Airframers – Page 1463
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Virgin to grow single-aisle fleet
Günter Endres/LONDON Virgin Atlantic is to boost its Airbus A320 fleet in the next few months to accommodate the expansion of its European scheduled and charter flights. Initial expansion is expected later this year, with the opening of the London Heathrow-Moscow service, followed by the start of the new ...
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Southern African airlines struggle to survive as profits plunge
By Hilka Birns/CAPE TOWN Dangerously low profit margins are threatening the future of airlines in Southern Africa as low yields from domestic services and excessive levies imposed by government-owned monopolies take their toll, according to the Airline Association of Southern Africa (AASA). Airlines in the region are reporting ...
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Boeing completes reshuffle
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing has made sweeping changes to its management in the wake of the structural changes announced in early September providing for three new Commercial Airplane business units. Under newly appointed Boeing Commercial Airplane Group president Alan Mulally, the company is divided into three main units. ...
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US Army saves the Outrider as Navy VTOL UAV
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Department of Defense Joint Requirements Oversight Council has agreed to let the US Navy and the US Marine Corps switch to a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle (UAV), while allowing the US Army to procure the Alliant Techsystems Outrider UAV. ...
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Space rescue
Tim Furniss/LONDON On 26 September, 92 days after being lost in deep space, the European Space Agency (ESA)/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) began sending back images of the sun again. The spacecraft's remarkable rescue owes much of its success to the initial location work completed by the large radio ...
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Boeing nears ILFC 717 deal
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing and International Lease Finance (ILFC) are close to agreeing a contract for orders involving up to 100 717-200s. Boeing hopes the deal will provide the programme with its long-awaited sales breakthrough for the type since the similarly sized initial launch order from AirTran Airlines in ...
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GE90-powered Continental 777 hits ETOPS proving flight hitch
This new General Electric GE90-powered Continental Airlines Boeing 777 had to carry out a precautionary diversion following a starboard engine low oil-quantity alert during a transpacific extended range twin engine operations (ETOPS) proving flight for the airline. The aircraft, en route on a nonstop New York-Tokyo flight on 7 October, ...
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PAL seeks foreign capital as resumption nears
Philippine Airlines (PAL) is due to resume skeleton international flights from 15 October, following the restart of domestic services with a much reduced fleet of aircraft. It is now seeking to attract new foreign investors, with efforts focused on Cathay Pacific Airways and Northwest Airlines. International operations will begin ...
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EC and Italy reach last-gasp airports agreement
The European Commission and the Italian Government have reached a last-minute agreement on a traffic distribution system between Milan's two airports at Linate and Malpensa, where a new hub is to open on 25 October. The deal, agreed in principle, followed a day of intense negotiations on 8 October ...
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Australia throws challenge to flailing Air Niugini
Brisbane-based Flight West Airlines has expanded plans for new services between northern Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG), further challenging embattled Air Niugini on one of its prime revenue earning routes. The Australian regional carrier now plans to add two direct flights weekly between Cairns and PNG's second city, Lae, ...
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MD-82 overrun at Ulsan adds to Korean Air's catalogue of woe
Korean Air's (KAL) battered safety record suffered another blow on 30 September when a Boeing MD-82 landing in wet weather at Ulsan Airport overran the runway by 150m (470ft), less than two months after another major incident at Seoul involving a KAL Boeing 747-400. According to the airline, three ...
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BA 777 order leads to launch of Trent 895
Rolls-Royce has launched the 95,000lb (423kN)-thrust Trent 895 engine on the back of an order to power up to 32 Boeing 777-200ERs ordered by British Airways (Flight International, 30 September-6 October). The 895 is identical to the current Trent 800, but has increased thrust because of higher temperature margins. ...
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German operator goes solo
Andrzej Jeziorski/Munich German tour operator Frosch Touristik International (FTI) is to found its own airline. Operations are due to get under way early next year with a fleet of three Airbus A320s. The name of the airline and its home base remain to be announced. According to FTI ...
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Comair includes 70-seaters in big Canadair Regional Jet deal
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDONComair has placed the biggest single order ever for the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), with a 10-year agreement for up to 150 aircraft, including its first deal for the stretched 70-seat version. The 50 firm orders are worth more than $1 billion. The deal from the Cincinnati-based Delta ...
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DHL standardises on A300B4 freighters for European services
Herman de Wulf/BRUSSELS DHL International is standardising on the Airbus A300B4 freighter for its European operations and says it will need more than the 14 aircraft it has already agreed to acquire. The European arm of DHL has its main hub in Brussels handling some 250t of freight a night. ...
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EVA pursues options to fill business void
Brent Hannon/TAIPEI EVA Airways has been talking to oneworld and the Star Alliance and hopes to join one of the alliances as soon as it decides which is most suitable, says president and vice-chairman Frank Hsu. Meanwhile, the airline is boosting its cargo business to fill the void left ...
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FAA invites ETOPS extension proposal
Any US extension of the 180min rule for extended range twin engined operations (ETOPS) would be granted on the basis of "equivalent safety" to existing rules, says the US Federal Aviation Administration. The agency says: "We have told the operators/manufacturers they should make a proposal for extending ETOPS beyond ...
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Garuda system reliability queried
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE A US lawsuit filed against Sundstrand has called into question the reliability and effectiveness of the company's Mk2 ground proximity warning system (GPWS), following the fatal crash of a Garuda Indonesia Airbus A300B4 in Sumatra a year ago. The Chicago-based Nolan Law Group, representing the family ...
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Go goes for growth as fleet grows
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Go, the British Airways low-fare affiliate, says the primary reason behind the move to almost triple its fleet to 13 aircraft over the next 15 months is to enable it to boost its route network, but the airline denies that it plans to take over routes from ...
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Marconi tests head-up display system for 737
Certification flight testing of Marconi's HUD2020 head-up display (HUD) system for the Boeing 737 began on 28 September with a 2h 35min test flight from Mojave, California. The HUD, mounted by Tracor Flight Systems in the flightdeck of a 737-200 "-worked well during the initial flight", says Marconi, which ...