VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Spirit Airlines is offering early departure packages to salaried employees.

Now that the nuclear sanctions are lifted, Iran is now free to make deals with foreign companies. It is already in talks with Boeing for possible aircraft purchase and services particularly 737 single-aisle jets and 777 long-range planes.

Boeing will reduce its workforce as part of the company’s cost-cutting and reorganization effort. Although it surpassed order forecast for last year, it was offset by a huge drop in new orders. Clients would not want to wait for several years before their orders get delivered.

Aurora Flight Sciences has been awarded a $89 million worth contract with a defense agency DARPA. The company is developing new design and technology that could enable its X-plane to do a vertical take-off, as well as hover and fly forward efficiently, potentially revolutionizing the military and commercial aviation sector.

NASA is to built quieter supersonic jet planes that will one day replace passenger jet planes. The $20 million contract was given to Lockheed Martin which will collaborate with NASA for reviving supersonic aviation feasibility studies.

Due to the increased sale of Airbus superjumbo A380, the company's earnings rose to 1.6% last year. The aircraft maker is hoping another boost in its earnings this year because of the overwhelming order bookings from different countries.

Airbus just can't get enough of its overflowing orders. The aircraft maker needs to have a double time production to meet its deadline for delivery and to cater other orders from other countries. Spring Air, one of the clients, ordered 60 Airbus A320neos and wants more. It asked Airbus to make more aircraft as China needs them.

Airbus Group wins the contract for the Philippine Airlines' new aircraft order worth $1.8 billion. The Southeast Asian carrier is looking forward to carry passengers to New York and U.S. West coast.

The FAA issued an official warning to airlines that lithium-ion batteries powering most mobile devices including smartphones are dangerous to be brought and transported in the aircraft’s cargo. The warning was stated following a series of study involving previous incidents involving lithium ion batteries overheating.

Air France and KLM are planning to reinstate direct flights to Iran, now that the international sanctions regarding the country's nuclear ambitions are lifted. Iran also planned to request direct flight to the U.S, for the first time since the two countries broke their diplomatic relationship 36 years ago. Air France and KLM are expected to start flying to Iran within the next three months.

The Department of Transportation has come out with a latest report on the US aviation sector. The department expressed its concerns that pilots don't have much expertise in handling aircraft manually. US pilots fly aircraft on automated system for over 90 percent flying. This makes pilots unable to control the aircraft in unforeseen situations.

With the European court judgment's awareness, UK aviation regulators started enforcing the budget airline Ryanair, to compensate thousands of delayed passengers. The statement came after hours after a final ruling from the European court of justice opened the floodgates for compensation claims against airlines that could reach into hundreds of millions of pounds, as reported by The Guardian.

New orders for U.S. factory goods unexpectedly fell in January, posting their sixth straight monthly decline, a sign of weakness in the manufacturing sector.

The U.S. aviation regulator proposed rules on Sunday for commercial drone flights that would lift some restrictions but would still bar activities such as the delivery of packages and inspection of pipelines that have been eyed by companies as a potentially breakthrough use of the technology.

When the Airbus (AIR.PA) A350 jet made its commercial debut with Qatar Airways this week, the event marked a milestone for engine supplier Rolls-Royce (RR.L), but slipping unnoticed under the radar with financing was its arch-rival General Electric (GE.N).