On Wednesday, acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau told the House Appropriations Committee that the Federal Aviation Administration plans to replace its aging air traffic control systems, which still rely on floppy disks and Windows 95 computers, Tom's Hardware reports. The agency has issued a Request For Information to gather proposals from companies willing to tackle the massive infrastructure overhaul.

"The whole idea is to replace the system. No more floppy disks or paper strips," Rocheleau said during the committee hearing. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the project "the most important infrastructure project that we've had in this country for decades," describing it as a bipartisan priority.

Most air traffic control towers and facilities across the US currently operate with technology that seems frozen in the 20th century, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing—when it works. Some controllers currently use paper strips to track aircraft movements and transfer data between systems using floppy disks, while their computers run Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system, which launched in 1995.

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• A Swiss International Airlines flight to Miami landed back in Zurich after a four-hour journey.
• The Airbus A340 had "an irregularity with an engine," the airline said.
• The flight changed directions a couple of times over the ocean before circling Zurich for an hour.

Passengers expecting to travel transatlantic ended up on a four-hour flight-to-nowhere.

Swiss International Airlines Flight 64 on Monday was supposed to be a 10-hour journey from Zurich to Miami.

Passengers were already in for some disruption as it departed around an hour later than scheduled, per data from Flightradar24.

Things went smoothly until an hour and a half into the journey, when the Airbus A340 started to turn around.

The plane had not long started flying over the Atlantic Ocean before deciding to head back.

It appeared to be going toward Switzerland, then turned toward Spain, before returning to its original path.

After three hours in the air, the A340 was back in Swiss airspace. However, it then had to circle around Zurich a few times before it could land.

An airline spokesperson told Business Insider that the plane returned due to "an irregularity with an engine."

The four-engined plane involved in the incident, HB-JMH, is 21 years old.

"As a precautionary measure, the crew decided to return to the home airport in Zurich, where we have the best maintenance facilities," they added.

This is often the case in so-called flights to nowhere, where returning to a hub airport also makes it easier to re-route passengers. Those on the Swiss flight were rebooked on the fastest possible alternatives.

"We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers," the airline spokesperson said.

Similar incidents have seen flights as long as 10 hours before returning to their original take-off point.

For example, last November, a British Airways flight U-turned when it was halfway across the Atlantic.

And after a plane crash at Toronto Airport in February, two transatlantic flights to nowhere were among dozens of planes that diverted.

There are too many planes in the sky. In 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supervised nearly 16.8 million flights in American airspace - half a million more than the year prior. To manage all of those airplanes, however, the FAA uses an air traffic control system designed in the early 1990s - when features like trackballs and color monitors were new, and air traffic controllers handled less than half as many flights every year.

Like many government agencies, the FAA has faced chronic budget constraints and poor oversight in the ensuing two decades. Not only is its system functionally obsolete; it's also badly understaffed. Too often, the agency must scramble to find the least-bad solution for its mounting problems - and not all of these solutions are good or even safe.

One such scenario has been unfolding at Newark Liberty International Airport for the last year. And it hasn't just created delays and cancellations - it has put people's safety at risk.

Outages

Newark airport became national news starting on Monday, April 28th. Around 1:27PM, pilots abruptly lost contact with the controllers that oversee the airport's approach and departure airspace, known as Newa …

Read the full story at The Verge.

• Boeing secured a record-breaking $96 billion order from Qatar Airways during Donald Trump's trip.
• It was one of several wins this week, showing the planemaker is recovering from a troubling 2024.
• Trump's support came after tensions over Air Force One delays and concerns over a Qatari gift.

Boeing showed it's bouncing back from its turmoil as it won several victories from Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East.

On Wednesday, Qatar Airways agreed to buy at least 160 Boeing jets, in a deal the White House valued at $96 billion. It is the planemaker's largest-ever order for wide-body aircraft.

While the two CEOs signed certificates and shook hands, Trump and the Emir of Qatar applauded from behind the ornate desk. The president gave Boeing's Kelly Ortberg a pat on the back.

It's rare to see heads of state attend aircraft-order ceremonies. Trump's show of support for Boeing was a notable turn from the tensions between the two over delays in building the next Air Force One.

Receiving such a huge vote of confidence from an industry-leading airline is also a significant boost, especially since the order includes 30 Boeing 777X planes and options for dozens more.

