Briefings ^BETA

WestJet 737 MAX 8 strikes parked catering truck while being towed; no injuries：A WestJet 737 MAX 8 struck a parked catering truck with its winglet while being towed to an overnight parking pad at Toronto Pearson. No passengers or crew were on board, no one was injured, and the damage has not been officially confirmed. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is gathering information but does not plan to deploy investigators. WestJet 737 MAX 8

File photo · Sg1959 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Taiwan grounds Army Apaches after U.S. gearbox alert and assigns Super Cobras and Kiowas：Defense Minister Kuo Li-hsiung said the Ministry of National Defense received a U.S. technical notice and the Army’s AH-64E Apaches are grounded. The precautionary measure follows a potential gearbox concern; no specific accident has been reported. AH-1W Super Cobras and OH-58D Kiowas will take on readiness missions until inspections are complete. Taiwan Army Apache grounding

Pakistan restores airspace access to Taiwan carriers after brief refusal; Taiwan’s Executive Yuan regrets move：Pakistan briefly refused Taiwanese airlines access to its airspace, citing a one-China policy, then restored access. Taiwan’s Executive Yuan expressed strong regret on October 29. The transport ministry and civil aviation authority said they would stay in contact with carriers, provide assistance and monitor routes. Pakistan approved China Airlines and EVA Air to use its airspace from October 28 to March 27 next year. Pakistan airspace access

China Airlines moves CI840 to next day after runway damage in Bangkok：China Airlines moved CI840 from Bangkok to Kaohsiung to the following day after runway damage at Suvarnabhumi Airport affected aircraft operations; the airline also took Kaohsiung’s curfew into account. A large depression was suspected as the flight prepared for takeoff. The aircraft was inspected and found safe, and passengers were provided with meals, accommodation and transport. Separately, CI160 was delayed by several hours after an abnormal maintenance signal prompted checks. China Airlines CI840

Starlux and Etihad launch two-way mileage earning and redemption：Starlux Airlines and Etihad Airways have expanded their partnership to include two-way mileage earning and redemption. Members can use miles for award tickets on flights operated by the other airline, earn miles on eligible flights and claim missing mileage credits. The partnership also offers connections through Etihad’s Abu Dhabi hub to more than 120 destinations worldwide. Starlux-Etihad mileage partnership

File photo · 4300streetcar · CC BY 4.0

Discover Airlines retires final A330-200 after its last commercial flight：Lufthansa’s Discover Airlines confirmed on October 28, 2026, that it had retired its last Airbus A330-200, registration D-AXGE. The aircraft operated its final commercial flight, 4Y51 from Philadelphia to Frankfurt, landing at 06:36 local time. It had also operated Discover Airlines’ first passenger flight in July 2021. Discover Airlines A330-200

File photo · Richard Toft

FAA awards JetZero $5.3 million for engine airflow instrumentation on Jet1：JetZero announced on October 28, 2026, that it had been selected for $5.3 million in funding under Phase IV of the FAA’s CLEEN program. The funding will support engine and nacelle instrumentation on Jet1, the company’s full-scale blended-wing-body demonstrator under construction. The equipment will record airflow during flight and crosswind ground operations; the aircraft is scheduled to make its first flight in the fourth quarter of 2027. JetZero Jet1 demonstrator

Event photo · JetZero

airBaltic plans to cut around 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew, with notices from October 31：airBaltic plans to cut around 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew, though the figures are not final. Employees will begin receiving individual notices about whether they will keep their jobs from October 31. The crew cuts are part of the wider 500-to-700-person workforce adjustment announced on October 5, not additional reductions. The union has called for the assessment to pause until selection criteria are jointly reviewed. airBaltic crew cuts

GE qualifies NYCO turbine oil for GEnx-1B after Air France trials：GE Aerospace has qualified NYCO’s TURBONYCOIL 600 turbine oil for GEnx-1B engines used on Boeing 787 aircraft. Air France evaluated the oil across multiple engines for more than 36 months and nearly 7,000 flight hours. Engine teardowns and inspections confirmed effective wear protection for lubricated components and low levels of coke deposition, leading to the qualification. TURBONYCOIL 600

File photo · Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0

Lufthansa plans December launch of first A350-1000 route with new Allegris cabins：Lufthansa plans to launch its first Airbus A350-1000 route in December, introducing its new Allegris cabins and adding premium-cabin capacity for three Asian destinations. The airline had previously selected Tokyo as the destination for the first commercial flight of its first A350-1000. Lufthansa A350-1000

Source image