All Airframers articles – Page 1384
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Southern aims for September restart
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Start-up cargo carrier Southern Air hopes to begin Boeing 747 freighter operations in September, using routes and assets acquired from bankrupt Southern Air Transport (SAT). The Columbus, Ohio-based company plans to offer aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) wet-lease services initially, using an 18-year-old General ...
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Serving Africa
For East African airlines it is cheaper to send for spares from Europe than keep them in stock Michael Wakabi/KAMPALA What Links Europe to a small scheduled operator in East Africa? A lot, according to Dick Turinawe, Uganda Airlines' general manager. Fleet size and configuration, capital constraints, frequencies and ...
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USA/Russia argue over Il-96 Exim Bank deal
The delivery of 20 Ilyushin Il-96M/Ts to Aeroflot Russian International Airlines is being held up by a US/Russian wrangle over import duties on new Boeing aircraft for the Russian national carrier. The US Government is believed to have linked the release of $1 billion in Exim Bank funding for ...
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GE90 engine variant flies
General Electric has begun tests of the GE90-94B turbofan for the Boeing 777-200ER on its 747 testbed. US certification is due next April and service entry with Air France the following November. The tests are expected to validate features of the advanced three-dimensional high-pressure compressor for the 777-200X/300X's GE90-115B. Source: ...
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CityBird prepares for 747Fs
Herman de Wulf/BRUSSELS CityBird is finalising its planned order for Boeing 747-400 freighters, as it introduces its first Airbus A300 freighters. Brussels-based CityBird last year revealed plans to set up a cargo operation, placing orders for two whitetail General Electric CF6-powered A300-600 freighters originally destined for Kuwait Airways. ...
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717 emerges as favourite for BA requirement
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON British Airways could be poised to boost the Boeing 717's flagging sales fortunes, with the twinjet emerging as front runner for a requirement to purchase up to 40 of the 100-seaters. A request for proposals (RFP), covering 20 firm orders, plus up to 20 options, has ...
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CRJ-700 nets UK customer Maersk
British Airways franchise carrier Maersk Air has confirmed plans to operate the 70-seat Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), as flight testing of the Series 700 gets in to its stride. The Birmingham, UK-based subsidiary of Denmark's Maersk Air has placed orders for three CRJ-700s for delivery in 2001/2002, and taken ...
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GE plans crucial fan test for growth CF6
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES General Electric is preparing for vital fan blade containment tests early next year that will pave the way for freezing technology input in its proposed growth version of the CF6, the -80G2. The hybrid wide chord fan is key to increasing the thrust of the CF6 family ...
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Texas Turbine flies TPE-331 DHC Otter
Texas Turbine Conversions has begun test flying an AlliedSignal TPE331-10 turboprop-converted de Havilland Otter, for which it hopes to win a supplemental type certificate by the end of the year. The 670kW (900hp) engine will replace the Otter's current 450kW Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial piston engine, offering a ...
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ETOPS refusal wrecks Airtours A330 introduction
The introduction of the Airbus A330-200 by charter airline Airtours International has been severely disrupted after the UK Civil Aviation Authority unexpectedly refused to clear it to operate its new twinjets on 180min extended range twin engined operations (ETOPS) flights. UK-based Airtours introduced two 360-seat Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-powered A330-200s ...
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Continental Express prepares for 200 jets as turboprops go
Paul Lewis/SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS Continental Express plans to double the size of its regional jet fleet to 200 aircraft as the carrier begins to accelerate the disposal of turboprops and transition to an all-jet operation. "We think we're about half-way there in terms of placing our firm orders with ...
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USAF plans F-16 improvements
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Air Force is drawing up plans for a Falcon Star structural enhancement package to sustain the operational life of the large numbers of early Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter versions in its fleet and overseas. Falcon Star is intended as a follow-on to the ...
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Embraer steps up production of RJ-135/145 and picks partners
Paul Lewis/SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS Embraer plans to increase production of its RJ-135/145 to 16 aircraft a month to keep pace with a record order backlog and continue to compete for new business. Meanwhile, it has finalised the selection of partners and suppliers for the new ERJ-170/190 regional jet. ...
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SAA will keep Qualiflyer options open
Roger Makings JOHANNESBURG Although South African Airways (SAA) has chosen Swissair as its strategic equity partner, the airline says it is in no rush to join the European Qualiflyer alliance or any other grouping. SAA chief executive Coleman Andrews says the airline will keep its options open for as long ...
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Playing it safe at KAL
Nicholas Ionides SEOUL A big management shake-up at Korean Air has produced a new president and chief executive, Shim Yi-taek. His main task is to improve KAL's safety. Each day at noon, thousands of Korean Air (KAL) employees working at the carrier's Kimpo Airport headquarters building in Seoul make ...
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Copa reveals new image
Brian Homewood RIO DE JANEIRO Copa Airlines of Panama has unveiled a new company image, the result of an alliance with Continental Airlines. The new look is shown on a Boeing 737-700, one of 12 scheduled for delivery over the next few years to replace existing aircraft. Copa Airlines ...
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Cool head in a hot seat
The glass must always look half full to Fernando Pinto. The first thing that Varig's president and chief executive officer wants to point out is that his airline is in a better position today than it was three years ago. It would be easy to overlook this piece of ...
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Arkia move sparks Arab backlash
Peter Bennett VIENNA Israeli group Arkia says it will invest up to $100 million in loss-making flag carrier Balkan Bulgarian after it won the rights to buy a majority stake. But problems with some of Balkan's Arab routes have set in, with some countries objecting to dealing with an Israeli-owned ...
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JetBlue takes on Big Apple
Carol Shifrin NEW YORK The largest metropolis of the USA - New York City - is about to gain its first low-fare, home-town airline in more than a dozen years. JetBlue Airways, the best-financed of any start-up since US airline deregulation, plans an early 2000 launch from New York's underused ...
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Airlines check out from Galileo ties
Jane Levere NEW YORK Ties between Galileo and its major airline owners have unravelled further, as four carriers have reduced or entirely eliminated their ownership in the global distribution system (GDS). United Airlines, its largest shareholder, began a search for a new vendor to act as its host and potentially ...