All Airframers articles – Page 1381
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News
CFMI and Airbus discuss new powerplant to revitalise A340
Guy Norris/CINCINNATIAirbus Industrie and CFM International (CFMI) are in talks on proposed development of an upgraded A340-200/300 with an engine variant combining the CFM56-5C with the core of the CFM56-5B/P. At the same time, the General Electric/Snecma venture is adopting automotive assembly techniques to improve production efficiency. No firm agreement ...
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SAS studies candidates for 70-seat regional jet order
Andrew Doyle/COPENHAGEN SAS expects to launch a competition early next year to select a 70-90-seat regional jet family. The carrier requires around 20 aircraft for use on long thin routes, mainly from Stockholm and Oslo. The Scandinavian carrier, which does not operate regional jets, plans to complete a ...
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CFM and Russians tie the knot on Il-76MF
Tashkent Production Plant TAPO, Ilyushin and CFM International (CFMI) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering development of an Ilyushin CFM56- powered Il-76MF freighter. The agreement calls for the potential launch of the programme by the end of the year, pending the sale of "at least five" aircraft, ...
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MD-80 crash sparks emergency AD
David Learmount/LONDON Guy Norris/Los Angeles Operators of the Boeing MD-80 series, MD-90s and 717-200s and the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) DC-9 series are making urgent examinations of stabiliser jackscrews and other elements of the pitch-control system. The checks follow preliminary inspections of the wreckage of the Alaska Airlines MD-83, ...
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Caribbean start-ups muscle in on the action
Airline competition in the Caribbean is set to heat up with the planned entry of two new start-ups Eastern Caribbean Express and Caribbean Star Airlines, putting added pressure on the region's financially struggling regional operators to restructure and realign operations. Eastern Caribbean aims to start in April, using three Bombardier ...
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R-R and SR Technics agree Trent venture
SR Technics and Rolls-Royce have reached agreement on the formation of a Trent engine overhaul joint venture to serve operators in Europe and Africa. The pair had been discussing the move for over a year, but had struggled to agree a structure for the organisation. Under the deal, Zurich-based ...
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Air Foyle plans widebody arm
Chris Jasper/LONDON UK cargo carrier and wet-lease specialist Air Foyle is to revamp its freight business around widebody long-haul operations, using four Boeing 747-200Fs. It plans to lease Boeing 737 Classics as it rethinks its passenger strategy after selling a controlling stake in Ireland's CityJet to Air France. Air Foyle's ...
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Air Canada tackles part of Canadian's debts
Air Canada has restructured part of the C$3.5 billion ($2.4 billion) debt owed by Canadian Airlines, with which it is merging, after reaching agreement with GE Capital Aviation Services. The deal, worth "tens of millions of dollars" according to Air Canada chief executive Robert Milton, covers the lease of a ...
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Airbus lines up huge MAS order
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is in the final stages of negotiations with Airbus Industrie on an order for up to 80 aircraft, including 18 A340-500/600 widebodies and up to 62 examples of the A320 family. Industry sources say the aircraft types have been agreed ...
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Russians attach strings to opening up Polar routes
Paul Lewis/Washington DC The Russian Federation has agreed to a limited opening of the new transpolar and transSiberian routes to scheduled traffic, but is making full and open access conditional upon receiving international assistance to modernise its air traffic management system. At a recent International Civil Aviation Organisation-chaired ...
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Bad company
Asia's poor safety performers tarnish airlines in the region with good records David Learmount/LONDON By the end of the 1990s, South Asia and Asia Pacific had earned a poor reputation for airline safety, although not all of the region's airlines deserved it, but they suffer for the sins of others, ...
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Regional jets steal output lead
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON The booming regional market continued its climb skyward last year, as more airlines made the inevitable move to jets. The regional jet order backlog has increased by almost 50%, putting further pressure on the few turboprops still in production. Last year represented the cross-over point in ...
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Lengthy service
The world's longest airliner, the 777-300, has been working for 18 months. Some of its key operators assess its progress Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Although Airbus Industrie pioneered the widebody twinjet concept in the early 1970s, its rival Boeing has developed the configuration to its ultimate size and weight, with ...
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Road to recovery
The gloom of the past two years has been replaced by a cautious optimism Chris Jasper and Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON When the aerospace industry last gathered in Singapore, for Asian Aerospace '98, the sense of gloom was almost palpable. Subsequent events fully justified that pessimism. Only now are Asian orders beginning ...
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Routes
Channel Islands-based Aurigny will launch twice-daily services between Guernsey and Manchester in the UK next month, using a Saab 340. Air France and Italian start-up Gandalf Airlines have signed a codeshare agreement on the Bergamo-Paris route, which Gandalf will operate with its Fairchild 328JETs. The agreement could be expanded to ...
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FAA issues MD-11 inspection ADs
The US Federal Aviation Administration is proposing to issue eight additional airworthiness directives (ADs) calling on the inspection of Boeing MD-11 electrical system wiring. The move follows the 1998 crash of a Swissair MD-11 near Halifax, Nova Scotia. An electrical fire is suspected. The FAA says that the ADs ...
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Poland leans towards used F-16s
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Poland is preparing to issue a formal tender for its 60-fighter requirement amid strong indications that the government favours an offer of used Lockheed Martin F-16s from the USA. Industry sources say Poland's finance ministry has informally agreed to allocate $1.5 billion for the purchase. The ...
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Airbus slips delivery plan for A3XX
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Airbus Industrie is targeting October 2005 for first production delivery of the A3XX-100 if it can muster sufficient market support by mid-year for the consortium's supervisory board to commit to a simultaneous launch offer of passenger and cargo variants of the ultra-large aircraft. The October ...
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Start-up SolAir signs for 328/728JETs
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Italian start-up SolAir has become the second announced airline customer for the Fairchild Aerospace 728JET, with a letter of intent for two aircraft, plus two 34-seat 328JETs. The Naples-based carrier plans to begin operations with the two 328JETs from next January, serving Barcelona, Paris, Tirana and ...
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P&W abandons work on PW4173 engine
Pratt & Whitney is understood to be suspending development of the growth PW4173 engine and is no longer offering the powerplant to airlines as an option to power the Airbus A330-300 after encountering technical delays and poor market demand. The engine is a 73,000lb-thrust (325kN) growth development of the ...