All Airframers articles – Page 1429
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News
More airlines sign up for used ATR 42s and 72s
Julian Moxon/PARIS The recently formed Asset Management arm of Franco-Italian regional aircraft manufacturer ATR has signed new contracts placing 23 used ATR 42s and 72s with nine airlines. The organisation predicts that it will have placed around 50 used aircraft by the end of the year, by which time "-we ...
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A330s head for Brazil after currency hiccup
Joe Sims/MIAMI TAM expects to take delivery of its first two Airbus A330s by the end of the month after a delay of over a month caused by a currency crisis in Brazil. The carrier, based in Sao Paulo, had been due to receive its first of five Pratt & ...
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Airbus may ditch A3XX thrust reversers to slow down costs
Andrew Doyle/LONDON Airbus Industrie is discussing with airlines a plan to remove the thrust reversers from its A3XX ultra-high capacity airliner design as part of efforts to further reduce the aircraft's direct operating costs. Airlines have generally reacted favourably towards the idea of dropping the system from the outboard engines ...
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BAe backs Australian EF2000 development push
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA British Aerospace has unveiled in Australia plans for the relocation of major software development activities linked to the Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon as part of the creation of a new Military Aircraft Systems group to be based in Melbourne, Victoria. The company is attempting to sell the ...
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American thinks again on 1999 expansion plans
The weakening international economy has caused American Airlines to rethink its growth programme for 1999, with proposals for certain new routes being dropped and aircraft retirements increased. The US major is to retire eight McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10s and two Boeing 727-200s several years earlier than planned, bringing its total ...
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FAA gives Luscombe interim certificate for Spartan 185
The US Federal Aviation Administration has awarded Luscombe Aircraft an airworthiness certificate for its Spartan 185 preproduction model 11E. The ticket falls short of full approval, however, and is "for sales and marketing purposes", says Luscombe. The Oklahoma-based company is still targeting April 1999 as the earliest date for ...
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Boeing aims to fund F/A-18 active array work for the US Navy
Boeing plans to co-fund initial development of an active-array radar for the F/A-18E/F, in the absence of US Navy funding. The move will bridge the gap until the navy can find funding and "...get the radar into the fleet as early as possible," says Paul Summers, manager F/A-18 new product ...
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ERJ-135 prototype testing forges ahead
The two Embraer RJ-135 prototypes in flight test have accumulated some 235h of testing and demonstration flights. The second aircraft, which joined the programme on 24 September, is a conversion of the second pre-series ERJ-145 and is being used for system testing. The first aircraft, which is being used to ...
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Routes
-Dutch carrier Transavia is to become the first non-Greek airline to operate scheduled domestic services between Greek territories when, from 2 November this year to 27 March 1999, it sets up flights between Rhodes and Heraklion, Crete. -Martinair Cargo will increase both routes and capacity in the Latin American region ...
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Marketplace
-Debonair has signed a lease purchase agreement with Air Atlantic parent IMP for the acquisition of three British Aerospace 146-200s, which have become available following the closure of the Canadian regional carrier. The first aircraft will arrive at the end of this month, with the second following in December and ...
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Muscular Malibu
Dave Higdon/WITCHITA In developing the Meridian, a turboprop derivative of its Malibu high-performance piston single, New Piper Aircraft is counting on the fact that customers will find the transition to turbine power both attractive and manageable. To test this premise, Flight International evaluated the Malibu turboprop conversion developed by JetProp ...
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Equity purchase puts Texas Pacific in GPA driving seat
GPA shareholders have approved an equity purchase which looks set to put US group Texas Pacific in control of the Irish leasing company. If, by the closing date of 19 November, there has been no valid objection to the deal, Texas Pacific will own 62.63% of the Shannon, Ireland-based company's ...
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Calm down
A new and unsettling problem for the airlines - dubbed "air rage" by the media - has been emerging over the last few years. The problem is unsettling because it appears to be global and growing rapidly, and although the airlines can describe it, they cannot define it. This intractable ...
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Boeing's Mulally details 'better plan' for profits
Andrew Doyle/SEATTLE New Boeing Commercial Airplanes president, Alan Mulally, has pledged to get the manufacturer's troubled airliner production lines back on track within the next 12 months as part of what he calls his "better plan" for restoring the company's flagging profitability. Mulally, brought in to replace Ron Woodard, ...
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BAe woos Denel in SAAF fighter deal
Jonathan Rosenthal/JOHANNESBURG British Aerospace is offering to consolidate the South African defence industry alongside the emerging single European defence company, as part of its bid to sell Saab/BAe JAS39 Gripen fighters and BAe Hawk lead-in fighter trainers to the South African Air Force (SAAF). Sources in the South ...
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Financial troubles force Transaero to cut back
Paul Duffy/MOSCOW Transaero, Russia 's third largest carrier, has scaled back its operations by about 30%, with further reductions expected to follow in the face of continuing financial problems at the airline and the worsening domestic economy. Among the first services to be dropped are flights on the Moscow-Riga-London ...
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Airports
-The long-awaited start of construction of the Guangzhou New Airport in China has moved closer with the award of the initial design contract for the passenger terminal to Parsons Greiner of the USA. The deal, worth about $10 million, represents one of the first significant contracts to be awarded since ...
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Carriers unite for airframe standard
Several leading international airlines have agreed to study the possibility of standardising aircraft configurations to cut the costs associated with customisation. Introducing the initiative in Washington DC on 5 November, United Airlines chairman Gerald Greenwald said: "Standardisation can save airlines a lot of money." Customisation adds 3-4% to aircraft ...
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717 initial tests reveal unexpected benefits
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Early results from the Boeing 717-200 flight test effort are indicating "nominal or better" drag and specific fuel consumption (sfc) performance, leading to expectations that the baseline range and payload may be increased, says the company. The build-up of 717 test hours and sorties is ...
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GB Airways follows BA with A320 family deal
GB Airways has followed the lead of its franchise partner, British Airways, and decided to drop its Boeing 737 fleet in favour of the Airbus A320 family, with a deal for up to 14 aircraft. The airline, which operates franchise flights for BA to North Africa and the western ...