All air transport news – Page 2202
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News
Vantage work set to resume
Dave Higdon/ST LOUISThe Vantage single-engined jet will be heavier and use a more powerful engine when VisionAire begins certification testing of the first production prototype towards the end of this year. The St Louis, Missouri-based company plans to resume development of the aircraft after a lengthy design review is published ...
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Lufthansa agrees to buy up to 120 Fairchild 728JETs
Andrew Doyle/FRANKFURT Fairchild Aerospace has secured a major breakthrough in its bid to develop the 728JET - Lufthansa's supervisory board has decided to approve the purchase of up to 120 of the regional airliners by its CityLine commuter subsidiary. The German flag carrier has signed a firm order for 60 ...
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Airbus presses on with A3XX as Boeing studies LAPD
Airbus Industrie is stepping up A3XX development work and has reaffirmed its commitment to a launch decision in early 2000. Meanwhile, Boeing continues to play down its Large Aircraft Project Development (LAPD) study efforts in favour of low-cost 747-400X alternatives. "The pace is picking up and Airbus and its ...
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CFMI lobbies Airbus on A318 powerplant
Julian Moxon/PARIS Guy Norris/LOS ANGELESCFM International is in talks with Airbus to try to get its CFM56-5A engine included as a powerplant for the newly launched Airbus Industrie A318. But the European consortium is sticking to its position that it is "offering only the Pratt &Whitney PW6000". Air France, Lufthansa, ...
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EC bows to US pressure on hushkits
The European Commission (EC) has formally approved a ban on the European operation of aircraft fitted with hushkits, but in a last-minute concession to the USA has postponed the regulation's implementation by a year, until 1 May, 2000. As part of the compromise deal thrashed out in the past ...
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Shorter story
Smaller may not always be better, but for Embraer it is a route to further success Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DCIt seems a simple, sensible approach: take a proven airframe, shorten the fuselage to produce a smaller aircraft, leave the rest unchanged, and avoid the time and cost of developing a new ...
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Scope for change
Pressure is mounting for the reform of regional airline pilot scope clauses Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The simmering debate over regional airline pilot scope clauses is slowly coming to the boil. With most labour agreements due for renewal from next year, pressure is building from a range of sectors - airlines, ...
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Century seeks partners for twin Jet 100
Century Aerospace is negotiating with risk-sharing partners to help fund its Century Jet 100, which was transformed from a single-to a twin-engined business jet late last year. Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Century has clocked up more than 50 orders for the six-seat aircraft, which is costing the company $48 million ...
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Eurofighter passes test milestones
Eurofighter has explored about 90% of the flight envelope of its initial operating capability (IOC) baseline configuration. Tests are pushing ahead, with the aim of the four Eurofighter partners receiving IOC air-defence configured aircraft in 2002. DaimlerChrysler Aerospace's DA5 aircraft is flying with the FCS 2B/1 software that gives Eurofighter ...
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Tests begin on Rafale optronics
Julian Moxon/PARISFlight tests of the Thomson-CSF Optronique front sector optronics (FSO)system that will give the Dassault Rafale fighter a passive infrared and television imaging capability have begun on a Dassault Falcon 20 testbed. The FSO will provide all-weather air-to-air and air-to-ground surveillance and targeting and, says Thomson-CSF Optronique, is the ...
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Fares fair in Japan
Japanese start-up Skymark Airlines has raised its fares, relaxing a price war which has hit the yields of all three major Japanese airlines on two of Japan's highest-density routes. Skymark's announced 17% increase in its Tokyo-Fukuoka one-way fare was matched by Japan Airlines, with All Nippon Airways and Japan Air ...
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Head start
Lufthansa CityLine's decision to sign on the dotted line for $1.6 billion-worth of Fairchild Aerospace 728JET regional airliners undoubtedly represents a major achievement for a (relatively) small US-German aircraft manufacturer with big ambitions. But it does far less to answer the question of how this overcrowded sector of the market ...
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City Bird deal angers Sabena
Herman De Wulf/BRUSSELS A row has broken out between Belgian national airline Sabena and local associate City Bird over an agreement with fledgling Congolese national airline Lignes Aeriennes Congolaises (LAC) allowing City Bird to operate the Brussels-Kinshasa route on the African carrier's behalf. Sabena is demanding BFr350 million ($9.2 ...
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United joins PETAL II datalink trials
Emma Kelly/LONDON United Airlines has committed its Boeing 777s (above) to Europe's Preliminary Eurocontrol Test of Air/Ground Data Link (PETAL II) programme. PETAL II is Europe's groundbreaking datalink programme aimed at validating air-ground datalinks in an operational air traffic control environment. The three-phase programme involves air traffic controllers and aircraft ...
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Rockwell Collins makes Boeing comeback on 767
Boeing has chosen Rockwell Collins to provide the flightdeck liquid crystal displays (LCDs) for the 767-400ER. This is a significant victory for Collins in its battle to regain Boeing flightdeck display market share from Honeywell. "In a sense it is a comeback for us," says Steve Piller, vice-president Boeing ...
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Routes
LanChile is to offer three nonstop flights a week between Los Angeles, California, and its base at Santiago, Chile, from 3 July, in addition to the daily Los Angeles service via Lima, Peru. It is also adding direct services to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with connections to Cordoba and Mendoza. Swedish ...
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Raytheon's STARS fails to shine in time for FAA programme
Problems with development of the Raytheon Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) have forced the US Federal Aviation Administration to delay its deployment. It will acquire a rival air traffic control system instead for interim use at some heavily used airports in New York and Washington DC. STARS is ...
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Southwest gets more 737-300s
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Southwest Airlines is looking to expand its Boeing 737-300 fleet with secondhand acquisitions. This follows its conversion of more 737-700 options to firm orders. The extra capacity is needed for the airline's planned launch of 50 more US domestic services in the third quarter of this ...
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Franchise relationships boost expansion of regional market
Chris Jasper/LONDON The rapid expansion of the regional market in North America and Europe continued unabated last year, fuelled by US majors focusing on the consolidation of regional franchise relationships, and franchise expansion by their European counterparts. The US Regional Airlines Association (RAA) reports that passenger traffic increased ...
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Chinese airlines post big losses
Chris Jasper/LONDONChina Eastern Airlines has become the second of the country's big three operators to reveal disappointing financial results for last year. The Shanghai-based carrier reported a net loss of 632 million yuan ($76 million) for the year, compared with a profit of 332 million yuan in 1997. The result ...