All Airframers articles – Page 1530
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News
Temporary solutions
THE SOCIETY OF BRITISH Aerospace Companies (SBAC) recently launched an initiative to attract more young people into the aerospace industry, citing as one of the reasons for doing so a widespread concern that the industry could be facing skills shortages in the future. One of the most obvious manifestations of ...
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Thailand's PB Air is ready for 1998 launch date
Thai start-up operator PB Air is planning to launch its first charter/scheduled domestic service in 1998, initially using a recently acquired Fairchild Dornier 328 30-seat turboprop. The 12-month-old carrier hopes to fly daily from Bangkok to Hattyai via Chumporn Airport in southern Thailand, says PB Air chief pilot ...
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China signs up for $3 billion-worth of Boeings
China's long-awaited and highly politicised deal for new Boeing aircraft has finally been signed in Washington, covering the purchase of up to 50 widebody and narrowbody passenger jet aircraft, worth $3 billion. The deal, as expected, was announced on 30 October during Chinese President Jiang Zemin's state visit ...
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Competitions poised to launch 30-seat jet
American Eagle and Continental Express have launched competitions for a combined total of up to 250 regional jets in the 30- to 40-seat category, effectively signalling the beginning of what is being seen as another regional-jet buying frenzy in the US industry. The competitions are a two-horse race ...
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Taiwan Airlines signs first order for shortfield Dornier 328
Fairchild Dornier claims to have secured an Asian launch customer for two improved short-field performance 328-130 turboprops, scheduled for delivery in early 1998. Although neither the manufacturer nor the airline will officially confirm it, the launch customer for the new variant is believed to be Taiwan Airlines. Sources ...
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Fairchild orders CAE simulator for 328JET
Fairchild Dornier has ordered a full-flight simulator for its 328Jet, marking another in a series of regional-aircraft orders for CAE Electronics. The 328Jet simulator is to be ready for customer training in February 1999, a year after the planned First flight of the prototype. American Airlines, ...
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Airbus and R-R strive for A340-500 orders
Airbus Industrie and Rolls-Royce are engaged in a concerted final push to enlist sufficient airline orders for a launch of the new A340-500/600 growth derivatives. The European consortium is understood to be keen to launch the two ultra-long-haul and stretched versions of the A340 by mid-November. Airbus sales ...
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Tunisair follows Airbus order with 737-600s
Tunisair has followed its recent deal with Airbus for A319s and more A320s, with an order for four Next Generation Boeing 737-600s, and taken options for three extra aircraft, with variants to be determined later. The new 737-600s, which are similar in size to the -200 and -500 ...
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Maersk orders CRJs to provide 70-seat option
Maersk Air's UK subsidiary will replace its ageing fleet of BAC One-Elevens in 1998 with the first of up to 15 Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs). The selection hinged on Bombardier's ability to supply both 50- and 70-seat versions, which Embraer could not offer. Maersk Air, which operates ...
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Lufthansa CityLine/Bombardier negotiate for CRJ-700 purchase
Lufthansa CityLine is in negotiations with Bombardier over a "double-digit" order for the 70-seat Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) Series 700, but Fairchild Dornier is targeting the airline as a potential launch customer for its proposed rival regional jet. CityLine has just taken delivery of its 31st 50-seat CRJ ...
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FAA orders skin-panel inspection for old 737s
As part of its continuing ageing-aircraft initiative, the US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered new inspections or modifications of fuselage skin-panel lap joints on 33 US-registered Boeing 737-100/200s with more than 60,000 flights. A further 34 737s owned by foreign airlines are affected by the airworthiness directive (AD), ...
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Boeing offers Sabena 737 maintenance venture
Boeing demonstrated the 737-700 to Sabena at Brussels in October and is discussing a maintenance joint venture with the Belgian airline as it seeks to beat Airbus Industrie to an order from the Belgian airline. Workers at Sabena Technics are concerned about their future should Airbus succeed with ...
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Boeing pushes ultra-long range 747 derivative
Boeing could obtain board approval to offer airlines a new ultra-long-range - more than 14,800km (8,000nm) - derivative of the 747 as early as May 1998, if it can attract sufficient market interest, particularly from key Asia-Pacific airlines including Cathay Pacific Airways, EVA Airways of Taiwan and Qantas. ...
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AB Airlines takes AIM for expansion funds
AB Airlines is planning a listing on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) early in 1998 to fund an expansion of its network and fleet renewal. The Stansted, UK-based airline is negotiating the acquisition of four new Boeing 737-300s, configured with two-class cabins, in January 1998 to replace its ...
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Timeout in Asia
The AE31X programme is beginning to face its first real challenges, six months after China, Europe and Singapore inked a framework agreement to co-develop a new 100-seater family of jet airliners. Negotiators at the tripartite talks are wrestling with a series of critical issues which must be resolved shortly for ...
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BA nears low-fares decision and re-equips regional unit
British Airways is expected to finalise plans before the end of the year to launch a European low-fare operation at London Stansted, using Boeing 737-300s. At the same time, the airline has begun an interim replacement of its BA Regional 737-200s. Earlier this year, BA commissioned the UK-based ...
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Too big a crowd
The withdrawal of first British Aerospace and then Saab from regional-turboprop manufacture does not signal the collapse of the sub-40-seater market so much as confirm that this market is changing rapidly into one for small jet airliners. It is also a market in which, no matter how buoyant the passenger ...
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Domestic bliss?
Next year will mark a watershed in Japanese civil-aviation history: for the first time in 43 years, the country will see the emergence of new domestically owned airlines. In all, there will be six new carriers - four start-ups and two subsidiaries belonging to two of the three major incumbent ...
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South Korea signs for KTX-II development
South Korea's KTX-II programme at last looks ready to get off the ground, after more than two years of delay, with the signature of a deal between the air force and prime contractor Samsung Aerospace to launch full-scale development of the advanced-trainer/light-strike aircraft. The 1.2 trillion won ($1.27 ...
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Losses put pressure on Finmeccanica to speed up restructuring
Finmeccanica, which holds the bulk of Italy's aerospace industry, is under pressure to speed up its restructuring efforts after posting heavy losses for the First half of the year. The group ended the First six months showing a loss of L1,900 billion ($1.1 billion). Although the bulk of ...