Karen Walker

The new search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER that vanished in March has been announced and Australian officials have said the aircraft was “highly likely” to have been on autopilot before it crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

Nobody wants a surprise during an aircraft flight test program, but if it happens, that’s the right place for it to happen and much can be done to mitigate the impact.

The past 12 months have seen some seismic shifts for the three global alliances.

The search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 is expected to move south, Australian officials have said.

Airbus continues to study the feasibility of launching a re-engined version of the A330, but is in no hurry to make a decision. Some lessors and airlines have made public their interest in seeing an A330neo launched, but Airbus is nearing certification of the A350 XWB widebody and is reluctant to potentially harm sales of that aircraft.

Air Canada president and CEO Calin Rovinescu assumed his role as chairman of the IATA board of governors Tuesday as the organization announced that its 2015 annual meeting will be held in Miami.

Recommendations from an IATA task force created to find options for better global tracking of airliners will not be mandatory and may not be “one size fits all,” the organization’s head of safety and flight operations said Tuesday.