Your Aviation Weekend Reads for November 17, 2016

In the aftermath of the American Airlines Boeing 767 that caught fire at Chicago O’Hare on Oct. 28, 18 of the 20 passengers injured have filed a lawsuit, reports the Chicago Tribune. According to a statement from the Geneva-based law firm representing the plaintiffs blamed Boeing and GE for having an engine constructed from defective material, and blamed the airline’s employees of being negligent when the airplane was evacuated.

In the case of the Asiana Airlines 777 crash in San Francisco that killed three, 72 of the 304 aboard the flight settled with the carrier for an undisclosed amount in March 2015.

When I worked at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, one of the top issues being covered by the government affairs department was the safe integration of drones into the national airspace system. “UAS must be integrated into the NAS in a manner that maintains the level of safety to people and property in the air and on the ground that general aviation currently provides,” according to AOPA.

And now it looks like AOPA’s concerns were real, with a report from the Guardian about a passenger aircraft nearly colliding with a drone. A Porter Airlines Bombardier Q400 turboprop, carrying 54 passengers and four crew, was going to Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport when it had to swerve to avoid hitting a drone about 30 miles out. Two flight attendants sustained minor injuries.

A rendering of a Boom Technology jet parked at London Heathrow Airport. Image courtesy of Boom Technology

Boom Technology, builder of the newest supersonic jet, went on a major media blitz on Nov. 15. I did a Q&A interview with CEO and Founder Blake Scholl for Airways magazine, where he spoke about why he wanted to do the project, how it’s being funded and when it will come to market. will get public design debut in Centennial

In last week’s Weekend Reads, I wrote about how American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have unveiled true premium economy class products. And now Airways magazine reports that Alaska Airlines is the newest member of this club, with plans to unveil its own product on Jan. 5 on its fleet of Boeing 737-800s and -900s.

United Airlines held its quarterly earnings call on Nov. 15, where it announced it would become the first large U.S. carrier to restrict travelers on basic economy fares to only a single carry-on bag that must fit under a seat, reports FOX Business. It also announced that it was deferring delivery of 61 Boeing 737-700s and converting them to MAX jets, along with buying 24 Embraer E175 smaller jets.

Image courtesy of JetBlue

I’m the curator of the Retro Airline Liveries Pinterest board, which is my way of showcasing the cool paint jobs of the past. So you know I was delighted when I read on the JetBlue blog that the 16-year-old airline just unveiled its interpretation of a retro livery from the 1960s. “The Retrojet livery—designed by JetBlue’s Design Team—was conceptualized after hours of research at New York City’s Lubalin Archive at the Cooper Union,” according to the blog.

I’ll be on travel this week, so I have more links I think you’ll like to read for the rest of the week. Enjoy!

• Bleacher Report: Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Truths About Traveling in the NFL
• The Telegraph: British airlines band together to fight for continued access to European skies
• USA Today: British Airways, Aer Lingus push U.S. growth plan
• Fly Aviation: Six Great Places to Experience Aviation History avgeek
• Viva Lifestyle and Travel: Fly Around the World by Private Jet with The New York Times

EDITOR’S NOTE: Benét J. Wilson is a freelance aviation/travel writer based in Baltimore who is available for your writing and branded content/content marketing projects. She’s the Air Travel Expert for About.com. Follow her travel-related magazines on Flipboard: Best of About Travel, a joint curation venture with her fellow About Travel Experts; Travel-Go! There’s Nothing Stopping You, all about the passenger experience on the ground and in the air; and Aviation Geek, a joint magazine sharing everything you need to know about the commercial aviation industry. Check out her travel-related boards on Pinterest and follow her on Twitter at @AvQueenBenet, on her Aviation Queen Facebook Page and on Instagram at aviationqueen.