All air transport news – Page 2219

  • News

    Life starts at 50

    1999-03-01T00:00:00Z

    SITA may just have turned 50, but its gaze remains firmly fix on the future. Kevin O'Toole talks to chairman John Watson. "People try to categorise SITA but it's just a phenomenon," says its chairman John Watson. The fact that it exists at all is thanks to the foresight of ...

  • News

    Defending duty free

    1999-03-01T00:00:00Z

    Duty free sales within Europe appear to have won a reprieve. But how hard will airlines be hit if duty free is eventually abolished? To bureaucrats, the abolition of duty free must have looked a simple matter when it was mooted. The European Union (EU) decided in 1991 to ...

  • News

    BA set to stay in red

    1999-03-01T00:00:00Z

    British Airways' first quarterly loss in four years has triggered doubts over its grip on premium business markets and analysts expect further losses before things improve. Intense competition, particularly across the Atlantic, finally pushed the group into the red, resulting in a £75 million ($122 million) loss before ...

  • News

    US yields spoil the party

    1999-03-01T00:00:00Z

    Despite a solid set of 1998 results, the US majors are nagged by doubts over yields. After all the pessimism, and the damage of the Northwest Airlines strike, the year-end figures from the US majors held little to complain about. That little something, however, was an overall fall in yields. ...

  • News

    Carrier of controversy

    1999-03-01T00:00:00Z

    Jet Airways has surmounted every obstacle to become India's dominant private carrier and pose a serious challenge to rival Indian Airlines. But its rise has been dogged by political controversy. When India opened competition in the domestic airline market about eight years ago, local entrepreneurs rushed to launch airlines. ...

  • News

    Engine makers press for 777X exclusivity

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    General Electric and Pratt & Whitney are pressing Boeing for an exclusivity deal to power the proposed 777-200X/300X long range derivatives, as repeated demand for increased levels of thrust progressively drive up development costs. The two powerplant suppliers, along with Rolls-Royce, are briefing airlines on 110-114,000lb (490-507kN) thrust engine growth ...

  • News

    New short haul airline planned to boost Gulf regional links

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    Max Kingsley-Jones/BAHRAIN Plans have emerged for a new regional airline in the Gulf which would operate an intensive network of short haul services between major cities in the region. The impetus for the airline has come from business interests in the Bahrain and other Gulf states. Local sources ...

  • News

    Making a noise about safety at Schiphol

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    An overrun by an El Al Israel Airlines Boeing 747-200 freighter at Amsterdam Schiphol's runway 01L, after landing in snowy weather on 8 February, has again spotlighted the Netherlands Government policy of requiring air traffic controllers to avoid noise nuisance to local communities when selecting the runways in use. The ...

  • News

    Qatar begins fleet roll-over with A320

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    Qatar Airways has begun its short haul fleet update, with the delivery of the first of four new Airbus A320s leased from Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise. The International Aero Engines V2500-powered aircraft are replacing four ageing Boeing 727-200s on regional services from Doha, begining with flights to Abu Dhabi on ...

  • News

    BWIA confirms regional launch

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    BWIA International Airways has confirmed plans to launch a regional airline, with newly created "BWee Express" set to launch operations on 1 March operating two new Bombardier Dash 8-300s. BWee Express will operate a regional network in the South and Eastern Caribbean, intially serving Grenada, Barbados, and St. Lucia. ...

  • News

    CFM56 fault accepted under 'hazard ranking'

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    A serious mechanical fault that has occurred seven times in CFM International CFM56-3 turbofans between 1995 and 1997 has been calculated as an acceptable risk by the US and UK aviation authorities, a UK Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report reveals. The UK Civil Aviation Authority's acceptance of the ...

  • News

    Mexicana has first Phoenix

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    Mexicana is to take delivery of its first International Aero Engines V2500-A1 upgraded with the "Phoenix Kit" later this month. It is the first of 30 that will be upgraded for use on the airline's Airbus A320s. The improved engine uses technology developed for the higher thrust -A5 version, produced ...

  • News

    BAe AMT grows Latin Jetstream fleet

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    British Aerospace Asset Management - Turboprops (AMT) is targeting Aerolitoral, a Mexican-based regional operator, as the next major Latin American customer for Jetstream J32EPs coming off lease from airlines in the USA. The move, which the airframe manufacturer hopes could result in up to 26 Jetstreams replacing the airline's ...

  • News

    Kitty Hawk beats 727F weight limit

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    US cargo carrier Kitty Hawk says the US Federal Aviation Administration has approved its alternative means of compliance on an FAA airworthiness directive (AD). The directive imposes severe payload limits on Boeing 727s that were converted into freighters by a number of third-party maintenance organisations. The AD affects ...

  • News

    News in Brief

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    ERJ-145 warning Embraer RJ-145 regional jet pilots have been warned not to use the autopilot below 1,500ft (460m) altitude, says a new US Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive (AD). Flight manuals should include drills for pitch trim runaway, autopilot trim failure and stabiliser out of trim. The AD was ...

  • News

    Loan freeze stalls Turkish start-up

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    Turkish start-up Park Express has been forced to delay its launch by up to a year as a result of the changing political and financial situation in the country. The airline, being set up by the major Turkish conglomerate Park Holdings, had planned to start operations last December, serving ...

  • News

    AS900 update extends RJ lifespan

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON British Aerospace has selected AlliedSignal's AS900 turbofan to power its new Avro RJ family, as it moves forward with plans to introduce the updated RJX model in mid-2001 (Flight International 17-23 February). The company has received approval to conditionally offer the new aircraft, subject to a full launch ...

  • News

    Workshop

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    FLS Aerospace has signed a General Terms Agreement with GE Capital Aviation Services to undertake heavy maintenance on the leasing giant's fleet of aircraft at the start or end of a lease. The deal, renewable yearly, covers all aircraft types that FLS is approved to overhaul. Initially the contract covers ...

  • News

    Delta swallows Atlantic as US regional

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US regional airline industry is poised to undergo further consolidation following Delta Air Lines' announced acquisition of partner carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA). Delta's $700 million purchase of ASA Holdings will boost its share of traffic in the south-eastern USA, and consolidate an already dominant position ...

  • News

    Air France/Iberia share deals successful

    1999-02-24T00:00:00Z

    Shares in Air France began trading on 22 February and were expected to rise by up to 10% following an over-subscribed partial privatisation which is described by consultants to the offering as "a big success". British Airways (BA) and American Airlines have meanwhile agreed the terms of their long-awaited ...