Moving an object to a direction in degrees at a specific speed?

I'm trying to make a 2D air traffic control game. I have a problem with getting the airplane to move to the direction the controller tells it to go. So how can I move an object to a specific direction in degrees at a specific speed (without rotating it on the screen)? It would also be nice if someone told me how to make the plane turn slowly towards the direction instead of just instantly going that way, again without actually rotating the object on the screen. I haven't managed to find a solution.