellison. Financial terms of the transaction were not revealed.

"We are excited Mr. Ellison has acquired Island Air. He has the vision and resources to literally take Island Air to new heights," Island Air President Les Murashige said in a statement published by the Associated Press. The airline announced last … Read more

People flying on Southwest Airlines can now watch on-demand movies and TV on their tablets, smartphones, and laptops via the planes' Wi-Fi.

The airline announced today that it's boosting its in-flight entertainment to include new movie and television packages. This feature is available on all Wi-Fi-equipped aircrafts, which is about 75 percent of the Southwest's fleet.

"Providing a comprehensive and robust in-flight connectivity system for our customers is paramount," Southwest Airlines' senior vice president of business development Dave Ridley said in a statement.

Southwest now boasts eight channels of live television, which customers can stream directly … Read more

It has become the world's most-successful twin-engine airplane, but until now, no U.S. carrier has flown Boeing's 777-300ER. But with the launch on Thursday of its Dallas to Sao Paolo, Brazil, flight, American Airlines has broken new ground, and is now depending on its fledgling 777-300ER fleet to re-earn its once legendary wings. And make it a lot of money.

Among the many passengers aboard the inaugural flight to Sao Paolo was Chris Sloan, an aviation writer who often flies on the most notable planes in the skies and blogs about those travels on Airchive.com. Sloan, … Read more

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner has suffered through a series of high-profile delays and setbacks, culminating in this week's grounding by the U.S. government, but thanks to its cutting-edge technology, it's almost certain the plane will thrive in spite of the repeated body blows.

The Dreamliner -- the much-heralded, next-generation plane that Boeing designed to offer airlines big fuel efficiencies and access to new intercontinental routes -- had already stumbled through more than three years of delays including an onboard electrical fire before the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration grounded the entire U.S.-based fleet this week … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission announced new rules today designed to speed deployment of Internet services on aircraft.

Since 2001, the FCC has authorized a number of companies on a case-by-case basis to offer in-flight Internet service via Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft, which carry two-way signals from an aircraft-mounted antenna to geostationary satellites. The FCC said the new rules define ESAA as a licensed application and sets a framework for processing applications, allowing airlines to test and win approval for systems that meet FCC requirements for not interfering with aircraft systems.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the new rules will help … Read more

I haven't flown United Airlines of late, having heard a rumor or two about a touch of inefficiency in its computing joystick.

These rumors seem to have occasionally been based on fact.

For the third time since June, its computers have today lost their thrust.

As the Associated Press has it, there are currently thousands of passengers all around the world who are wondering if and when their scheduled United Airlines flight will take off.

Indeed, Lewis Franck,a journalist who would like to get from Newark to Miami for a fascinating NASCAR event, tweeted: "Does anyone have … Read more

Fake Instagram accounts for American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and JetBlue have been set up with the promise of free flights.

The accounts, @americanairlines_giveaways, @united_giveaways, @jetbluegiveaways, and @delta_giveaways, all work very similarly. They promise a free airline ticket or round-trip ticket to the first several thousand followers, which vary depending on the account.

The accounts have been pretty effective at garnering followers. Delta's fake account already has 21,000 followers after it promised a free trip for the first 20,000 people who followed and shared the account. Likewise, the JetBlue account has 20,000 followers. The American Airlines profile … Read more

American Airlines will be the first commercial carrier to have all of its pilots replace their paper-based reference flying manuals with Apple's iPad.

The airline announced today that it received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to "to use the Apple iPad in the cockpit during all phases of flight."

All pilots fly with a kitbag that contains necessary flight information, navigation charts, and reference materials for when they're in the air. American is dubbing its new kitbag with the iPad an "Electronic Flight Bag." Switching from paper manuals to the iPad will save … Read more

The airline blamed the problems on a "temporary network outage" that began shortly after 12 p.m. PT today. United apologized for the disruptions and said it's allowing customers to "cancel or rebook their itineraries without penalty" if they were affected.

The Federal Aviation Administration had issued a "ground stop" for United flights flying into United's biggest hubs -- Houston, Newark, and San Francisco -- according to a USA Today report. … Read more