All air transport news – Page 2136
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Pentagon aims to speed up C-130J procurement
The US Department of Defense (DoD) plans to accelerate the procurement of Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules transports for the US Air Force and Marine Corps, but has declined the company's offer of a substantial discount in return for buying more aircraft earlier. Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, has signed a contract ...
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Olympic takes 717s on Bavaria lease
Olympic Aviation accepted two Boeing 717-200s at Long Beach, California, on 7 January and plans to begin services with the new aircraft by the end of this month. The 717s have been leased from Bavaria International Aircraft Leasing, which placed firm orders for five aircraft in May 1998. Four of ...
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777-100X revived to counter A330 at Singapore Airlines
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing is looking at reviving the shelved 777-100X shrink derivative as a counter to Airbus Industrie's A330-200 and its proposed -100 variant ahead of an expected Singapore Airlines (SIA) request for proposals (RFP) for an A310 replacement. SIA is expected to release ...
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WestJet looks to replace 737-200s
WestJet Airlines is talking to Airbus Industrie, Boeing and leasing companies about replacing its 14 Boeing 737-200s from next year, as it expands services to eastern Canada. The Calgary-based low-cost carrier is evaluating 100-130-seat twinjets, including the Boeing 737-600/700 and the Airbus A318/A319. A decision is expected during the ...
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Ansett plans major regional merger
Ansett Australia is planning to merge its three regional subsidiaries - Kendell Airlines, Skywest Airlines and Aeropelican Air Services - into a single carrier. It will take over a significant chunk of the mainline airline's regional operation, based around British Aerospace 146s. Ansett has also replaced senior management and ...
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BA studies CityFlyer transfer in Gatwick route shake-up
Chris Jasper/LONDON Andrew Doyle/MUNICH British Airways is considering a radical restructuring of its London Gatwick-based operations that would see all routes of less than 800km (430nm) - or around 35% of services - transferred to its CityFlyer subsidiary. The move, among several under consideration, aims to exploit the lower ...
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Found gets go-ahead to build Bush Hawk
Found Aircraft Canada is bringing the Bush Hawk utility aircraft back into production after receiving a production certificate from Transport Canada. Found has moved into a new plant at Perry Sound Airport, near Toronto, and plans to fly the first production aircraft next month. The Bush Hawk is a ...
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Kitted for flight
UK kit-maker Europa Aircraft is revolutionising personal aircraft Kate Sarsfield/KIRKBYMOORSIDE In little over a decade, Europa has evolved from an airline pilot's ambitious dream and has become arguably the most successful kit aircraft manufacturer in the world. In its short history, the internationally acclaimed aerospace company has chalked up more ...
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Shaping up
Competitive pressure is pushing Boeing's product development group to the fore Guy Norris/SEATTLE As it enters the 21st century, Boeing faces its toughest challenge. After dominating global commercial aviation for over 40 years, it ended the 1990s under threat on all fronts from Airbus Industrie. Boeing's product development (PD) group ...
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In Brief
LOT qualifies for Swiss deal SAirGroup's $33.7 million purchase of a 10% stake in in the Polish flag carrier LOT was officially signed in November. The purchase will be combined with a share issue, increasing SAir's stake to 37.6%. Financial assets from the share issue, equalling close to $150 ...
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JetBlue prepares for February launch
JetBlue Airways has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320 and expects another one soon as it gears up for an early February take-off. The 10 aircraft to be delivered this year will sport three different livery patterns using various shades of blue - the favourite colour of chief executive ...
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Peru's skies make room for another domestic starter
Yet another small airline has launched domestic flights in Peru. Aviandina, which won its operating certificate in mid-November, started flying a 10-city network from Lima the next day, using two leased Boeing 727-100s and one Boeing 737. This latest start-up brings to eight the number of local airlines scrambling ...
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Routes
Down Mexico way Continental Express, the regional subsidiary of Continental Airlines, plans to start a service from its hub at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport to San Luis Potosi, Mexico, next March, subject to government approval. By adding San Luis Potosi, Continental and Continental Express will serve 18 destinations ...
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Virgin moves on Australia
DAVID KNIBB SEATTLE Richard Branson's decision to launch a low-cost domestic Australian airline is the biggest threat yet to the Qantas-Ansett duopoly During a whirlwind tour of Australia, Richard Branson announced that Virgin Australia would start mid-year with five Boeing 737s that could quickly grow. Focusing initially on the busy ...
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China tax threatens leasing company growth
A new Chinese tax on aircraft operating leases is emerging as a potential threat to leasing companies hoping to profit from expectations that China's airline industry will grow at a faster-than-average rate over the next 20 years. The new withholding tax was quietly introduced by the Chinese Government, effective ...
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China, Japan go regional
NICHOLAS IONIDES ATI/SINGAPORE After their success in the USA and Europe, regional jet aircraft makers have at long last cracked two important, but untapped, markets in Asia - China and Japan. Hainan Airlines has become China's first carrier to operate scheduled regional jet services after receiving the first of at ...
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In Brief
Asiana offer Asiana Airlines expects to raise 375 billion won ($325 million) through an initial public offering of 50 million shares. Shares were made available early in December ahead of a listing on South Korea's secondary Kosdaq share market at the end of the month. Public and institutional investors ...
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Chicago revisited
KAREN WALKER CHICAGO Transport ministers from around the world joined airline and industry chiefs in Chicago in December to discuss how to shed the bilateralism legacy of the historic 1944 Chicago Convention and also move beyond the current open skies regime to multilateralism. US Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater lost few ...
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In Brief
Steeper downturn predicted The US Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is predicting a worse downturn in sales of US civil aircraft in 2000 than had been expected. In his annual year-end review and forecast, AIA president John Douglass said sales of US civil aircraft, including engines and parts, are expected ...
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New Beginning
GÜNTER ENDRES ATHENS With the belated opening up of the Greek market, a clutch of independent operators is starting to mount a serious challenge to flag carrier Olympic Airways Until 1998, Greece had been virtually untouched by the European liberalisation process. Apart from a partial deregulation in 1991, which permitted ...