All air transport news – Page 2264
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428JET: a bigger challenge
Fairchild is moving on to developing a stretched 328JET Paul Lewis/OBERPFAFFENHOFENHaving completed certification of the turbofan-powered 328JET, Fairchild has turned its attention to the more challenging development of the larger 42/44-seat version. The 428JET, from an engineering standpoint, extends well beyond a straightforward fuselage stretch, encompassing a redesigned wing ...
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Turbofan time
The entrée of the 30/40-seat jet offers the opportunity to focus on modernising the lower end of the regional aircraft fleet Paul Lewis/Washington DC The recent introduction of the new Embraer RJ-135 (above) and Fairchild Aerospace 328JET has heralded the entry into service of a completely new class of ...
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Dassault Aviation enters the arena for stake in Embraer
Julian Moxon/PARIS Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Dassault Aviation has announced its interest in becoming an investor in Brazilian regional aircraft manufacturer Embraer as the latter's principal shareholder, Bozano Simonsen, prepares to sell a 20% holding. Dassault says that it is keen to bid for a stake in booming Embraer and ...
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EC approves Alliance engine plan
The European Commission (EC) has formally approved plans by the General Electric-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance to offer a powerplant for the Airbus Industrie A3XX, following a review of the tie-up's likely impact on competition. The decision had been anticipated after the Commission indicated last November that it was ...
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Step by step
A year after ICAO's global CVS/ATM gathering, progress towards the ultimate goal of global implementation is slowly being made Emma Kelly/LONDON In May last year, more than 800 International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) states and aviation decision makers met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss communications, navigation and surveillance/air ...
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Wishful thinking
DVD, e-mail and Internet access are among the next big things for in-flight services Emma Kelly/LONDONThe in-flight entertainment (IFE) industry's wish list just keeps on growing. No sooner have airlines and IFE system and service suppliers implemented a new capability to entertain, than they are eyeing up the next service ...
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Next Generation 737 cleared for 180min ETOPS
The US Federal Aviation Administration has cleared the Next Generation Boeing 737 for 180min extended range twin operations (ETOPS) and is thought to be close to approving a 207min extension for the 777. The extension from 120min to 180min is expected to benefit at least four operators by the ...
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Marketplace
Air Maldives is to acquire three secondhand Airbus A310-300s on three-year leases from Airbus. The first aircraft, an ex-Air Jamaica, Pratt & Whitney PW4000-powered example, will be delivered on 15 October, with others due for delivery at one-month intervals. Schreiner Airways has taken delivery of two ATR 72s on lease ...
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Airbus' A3XX economics target 'unachievable', says Boeing
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Boeing has dismissed Airbus Industrie's 15-20% cost saving target for the A3XX over the 747-400 as unachievable. The European consortium claims to be ahead of the targets, as its US rival focuses on cheaper 747-based growth derivatives rather than an all-new design to meet its ...
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Japan cancels J-1
Japan is to cancel its expensive J-1 solid-propellant small satellite launcher, and plans to replace it with a version using US and Russian components. The Advanced Technology Proving Rocket will be powered by liquid-propellant engines. Its first flight is due in 2003. The first stage will incorporate the liquid-oxygen ...
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Workshop
Norwegian low cost airline Color Air has signed a five-year engine support contract for its three Boeing 737-300s with Shannon Engine Support in Ireland. The deal for work on the CFM56s will be extended to cover five aircraft when the airline increases its fleet size next April. GE Engine Services ...
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Aerolineas Argentinas prepares to order new narrowbody fleet
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Aerolineas Argentinas expects to decide within the next year on acquiring a new standardised fleet of 40 or more narrowbody jets. The airline is currently leasing additional 737-200s. "We have had initial discussions with both Airbus and Boeing and we're analysing right now our fleet requirements for ...
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Routes
Virgin Express will begin serving Berlin Schönefeld from Brussels, London (Stansted and Gatwick) and Rome from November. US Airways will add services between Manchester in the UK and Philadelphia next May. The airline also plans to add daily non-stop flights from its Charlotte hub to Paris and Frankfurt. Swissair has ...
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AirTran pins hopes of return to profit on introduction of 717
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES AirTran Airways is poised to introduce the first of up to 100 117-seat Boeing 717s to support its efforts to become profitable this year for the first time since 1995, says chairman and chief executive Joe Leonard. The arrival of the 717 "will be ...
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Boeing ready to produce more F-15s
Boeing is preserving sufficient long lead items to produce a further six F-15s for the US Air Force in anticipation of a US Congressionally mandated order, after a $270 million write-off on unused equipment. The USAF is also being briefed on a proposed low-cost F-15 development. The US Congress ...
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Customs dash
Adelaide-based Surveillance Australia has ordered two Bombardier Dash 8Q-200s for the Coastwatch programme it operates on behalf of the Australian Customs Service. The aircraft will be fitted, by Field Aviation of Toronto, with long-range fuel tanks, search radar, forward-looking infrared television camera and satellite communications, and will join three Dash ...
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Zeppelin heads for airship approval
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON Zeppelin's new-technology airship flight test programme has passed the halfway mark with over 300 flying hours chalked up. The milestone comes 60 years after the German company halted development of its original family of rigid machines following the loss in May 1937 of the Zeppelin Hindenburg after a ...
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Maverick opts for CT58s for Twinjet
Maverick Air is looking to fit derated General Electric CT58 engines to its five-seat Twinjet 1500, rather than wait for the Williams FJX-2, in an attempt to push forward certification and first deliveries of the factory-built version of the kit aircraft. The CT58-powered Twinjet 1500 composite kit plane, which ...
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Boeing seeks to overturn China Eastern A340-500/600 deal
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Boeing is attempting to overturn a decision by China Eastern Airlines (CEA) to acquire Airbus A340-500/600s. It is proposing a deal similar to the controversial agreement the US company sealed with Singapore Airlines earlier this year, which will take the carrier's A340s in return for ...
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NTSB/FAA at odds over aircraft wiring
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration have disagreed on the potential safety threat posed by deteriorated electrical wires running through old commercial transports still in service. The difference of opinion was aired during a Congressional hearing on advances in aircraft electrical systems. Faulty wiring ...