The 777X is yet to be certified, running years behind schedule, meaning Qatar's order is a big show of faith in Boeing's future. Flight tests for the 777X had to be paused last August after damage was found on a key structure.

Several customers, including the largest, Emirates, voiced their frustrations after Ortberg then announced its launch would be further pushed back to 2026.

However, Qatar Airways has never dwelt on the delays. "Let us not cry over spilled milk," CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer told Business Insider last July.

Boeing is also likely to benefit from Tuesday's defense deal with Saudi Arabia, which the White House called "the largest defense-sales agreement in history," at roughly $142 billion.

These are all significant signs that the planemaker hasn't lost too much of its reputation after an ignominious 2024.

The year began with a door plug falling off a 737 Max in midair. Regulators subsequently capped Boeing's production as it works to overhaul its processes.

This week has seen progress here, too, as Boeing said it delivered 45 commercial planes last month — almost double the number in the same period last year.

Trump's change of heart

Even before Qatar Airways' order, planes were dominating the headlines around Trump's trip.

The president said Monday he would be "stupid" to turn down the Qatari royal family's proposed gift of a Boeing 747.

It has raised ethical and legal concerns, with politicians on both sides of the aisle questioning the gift. The luxurious $400 million plane would be one of the most expensive gifts ever received by the government from another country.

The timing may also raise questions about Qatar's motivation for announcing the mammoth Boeing order during Trump's visit, rather than at next month's Paris Air Show.

Trump wants the 747 to serve as Air Force One because Boeing is running years behind schedule in building the next presidential jet. He renegotiated the contract in his first term, and the planemaker has since lost billions on the project.

In February, Trump showed his frustration with the delays by touring a Qatari Boeing 747 in Palm Beach — believed to be the one now on offer.

So, his support for Boeing in Qatar shows a change of heart that will likely please the planemaker and help settle any apprehension over Air Force One.

The country's top exporter, Boeing, was also under threat from Trump's tariff plans.

Jets destined for Chinese airlines had to be sent back across the Pacific Ocean after they refused to accept them due to the trade war. On Monday, China and the US agreed to lower tariffs by 115%.

But overall, that may not be as valuable as the reputation boost provided during Trump's trip.

This week has helped the storied planemaker prove that it's moving on from the woes of 2024.

• Most commercial flights today are faster than they were decades ago, but not always.
• Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said flying from Atlanta to New York actually takes longer today than in the 1950s.
• He said old air traffic control systems are to blame, amid chaos at Newark that's caused mass delays and cancellations.

You wouldn't expect your commercial flight today to take longer than it would've decades ago, but Delta's CEO said that's the case lately for at least one major flight route.

A Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta, where the carrier is headquartered, to LaGuardia airport in New York City takes longer today than it did when the airline began offering the route in the 1950s, Ed Bastian said Thursday on "The Today Show."

Delta typically offers at least a dozen flights daily that originate in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson and arrive in LaGuardia. The shortest of these typically takes around 2 hours and 13 minutes.

"What happens is in order to keep it safe everything gets slowed down at the sign of any kind of risk," he said.

Asked why the flight takes longer today, Bastian responded, "That's the air traffic control system. It's very slow, it's congested but it's not congested; there's plenty of space if you modernize the skies and you can kind of bring greater efficiency."

Key to modernizing the skies would be using satellite technologies and GPS, he said, in addition to updating the radar and radio systems from the 1960s that air traffic controllers are still using.

Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Duffy said in Sunday's interview that he is "concerned about the whole airspace" in the United States because the equipment used by most airports is now outdated.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently spoke about the issue on "Meet the Press," saying he was "concerned about the whole airspace" in the country because of the antiquated equipment.

"The equipment that we use, much of it we can't buy parts for new," Duffy said. "We have to go on eBay and buy parts if one part goes down. You're dealing with really old equipment. We're dealing with copper wires, not fiber, not high-speed fiber, and so this is concerning."

Bastian called on additional investment from Congress to fund the modernization.

Another major airport in the New York metropolitan area, Newark Liberty International Airport in neighboring New Jersey, has recently been experiencing mass delays and cancellations affecting thousands of travelers.

"It's slowing everything down, taking stress out of the system," Bastian said of Newark. "Now that's not good in the long run, it's not good for consumers, it's not good for the airport itself but it's the only thing that we have in the meantime."

