Boeing

There have been so many advances in aviation in the past couple of decades that there are almost no routes between major world cities a modern airliner cannot fly. Sydney to New York and London are two of those routes. But perhaps not for long.

Will United Airlines ever take the 35 Airbus A350s it has on order? At one point, it had an acute need for the new long-haul aircraft. But times change, and United already has a worthy successor for its Boeing 747 fleet — the Boeing 777-300ER.

Building a coach airline seat is not like creating home furniture. Building stuff for aircraft is remarkably complicated. We got an inside look recently at the production center for an aircraft seat maker. Here's some of what we learned.

An icon of the skies draws closer to retirement.

The Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 are probably the two most iconic jets in the sky. But both have four engines, and burn a lot of fuel, so many airlines are wary of them.

The aviation industry was mostly quiet during the holiday period, but a few companies made news — and not for the best of reasons.

This is not the biggest aircraft order of all time, but you have to give Qatar Airways credit for the stagecraft. The Washington political class hasn't exactly been a great friend to the airline, but the carrier nonetheless made the announcement inside the Beltway. It even included a senior State Department official.

Give Boeing credit for trying to innovate, but it is it really so hard to control the overhead light by pushing a button?

It's not quite a level playing field for everyone, but a focus on the flying environment improves the passenger experience for everyone.

Drones can deliver unmatched footage of destinations which can inspire travel. A project on this magnitude is unprecedented and will be hard to beat, though no doubt others will try. We'll take this as the new airline marketing trend that heralds the end of novelty airline safety videos, thanks!