United Airlines will begin testing a flight from Santa Fe to Houston starting in March to see if the route could be viable. The flight will be once a week on Saturdays, and if it proves popular, it could expand into a permanent route with more travel days, said Santa Fe Regional Airport Director James Harris. There is currently one Texas-bound flight out of Santa Fe — to Dallas — along with flights to Phoenix and Denver. United operates the Denver route. Harris said officials from the airline reached out to him about the test flight and said they had been interested in a route from Santa Fe to Houston for a while. The route would cut the travel time between the two cities from a 12-plus hour drive to a two-hour direct flight. The flight will launch after the completion of the Santa Fe airport’s terminal expansion project, which Harris said is on track to be done by the end of January after the need for additional repairs to underground infrastructure pushed back the date several times.<br/>
star
All Nippon Airways parent ANA Holdings will work with US electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation and property developer Nomura Real Estate to look into the development of vertiports in Japan. The three companies will “explore the design, location, operation and financing” of vertiports in Japan, pending the deployment of air taxi services in the Asia-Pacific nation, says ANA Holdings. The companies will focus on major metropolitan areas such as Tokyo, followed by other urban locations. Joby has formed extensive relationships with Japan and is a technical advisor on a project sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan government to explore mobility solutions, including a possible floating landing port in Tokyo Bay. Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation is also supplying Joby with powertrain and actuation systems for its developmental electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Joby and Toyota first announced a partnership in January 2020. At the time, the carmaker said its primary interest was providing mobility for all by leveraging emerging technologies. In addition to investing $394m in Joby, Toyota would “share its expertise in manufacturing, quality and cost controls for the development and production of Joby Aviation’s breakthrough eVTOL aircraft”. In addition, Joby, ANA Holdings, and Toyota teamed up to create a ridesharing service in Japan.<br/>
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has successfully returned all of its Airbus A380 aircraft to service. This development aligns with the ongoing recovery of air travel demand in Southeast Asia, where airlines are targeting a 90% capacity rebound by the close of 2023 following the global pandemic. Despite a period of uncertainty regarding the future of A380 operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the A380 is making a comeback, much to the delight of many A380 enthusiasts. Several airlines are reintroducing the A380 into service, and Emirates has even expressed interest in larger aircraft than the A380. While Singapore Airlines never announced the end of its Airbus A380 operations, there was a gradual reduction in the deployment of the double-decker at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, Singapore Airlines has now been gradually resuming A380 operations. The most recent aircraft to resume operations is Singapore Airlines' Airbus A380, registered as 9V-SKP, marking the return of the entire fleet of SIA's A380 to service, as first reported by Mainly Miles. According to Flightradar24.com, the 9V-SKP resumed operations on December 7, 2023, completing a three-hour flight from Singapore Changi (SIN) to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). The aircraft is now scheduled to operate on longer-range routes, including flights from Singapore to Sydney (SYD) in Australia or Singapore to Auckland (AKL) in New Zealand.<br/>