Sunday Reads: Our Most Notable Stories This Week

It's that time of the week once again where we like to take back at some of the top stories from the past seven days. This week has been a big one for British Airways, having seen key developments regarding its Airbus A380s and a new sustainability program.

British Airways Removes First A380 From Teruel Storage

British Airways is one of several airlines to have placed its Airbus A380 fleet into storage during the pandemic. The superjumbo's future has been uncertain, but the airline took a key step forward earlier this week when it flew one from Teruel in Spain back to its London Heathrow base. You can read more about G-XLEA's journey home here.

Iran Air’s Interesting Airbus A330 Diversion

A Hamburg-bound Iran Air Airbus A330 was forced to make a diversion earlier this week due to heavy fog over the north German city. However, rather than diverting elsewhere in Germany, the jet eventually touched down in Milan. But why was this the case? You can read about the reasons, which lie in fuelling regulations, in our article here.

An Iran Air A330 took an interesting detour across Europe on Monday. Photo: Getty Images

Better World: British Airways Reveals Special Blue A320neo Livery

British Airways launched a sustainability program, 'BA Better World,' earlier this week. To mark the launch, the UK flag carrier repainted its first Airbus A320neo in a special livery. As part of the scheme, BA has partnered with BP to make progress in the field of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), just in time for November's COP26 UN climate change summit.

British Airways Airbus A320neo Blue — BA unveiled the special livery at Heathrow this week. Photo: Jake Hardiman | Simple Flying

The Story Of Bali’s Abandoned Boeing 737 In A Quarry

The Indonesian island of Bali has become something of a curious hotspot when it comes to abandoned aircraft. One such plane is a 1983-built Boeing 737-200 that flew for local carrier Mandala Airlines before being abandoned in a quarry in March 2013.

bali-abandoned-boeing-737 — PK-RII gently rotting away in a Bali quarry, Photo: Sabung Hamster via Wikimedia Commons

In Decline: What Airlines Still Fly Passenger Boeing 727s?

While trijet aircraft were previously a common sight, they are rather hard to come by today. As we approach 40 years since production of the Boeing 727 ended, Simple Flying took a look at which airlines still operate the type in its passenger-carrying configuration.

The Being 727 was designed to operate from shorter runways. Photo: Getty Images.

United Airlines Adds Three New Short-Haul International Routes

United Airlines has boosted its winter leisure scales with three additional short-haul international routes. The new services, which commenced on December 18th, will see United fly to the Bahamas, Guatemala, and Honduras. You can read more about them here.