An AirAsia X flight to Malaysia from Perth, Australia, was forced to turn back Sunday after the twin-aisle Airbus A330-300 aircraft began shaking due to what the airline called a "technical issue." A spokesman for the Perth Airport said, "The pilot identified a technical issue with the engine. The plane turned around and safely landed back at Perth Airport." While it's not yet clear what caused the issue with the jet's Rolls-Royce engines, any imbalance inside a rapidly-spinning jet engine can cause violent vibrations that are felt throughout the aircraft. Twin-engine aircraft like the A330 are designed to fly and land safely with only 1 engine operating. The pilot asked passengers to pray twice. And passengers were told to hold "the brace position" for about 2 minutes during the landing. <br/>
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Norwegian will launch 4X-weekly London Gatwick-Buenos Aires Ezeiza services from Feb 14, marking the airline’s first-ever South American route. Buenos Aires will become Norwegian’s 11th long-haul route from Gatwick as part of its continued expansion from the UK into a range of new global markets. The LCC currently offers long-haul flights from Gatwick to 9 US cities and Singapore. Norwegian CE Bjorn Kjos said, “From Europe, the US, Asia and now South America, our long-haul network is going global and the UK will continue to be at the heart of our ambitious plans for expansion. We also see huge potential in the Argentinian market so this is not only a major milestone as our first South American route, but also a first step toward ambitious plans for international and domestic growth in Argentina.” <br/>
Ryanair is in talks with Boeing about placing an order for the manufacturer’s new 737 Max 10 aircraft, which would mark a significant increase in plane size for carrier. The Ryanair fleet is currently made up of over 300 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which seat 189 people. Ryanair marketing director Kenny Jacobs said the airline is looking at all available options when it comes to expanding its fleet. “We’re always talking to Boeing about single-aisle aircraft. We like the Max 200 a lot and that’s why we’ve got over 260 of them in order between now and 2024,” he said. “We think we will take all the options that we have on the Max 200, but we’ll keep an open mind in terms of what’s the next version of a single-aisle aircraft from Boeing that we would be interested in.” <br/>