UK Military Flight Training System expands with order of four H145 helicopters

Airbus Helicopters in the United Kingdom (UK) is to provide four additional H145 helicopters as part of an expansion of the UK Military Flight Training System (UKMFTS).

The new helicopters will join the existing fleet of 29 H135s and three H145s, known respectively as Juno and Jupiter in UKMFTS service. They will be delivered this year.

The aircraft are used to train all UK military helicopter pilots and rear crew.

The H145 helicopter family has completed more than 5.5 million flight hours worldwide with more than 1,300 aircraft in the global fleet.

Airbus 330-200, newest addition to National Airlines aircraft fleet

Florida-based National Airlines announced Wednesday they have added an Airbus 330-200 as its newest addition to its fleet, joining Boeing 747-400 Freighter and Boeing 757-200 aircraft. This aircraft has been delivered with its N819CA registration in National's striking livery. The Airbus 330-200 commences its international charter missions in May of this year. The current two-class configuration provides 288 seats. National Airlines will be adding an additional A330 by June of this this year and additional aircraft in the future.

National Airlines, a subsidiary of National Air Cargo Holdings, Inc., operates intercontinental cargo and passenger charters for both government and commercial customers.

"National has plans to introduce two additional Airbus 330 family aircraft into its fleet by early 2021,” said Chris Alf, chairman of National Air Cargo Holdings, in a company press release. “Fleet improvements are continuously evaluated, and the demand for the passenger business drove us to the decision to acquire the Airbus 330-200, based on its proven history of providing the highest level of safety and performance."

Boeing plans 737 MAX aircraft return to service in mid-2020

The Boeing Company informed customers and suppliers on Tuesday that they are currently estimating the ungrounding of the 737 MAX will begin during mid-2020.

“As we have emphasized, the Federal Aviation Administration and other global regulators will determine when the 737 MAX returns to service,” Boeing said in a statement. “We are informing our customers and suppliers that we are currently estimating that the ungrounding of the 737 MAX will begin during mid-2020. We acknowledge and regret the continued difficulties that the grounding of the 737 MAX has presented to our customers, our regulators, our suppliers, and the flying public.”

Following Boeing's announcement, Canadian-based airline WestJet announced it will be updating its schedule to remove the 737 MAX aircraft through to June 24. WestJet has completed more than 98 percent of its planned departures even while its 13 MAX aircraft remain on the ground.

The 737 Max was grounded after the crashes of two jets – a Lion Air flight in October 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines flight last March.