Canada's F-35 - The Thirty-Year Procurement That Almost Wasn't
Canada's 30-year pursuit of the F-35 Lightning II ended in a signed deal for 88 aircraft - here's why NORAD made any other choice nearly impossible.
ATIS
Aviation news and analysis with Tower. FAA policy changes, industry trends, safety data, and what the headlines mean for the pilots who fly every day.
The Data Link Canada Can't Have - MADL, the GlobalEye, and the Interoperability Problem Canada Built Into Its Own Fleet
Canada's GlobalEye acquisition creates a potential data link gap with its F-35 fleet, raising serious questions about interoperability in high-threat environments.
Southwest Cuts Seven Routes from a Major Midwest Hub - What the Airline's Contraction Means for the Network
Southwest Airlines is cutting seven routes from a major Midwest hub as part of a broader restructuring that signals a fundamental shift in the carrier's identity and network strategy.
Seven Hours Over the Pacific - Australia's Boeing Seven Thirty-Seven MAX and the Routes Nobody Expected
Australian carriers are launching 10 new international routes on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in 2026, including a 6h45m overwater flight from Cairns to Singapore.
LATAM Pass - How One Airline Built a Loyalty Empire Across an Entire Continent
How geography, a landmark merger, and co-branded credit cards turned LATAM Pass into one of the most powerful airline loyalty programs in the hemisphere.
How a Workshare Dispute Between Dassault and Airbus Killed Europe's 116 Billion Dollar Sixth-Generation Fighter
Europe's €116 billion FCAS sixth-generation fighter program collapsed after nine years - not from technical failure, but from an unresolved workshare dispute between Dassault and Airbus.
Delta's Austin Push - Nine New Routes and What the Focus City Strategy Means for Pilots
Delta is adding nine new routes at Austin-Bergstrom in 2026, cementing its position as the second-largest carrier in one of America's fastest-growing aviation markets.
The Secret Pricing Machine Behind First Class Upgrades at the Gate
First class gate upgrades aren't priced randomly - airlines use dynamic revenue management algorithms that make the cost vary by route, timing, and your loyalty status.
Two Lufthansa Boeing 747s Hit the Runway Overweight - What Happens After the Landing Is the Real Story
Two Lufthansa 747s made overweight landings within 24 hours - here's what that means structurally, operationally, and why the post-landing inspection is the real story.
Air India weighs route reversals as Middle East airspace reopens
Air India is evaluating a return to routes suspended during Middle East airspace closures, as regional conditions begin to stabilize and economics shift.
The Airbus A380 and the World's Longest Commercial Routes - Twenty-Five Hours and Counting
The Airbus A380 anchors the world's longest commercial routes in 2026, with Qantas's Sydney-London service reaching 25 hours and 30 minutes gate-to-gate.
The C-17 Globemaster and the Externally Blown Flap - How Short-Field Performance Creates a Noise Problem No Other Military Transport Has
The C-17 Globemaster III's distinctive approach roar is a direct consequence of the externally blown flap system that gives it unmatched short-field capability at heavy weight.
Delta Flight DL56 and the Turbulence Lawsuit That Every Pilot Should Think About
Delta Flight DL56's severe turbulence event hospitalizing 25 passengers exposes the limits of clear air turbulence prediction and prevention.
The Boeing 777X Dimmable Windows - How Electrochromic Glass Evolved From the Dreamliner to the Next Generation
Boeing's 777X refines the electrochromic window technology introduced on the 787 Dreamliner with faster dimming, smoother light control, and larger glass panels.
Boeing's ODA and the 737 MAX - How the FAA Lets Industry Police Itself
The FAA's Organization Designation Authorization lets Boeing certify its own aircraft - here's what the 737 MAX crashes revealed about how that system failed and what changed.
The Airbus A350 and the Ultra-Long-Haul Frontier - When Twenty-Four Hours Becomes a Route
In 2026, the Airbus A350-900ULR operates the ten longest commercial routes on earth - yet only one of those ten flies nonstop.
The KC-135 Stratotanker and the B-21 Raider - When Sixty-Five Years of Service Meets America's Next Stealth Bomber
The KC-135 Stratotanker, flying since 1957, will refuel the B-21 Raider stealth bomber well into the 2040s - a story about institutional knowledge outlasting technological ambition.
RAAF F-35 Pilots and the E-3 Visa - How Australia's Elite Fighter Pilots Are Trading Mach Speed for Major Airlines
Australian F-35A pilots are using the E-3 visa to join US major airlines, drawn by pay gaps that can exceed $3 million over a career.
The C-5M Super Galaxy - Why the World's Largest U.S. Military Airlifter Has No Replacement and No Retirement Date
The U.S. Air Force is keeping the C-5M Super Galaxy flying until 2050 - because nothing else can carry what it carries, and the math on a replacement never works out.
The Boeing Dreamlifter and the Logistics Chain That Holds the Seven Eighty-Seven Together
The Boeing Dreamlifter is a heavily modified 747-400 freighter - one of only four in existence - that serves as the backbone of the 787 Dreamliner's global manufacturing supply chain.