All air transport news – Page 2145
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Tatarstan supports Tu-214 lease scheme
Production of the Tupolev Tu-214 in the Russian republic of Tatarstan is gearing up, following agreements to support production and leasing of the 200-seat twinjet. Meanwhile, local carrier Sibir Airlines is finalising a lease deal for three examples. The Perm and Novosibirsk regions of Tatarstan have signed agreements to ...
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Aviation Sales moves to do deal with Malev's Aeroplex
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Aviation Sales of the USA is discussing a possible tie-up with Malev Hungarian Airlines' Aeroplex maintenance subsidiary, in line with plans to establish a major facility in Europe. The move may threaten a previously announced joint-venture agreement between Aeroplex and Lufthansa Technik (LHT) to overhaul Boeing 737s ...
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Mergers
Northrop Grumman has agreed to buy Oslo-based Navia Aviation, an instrument landing systems, digital voice switching systems and air traffic control systems supplier, for $35 million from Norway's Navia. The business will report to UK-based Park Air Electronics, a unit of Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems division. Cordant Technologies ...
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Board poised for A3XX decision
The Airbus Industrie supervisory board is to decide whether to authorise managing director Noel Forgeard to begin soliciting airline commitments for the A3XX at an extraordinary meeting planned for 8 December. If the consortium gets the green light, Forgeard will visit key target customers for the ultra-high capacity airliner ...
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Boeing claims 747-X will catch A3XX
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing is claiming that its new stretched 747-400X design is capable of meeting and even beating the direct operating costs of the all-new Airbus A3XX. The startling assertion is based on revised performance estimates for the 747-400X, plus new, independent airline analysis of the latest A3XX proposals. ...
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Leasing companies drop 767-400ER commitments after poor demand
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Leasing companies General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and International Lease Finance (ILFC) have dropped their combined orders for seven Boeing 767-400ERs after failing to find sufficient market interest in the stretched twins. ILFC says it has switched its four remaining -400ER commitments for ...
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DASA reveals EADS structure
Julian Moxon/PARIS Chris Jasper/LONDON DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) has unveiled the proposed organisational structure of the new European Aeronautics, Defense and Space (EADS) company to be formed through the merger of Aerospatiale Matra and Dasa. But the plan could face opposition from British Aerospace, which is concerned about its impact on ...
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UK plans partial ATC sell-off
David Learmount/LONDONUK air traffic control (ATC) is on course for partial privatisation by the middle of next year, with the government last week announcing plans to put a bill transforming the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) into a "public private partnership" before parliament during the 1999/2000 session. As the government ...
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Aerostar teams with Dasa on MiG-29
Andrzej Jeziorski/DUBAI Romanian upgrade specialist Aerostar has teamed with Germany's Daimler- Chrysler Aerospace (Dasa) to offer its MiG-29 Sniper upgrade to the Romanian air force. Aerostar's established Israeli partner Elbit is also involved, supplying a similar avionics package to that found in Aerostar's MiG-21 Lancer upgrade. "This upgrade will give ...
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Boeing selects Raytheon to develop Super Hornet radar
Boeing has selected Raytheon to develop an active-array radar for the F/A-18E/F. The companies will begin development at their own risk, as the US Navy is not expected to secure funding for the active electronically scanned array (ASEA) upgrade until 2001. The "advance agreement" to begin development of the ...
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World Air Forces listing A-B
AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan has been wracked by war for decades. The Islamic Taliban controls about two-thirds of the land-locked, mountainous country. Areas in the north are held by an alliance led by General Ahmad Shah Masoud. Fierce fighting frequently breaks out in and around Kabul, in the north-eastern provinces of Takhar, ...
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Icelandair set to grow in corporate revamp
Icelandair has unveiled its new branding on a Boeing 757-200, marking the launch of a wide-ranging corporate revamp. This will include improvements in in-flight service such as entertainment and catering, new staff uniforms and aircraft interiors. The airline, poised for expansion with its current fleet of three Boeing 737-400s and ...
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CAL ready for launch
New Israeli freight carrier CAL (Cargo Air Lines) will start operations on 1 December using a Boeing 747-200 freighter acquired from Atlas Air and taking up extra capacity on other cargo airlines operating to Israel until it introduces a second freighter. Established in the 1970s by Israeli agricultural organisations ...
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Europeans think radically
Julian Moxon/TOULOUSE Airbus Industrie and its partner companies have begun looking at configurations that could lead to the introduction of radical designs for new airliners in the next century. The first of a series of meetings to consider future concepts takes place in Toulouse, France, this week. "We are examining ...
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LAAS trials show Category 3 accuracy
The US Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) has demonstrated the required accuracy for Category 3 approach and landings in the latest in a series of flight trials. The GPS-based LAAS is being developed as a government-industry partnership to replace the existing Cat 1/2/3 instrument landing systems in the USA. ...
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LTU starts fleet update with A320s
Andrew Doyle/MUNICHGerman charter carrier LTU International Airways is acquiring 12 Airbus A320s in the first stage of a fleet restructuring that will lead to the selection of a new widebody type to replace its Boeing 767-300ERs. The company, 49.9%-owned by the SAirGroup, is also considering concluding a sale and leaseback ...
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USN tests anti-missile laser
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON The US Navy has conducted the first live-fire test of laser missile jamming systems suitable for installation on fast-jet combat aircraft. The UK observed the trials, conducted under the Navy's Tactical Aircraft Directed Infrared Countermeasures (TADIRCM) advanced technology demonstrator programme. Prototype systems developed by Lockheed Martin Sanders ...
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The Manufacturer's view
Max Kingsley-Jones/LUTON Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Roger Lecomte, Airbus Industrie's vice-president of engineering support, says: "The introduction of the A330-200 was like that of the A321 [after the A320] for us. We were able to benefit from the lessons we learned with the introduction of the A330-300 and A340." ...
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Boeing looks at 757 slowdown
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Falling order backlogs are forcing Boeing to study a production slowdown of the 757 earlier than expected next year. Boeing plans to deliver 53 757s next year, and has been preparing to cut the rate from the present five per month to around 4.5. But now ...
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Long-range workout
How has the latest long-range A330 performed since its entry into service? Andrew Doyle/ZURICH Max Kingsley-Jones/LUTON Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC In its latest market forecast, Airbus Industrie predicts that 210/250-seaters like the A330-200 will make up one-fifth of the 14,800 new aircraft to be delivered over the next 20 years. The ...