All air transport news – Page 2230
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Workshop
Britannia Airways has contracted Lufthansa Technik to provide component support for its planned five Boeing 737-800s, the first of which was delivered in mid-January. The contract runs for an initial five years. The new CASA-AISA Maintenance Centre has opened at Madrid Barajas Airport. Operators at the airport, such as Aeronova, ...
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Regional jets steal output lead
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON The booming regional market continued its climb skyward last year, as more airlines made the inevitable move to jets. The regional jet order backlog has increased by almost 50%, putting further pressure on the few turboprops still in production. Last year represented the cross-over point in ...
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Air Canada tackles part of Canadian's debts
Air Canada has restructured part of the C$3.5 billion ($2.4 billion) debt owed by Canadian Airlines, with which it is merging, after reaching agreement with GE Capital Aviation Services. The deal, worth "tens of millions of dollars" according to Air Canada chief executive Robert Milton, covers the lease of a ...
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Alliance takes the fast track in race to launch new regional jet family
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Alliance Aircraft has unveiled a fast-track programme launch and development schedule for the 70- and 90-seat baseline members of a planned new family of regional jets. It claims to have letters of intent for up to 30 aircraft from two unidentified European and Asian carriers (Flight International, ...
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Kiev-based Ikar orders five An-140s
Ikar Airlines has ordered five Antonov An-140 twin turboprops. Deliveries start this year. The 50-seat regional aircraft will join the Kiev-based airline's fleet of Antonov An-12/24/26s, Let L-410 turboprops and an An-74 twinjet. Meanwhile, the first production An-140 has joined the flight test programme, which should be completed ...
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Honeywell starts AS900 flight tests
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Honeywell has begun flight testing its AS900 turbofan, under development to power the BAE Systems Avro RJX regional airliner and Bombardier Continental business jet. The first flight, on Honeywell's Boeing 720 engine testbed, included performance and windmilling tests. During the 2h flight, the 7,000lb (31kN) thrust-class ...
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BA steps up the class war
Chris Jasper/LONDON British Airways has launched a radical overhaul of its premium cabins, introducing aft-facing and flat-bed seats in business class and a new "upper economy" product. The move is aimed at increasing the proportion of business travellers on BA's long haul services, and cements its strategy of targeting high-yield ...
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777X crew rest plans advance
Boeing is working with an advisory group of 14 airlines towards the final configuration for upper-lobe crew-rest areas for its planned ultra-long range 777-200X/300X family. An advanced flightcrew rest area in the forward upper lobe has been finalised, which will free four first or business class seats, or provide extra ...
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Debis targets Boeing after latest Airbus purchase
Debis AirFinance is seeking to conclude sale and leaseback deals with Classic and Next-Generation Boeing 737 operators as part of efforts to diversify its rapidly expanding aircraft portfolio. The Amsterdam-based DaimlerChrysler subsidiary, meanwhile, has purchased 12 in-service aircraft from Dublin-based Airbus Industrie Financial Services (AIFS), comprising two A340-300s, three ...
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Hong Kong/Beijing bilateral clears way for Dragonair
Mainland China and the Hong Kong Government have swept away a rule limiting Hong Kong carriers to operating one-third of the capacity on routes to the mainland. According to the Hong Kong Government, a new air services arrangement signed with Beijing guarantees that "airlines of both sides enjoy equal ...
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SpaceDev/Boeing link for exploration
SpaceDev and Boeing have agreed a teaming arrangement to investigate opportunities of "mutual strategic interest" in commercial deep-space exploration and exploitation. They will use as the basis for the study a variety of small low-cost missions formulated by SpaceDev, the world's first commercial space exploration company. The two firms ...
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GE90-94B heads for early April certification
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES General Electric hopes to win US Federal Aviation Administration approval for the 94,000lb-thrust (420kN) GE90-94B in early April, pending the successful conclusion of icing tests now entering the final stages of completion at the company's Peeble test site in Ohio. The GE90-94B is aimed at ...
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Laser welding promises A318 weight and cost savings
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) plans to introduce laser welding in aircraft manufacturing for the first time with the start of fuselage production for the Airbus A318 next year. The German company says the new technique promises to cut fuselage manufacturing costs by "about 20%" and weight by "up to 10%". ...
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Hyundai move sets back BAE's Korean Aerospace ambitions
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE A BAE Systems plan to take a stake in Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) by acquiring one of the companies involved in the merger appears to have been thwarted. South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai Motor is poised to acquire Hyundai Space & Aircraft's one-third stake in the newly created ...
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China Airlines and EVA emerge from Asia's downturn
Brent Hannon/TAIPEI Taiwan's two largest carriers have reported a financially sound 1999. China Airlines (CAL) pulled out of the Asian downturn and posted a pre-tax profit after making a loss a year earlier, and rival EVA Air turned in healthy net earnings. CAL's $91 million pre-tax profit compares with ...
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US distributor first to order Socata TB GT
Julian Moxon/TARBES Socata has launched its TB Generation Two (TB GT) range of light aircraft with a major US order for 79 aircraft. The deal, signed with recently appointed West Coast distributor New Avex, includes up to 10 TBM700 single-engined turboprops. The Aerospatiale Matra general aviation subsidiary has also ...
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Executives to go in Argentine rescue
Guy Norris/BUENOS AIRES Paul Lews/WASHINGTON DC Aerolineas Argentinas' majority owner SEPI will present a new business plan to the Argentine Government to revive the financially ailing carrier. This follows SEPI's rejection of American Airlines parent AMR's restructuring proposal and the removal of key US national managers. The airline's ...
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Fairchild considers new stretch of 928JET
Fairchild Aerospace is considering a stretch of the 928JET as its next addition to the 728JET family, rather than a smaller 55-65-seat version. It won about one-third of new regional-jet business last year, putting the company on a par with rivals Bombardier and Embraer. The proposed 1128JET would extend ...
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Ilyushin and MAPO to offer new regional
Ilyushin and MAPO MiG are to offer a new utility aircraft to Russia's airlines to replace the ageing Antonov An-2 biplane, which has been in service for more than 50 years. The Il-100 is a high winged, twin turboprop, designed to carry up to 1,500kg (3,300lb) of freight over ...
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P&W abandons work on PW4173 engine
Pratt & Whitney is understood to be suspending development of the growth PW4173 engine and is no longer offering the powerplant to airlines as an option to power the Airbus A330-300 after encountering technical delays and poor market demand. The engine is a 73,000lb-thrust (325kN) growth development of the ...