All Airframers articles – Page 1650
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News
Harris may start 'no-frills' airline
AIR CANADA CHAIRMAN Hollis Harris may invest in an US-based "no-frills" airline, which could be in operation as early as June 1996. Harris confirms in an interview with the Canadian Financial Post that at least four "core" investors are already examining whether to take a stake in the ...
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Munich on defensive as Asian airlines pull out
INDONESIAN CARRIER Garuda and Japan Airlines (JAL) have withdrawn from services to Munich Airport, leaving the airport management company, Flughafen Munchen (FMG), defending its growth record. According to the airport authorities, JAL pulled out over a question of traffic rights, while Garuda's decision was part of an overall ...
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Countdown to Alpha
T-2 years and counting: the first hardware has been built for the Alpha International Space Station. Tim Furniss/WASHINGTON DC THE ALPHA INTERNATIONAL Space Station "...isn't a paper programme anymore", says Wilbur Trafton, director of NASA's Space Station programme. "We're talking launches just round the corner." ...
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UAE gains AMRAAM go-ahead
THE US GOVERNMENT is to release the Hughes AIM-120 Advanced Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to support its manufacturers in the country's strike-fighter competition. Sources close to the UAE fighter programme claim that the USA decided in July to make it clear to ...
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Lufthansa Technik chief angry
THE CHAIRMAN AND chief executive of German maintenance company Lufthansa Technik, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, says that he may complain to the European Commission about the low prices which some loss-making, government-subsidised, European airlines and maintenance companies are charging. Mayrhuber says that he does not mind if a government helps ...
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Zeppelin prototype enters final assembly
Zeppelin Luftschiff-technik has begun final assembly of its New Technology (NT) airship prototype - the first rigid airship the company has produced since the Second World War. The 68m-long prototype, LZ N07, is scheduled for completion in July 1996, in time for an "official" first flight in early ...
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Battle of the big twins
Airbus and Boeing plan strategies for the next round of combat. Kevin O'Toole/LONDON Julian Moxon/PARIS Paul Lewis/DUBAI WITH THE SINGAPORE Airlines decision now announced, the first round in the battle of the big twins is drawing to a close. There are still a couple of ...
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Bidders jostle for Saudi fighter requirement
NORTHROP GRUMMAN has submitted a bid to Saudi Arabia for proposed upgrade packages to the country's fleet of Northrop F-5s, while Lockheed Martin is pursuing selling the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) up to 100 F-16C/Ds as a replacement aircraft. Originally, the RSAF was looking to replace its ...
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The big fan fight
ARGUABLY, THE bloodiest competitions in the big-twin fight have come not from the airframe selection, but over the engine choice. Three engine manufacturers and a relative scarcity of orders was a sure recipe for a life-or-death struggle. In the event, the first wave of competitions ends with Pratt ...
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Turkish order maintains Douglas recovery
Turkish charter operator Onur Air has ordered five McDonnell Douglas MD-88s and taken options on five more, continuing the fourth quarter turn-around in the fortunes of Douglas Aircraft. Up to the end of September, Douglas had taken orders for just 11 twinjets during the whole of 1995. The ...
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Saudia focuses on regional selection
Saudi Arabian Airlines is focusing attention on the long-awaited selection of a new 50- to 70-seat regional aircraft, following the finalisation of its $6 billion purchase of larger-capacity US-built jet airliners. The national carrier has a total requirement for up to 30 aircraft, but is expected initially to ...
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Guernsey jet upgrade
Jersey European Airways is upgrading its four daily turboprop services between Guernsey and London Gatwick. The airline intends to put one of its two newly leased 99-seat BAe 146-200s on the route in March, replacing the 52-seat Fokker F27-500 and virtually doubling capacity. The second aircraft has been put on ...
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Indonesia bids for embargoed F-16s
INDONESIA IS negotiating to buy nine of Pakistan's embargoed Lockheed Martin F-16A/B fighters being offered for sale by the US Government. According to US diplomatic and industrial sources, Indonesia is keen to acquire the aircraft, but has yet to reach an agreement on pricing. The US Government is ...
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New Merpati president will go ahead with CN-235 lease plan
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE MERPATI NUSANTARA Airlines is to go ahead with the lease of 16 Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) CN-235-220 passenger aircraft, following the dismissal of the carrier's president, Ridwan Fatarudin. According to Mr Soepandi, president of Merpati parent airline Garuda Indonesia, there is a ...
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Airbus prepares for shortened A330 launch launch imminent
Julian Moxon/PARIS AIRBUS INDUSTRIE IS preparing to launch the shortened version of the A330 long-range wide body twinjet "before the end of the year", for service entry in 1998. The manufacturer has been pushing to launch the 250-seat A330-M10 as soon as the market showed sufficient ...
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Transavia seals Boeing 737 deal
Peter Legro (left), chief executive of Dutch charter and scheduled airline Transavia, has confirmed an order for eight Boeing 737-800s, with an option on a further 12, in a signing ceremony at the airline's headquarters at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Boeing president Ron Woodard is seen countersigning the order, which is ...
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First GE90-powered 777 is ready for BA
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON THE FIRST GENERAL Electric GE90-powered Boeing 777, is finally ready for its long awaited delivery to British Airways, after clearing certification on both sides of the Atlantic The first BA aircraft was due to touch down at London Heathrow on 12 November, as the ...
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Reduced separations lie ahead on Atlantic routes
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES THE NORTH ATLANTIC Systems Planning Group (NATSPG) plans to start preparations in December to pave the way for the introduction of a trial 1,000ft (300m) reduced vertical- separation minima (RVSM) across the Atlantic by January 1997. The NATSPG, which includes all major ...
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Boeing
Boeing Commercial Airplane Group has named Tom Schick executive vice-president and deputy to President Ron Woodard. Schick, senior vice-president for aircraft support, retains his role as head of all aircraft-support efforts. Dan Heidt is appointed to the new position of senior vice-president for aircraft components. Jeff Turner, now director of ...
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Sextant HFDS certificated
SEXTANT AVIONIQUE has achieved French certification of its head-up flight-display system (HFDS) for Category IIIB landings in the Boeing 737-300. Launch customer Aeropostal has carried out the first commercial flight using the system. Aeropostal flies passengers by day, converting its aircraft to freight configuration for night-mail services. Director-general ...