The airport has seen massive disruptions since late April, caused by a shortage of air traffic control staff, some equipment outages, the closure of the main runway for construction, and rainy weather.

• United Airlines is investing in a revolutionary new aircraft type.
• The head of its latest venture, a jet with one big wing, said it will be like a "living room in the sky."
• The 'blended-wing body' plane built by startup JetZero could replace United's older Boeing jets.

United Airlines is investing billions of dollars in funky new aircraft, including electric air taxis and a supersonic jet. Up next? A plane that's essentially one giant wing.

The airline on Thursday unveiled a plan to buy up to 200 of the 'blended-wing body' aircraft from California-based aerospace startup JetZero. The startup wants to compete with Airbus and Boeing by creating a plane that burns half the fuel of a similarly sized, traditional tube-and-wing plane.

The 250-passenger "Z4" aircraft is not yet certified, but the company is aiming for a 2030 commercial launch and successfully flew a subscale prototype in 2024.

Andrew Chang, the managing director of United Airlines Ventures, the division that funds these innovation-focused investments, told Business Insider the Z4's oversized wing could create a "living room in the sky."

"Everything around the customer travel experience — how they sit in the plane, board, and deplane, and how [crewmembers] serve them — can be reinvented around the new space within this new aircraft design," he said.

Chang added that the conditional purchase agreement relies on JetZero's ability to prove its revolutionary design with a full-sized demonstrator by 2027 and meet United's operational and business requirements on things like cost, fuel burn, and safety.

But he was confident JetZero, which the US Air Force has also backed, could deliver: "If you look at the management team, there's a lot of institutional experience and knowledge there from companies like Airbus and Boeing."

More wing means more cabin real estate

JetZero's futuristic plane combines the wings and fuselage into a single lifting surface. This unique airframe dramatically widens the cabin, allowing United to accommodate over a dozen seats per row.

Widebody passenger aircraft today max out at 10-abreast rows. The densest configuration ever proposed was 11 seats across on the world's largest commercial airliner, the Airbus A380 — though no carriers signed on.

The Z4 will be shorter than traditional dual-aisle planes. Chang said that instead of 20 or 30 rows of seats, there may be only 10 or 15.

There would also be more aisles for navigating the cabin, and up to four entry doors, improving boarding and deplaning efficiency.

Chang added that there would be economy and premium seats with Starlink WiFi and media to create a living-room-like vibe and likely some reimagined spaces: "Every square foot of real estate, you want to have revenue passengers on it," he said.

It's unclear what new spaces United could develop, but JetZero competitor Natilus has some ideas for its in-development 200-person blended-wing aircraft design called Horizon.

Speaking to BI in October, Natilus CEO Aleksey Matyushev said Horizon could accommodate lounge or playroom areas. He added that this could offset the possible complaint of the longer rows reducing the number of window seats.

Delta Air Lines is also working with JetZero as a partner developer. It said the cabin could accommodate accessible seats and lavatories, and dedicated overhead bin space for every passenger.

Alaska Airlines' investment, which also has the option for plane orders, said the airframe would provide a quieter flying experience.

JetZero could replace some of United's old Boeing planes

JetZero said its Z4 plane's better lift and lower drag could cut fuel burn by up to 50% per passenger mile while still flying up to about 5,750 miles nonstop. It would use conventional jet engines and run on traditional or sustainable aviation fuel.

Chang said this efficiency and subsequent cost cuts could make the new jet a replacement for midsize airplanes like the Boeing 757 and the Boeing 767. United plans to retire these older aircraft by 2026 and 2030, respectively.

For example, United said in a press release that a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, would use up to 45% less fuel than the twin-aisle aircraft flying the route today.

United's Boeing 767 operates that summer seasonal transatlantic trek. JetZero's new aircraft could take over, and it would fit into the existing airport infrastructure on both sides of the pond.

JetZero's expected commercialization is years away. United plans to take on next-generation aircraft like the Airbus A321XLR and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner as more immediate and reliable replacements for the 757 and 767.

If certified, JetZero's aircraft would provide United with another high-range, high-capacity, and cost-effective fleet option that could comfortably sit in between.

It would have more range and capacity than the A321XLR but less than United's 787-9 and 787-10. The Z4 could hold a handful more people than the airline's smallest Dreamliner variant, the 787-8.

"We believe [JetZero] is a game changer; this is a different way to reinvent aviation," Chang said.