SIA plans to retrofit 14 of its Airbus A380 aircraft. The carrier says it expects to announce the timeline for the retrofit work by the end of the year. While it did not give further details of the retrofit work, a local media report says that SIA will install new seats across all classes, as well as upgrade the in-flight entertainment system. Meanwhile, first-class suites, which are currently located on the lower deck could be moved to the upper deck. The number of suites will be halved to 6 from 12. The new cabin configuration will also be used in 5 new A380s, expected to arrive between Oct 2017 and May 2018. These 5 aircraft will help SIA keep the size of its A380 fleet at 19 aircraft following the departure of SIA's first 5 A380s, which will be returned to lessors. <br/>
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Sunday, a drone got dangerously close to a United Airlines jet that was attempting to land at Newark Liberty International. Flight 135, a Boeing 767-400, was notified of a drone in its vicinity by air traffic control. Fortunately, the United pilots were able to monitor the drone's position and aircraft landed without incident. According to the FAA, the flight crew report seeing the drone 2 miles southwest of the airport around 11:55 am Sunday. "Preliminary information shows that United Flight 135, a Boeing 767, reported a near mid-air collision with a white unmanned aircraft approximately 2 miles southwest of Newark," a FAA spokesman said. "The FAA notified the New Jersey State Police." According to the same spokesman, the FAA has launched an investigation into the incident. <br/>