EADS and the defence ministers of its customer nations have reached what the aerospace giant describes as “a principle agreement” to amend the contract covering its troubled A400M military transport aircraft. The intention is to amend the original contract in the coming weeks, says EADS. The statement has set out the four commitments now offered by customer nations.

Dutch police have arrested a pilot at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for flying a Turkish airliner with a dodgy licence. The Swedish pilot was preparing a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737 for a flight to Ankara, Turkey, with 101 passengers aboard when arrest was prompted by a tipoff from Swedish authorities.

Boeing will offer its “NewGen” Tanker in the KC-X competition to supply the U.S. Air Force with a multi-mission aerial refueling aircraft that will meet all the Service’s mission requirements for the next several decades.  Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said Boeing’s tanker will satisfy all mandatory Air Force requirements and offer an American-made tanker that will be capable, survivable, and combat-ready at the lowest cost to the taxpayer.

With the Sunshine Coast’s high aviator population, the region’s aviation fraternity is determined not to lose their airport without a fight.  They’ll be showing their strength at an upcoming public meeting, and we’re urging that as many aviation people as possible take part.  For that purpose here’s the full text of a letter that’s been circulated to interested parties. READ MORE

This year’s Heli-Expo 2010 at Houston has been good news for American Eurocopter, with significant major orders from the law enforcement and emergency services sector.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has entered into the first option year on the Light Enforcement Helicopter (LEH) contract, placing an order for a further six AS350B3s. This is the second order on the LEH contract that was awarded to American Eurocopter by the Department of Homeland Security in July 2008.

In advance of Transport Canada certification, the first new-production DHC-6 Series 400 Twin Otter has taken its initial flight from Viking Air’s final assembly facility in Calgary, Alberta.  “Built for the bush,” the 18-20 passenger DHC-6 Twin Otter in its earlier forms has a long history with air carriers in Australia and Papua New Guinea, and has carried the logos of Ansett, TAA/Australian Airlines, Bush Pilots Airways/Air Queensland, Aero Pelican and Talair among others.

Qantas today announced a half-year net profit before tax of $90 million on a revenue of $6.9 billion.

The statutory result was in line with guidance provided last December of “between $50 and $150 million.”

Talking up the super-modest result, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said that while the global aviation industry remained in loss, the Qantas Group had been profitable.

Boeing has contracted Mincham Aviation, a small-to-medium Adelaide enterprise (SME), to manufacture four assembly-spare-part sets for the CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Contract terms were not disclosed.

Boeing’s B747-8 Freighter took to the sky this week for the first time, and as successfully as everybody expected.

Billed as “the world’s most efficient freighter,” the freighter variant incorporates all the structural, systems and performance enhancements of the passenger version, although it looks a little different