Today, some commentators have even argued that autonomous flight is likely to become a reality much earlier than autonomous driving. However, a distinct issue is the extent to which artificial intelligence (AI) may be used in autonomous flight.
Continue Reading Legal challenges in autonomous flight: Things to consider before investing in an aircraft that flies itself

On March 25, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision which rejected a narrow construction of specific personal jurisdiction under the Due Process Clause. In Ford Motor Co. v. Mont. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, the Supreme Court clarified the limits of specific personal jurisdiction and litigants’ due process rights and held that Ford Motor Co. can be sued in Montana and Minnesota over accidents involving used cars in those states even though the cars were not designed, manufactured, or sold in those states. The decision has significant implications for the scope of personal jurisdiction under the Due Process Clause, including for aviation manufacturers in product liability actions that are filed outside of their home jurisdiction.

The court’s ruling was 8-0, with Justice Alito filing a concurring opinion and Justice Gorsuch filing a separate concurring opinion that was joined by Justice Thomas. Justice Barrett did not participate.

In 2017, the Supreme Court held in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2019), that specific personal jurisdiction can be exercised over a defendant pursuant to the Due Process Clause only when (1) a defendant “ha[s] purposefully availed itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum state” and (2) when the plaintiff’s claim “arise[s] out of or relate[s] to” the defendant’s forum conduct. The Supreme Court’s decision in Ford Motor Co. examined the limits of the second prong—that a plaintiff’s claim must “arise out of or relate to” the defendant’s forum conduct.
Continue Reading Aviation manufacturers take note as the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the extent of specific personal jurisdiction under the Due Process Clause and opens the door to future suits

2020 was a challenging year for the aviation industry as a whole due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but for Boeing it has been an even more challenging time as it has also had to deal with the global grounding of its flagship product, the 737 MAX, since March 2019.

The 737 MAX was launched with the intention of becoming Boeing’s market-leading narrow-body aircraft, trying to break through the stiff competition in the narrow-body market from its main competitor, Airbus. However, that aspiration has so far failed to materialise due to the global grounding of the aircraft in March 2019 following two catastrophic incidents. At its peak, with over 750 MAXs grounded and unable to generate revenue, Boeing faced a significant challenge to return the MAX to the skies and restore the confidence of regulators and safety authorities, its customers and the flying public around the world.
Continue Reading The return of the MAX…once again

It turned out to be an unhappy Valentine’s Day for the Airbus A380 and her admirers, as Airbus announced the scrapping of the A380 programme, with the last deliveries scheduled for 2021.

It’s hardly a shock, however, after the fleet’s first retirement last year and with two of them already being parted out. The economics of operating these fantastic beasts just never really made sense, however game-changing the concept (or indeed the passenger experience).Continue Reading (Un)Happy Valentine’s Day

What a year it has been! At the start of 2017, Reed Smith had no aviation finance team. We have now established teams in London, New York and Abu Dhabi (and we’re not done yet!). Across the board we have structured and closed a diverse range of transactions for lenders, lessors and operators alike (and we still have one or two to go as we all race for the finishing line that is the Holidays).

Throughout, we have been grateful for the support of our clients who have stood by us during our respective moves, and we are excited to close the book on the first phase of our project as we move into 2018. The new year will see the continued development of our practice and will, we hope, give us the opportunity to form deeper partnerships with our existing clients as well as to establish new partnerships to support additional players in the aviation industry.

Establishing a new practice from scratch is inevitably somewhat turbulent for all involved and this got us thinking about the other turbulence and interruptions experienced on a sectoral basis by the industry this year. With this in mind, it seemed like a good moment for us to pause and take stock of 2017.
Continue Reading Farewell to 2017, and to the 747: An exciting year in review