All air transport news – Page 2285

  • News

    United and Qantas in non-stop battle

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    United Airlines and Qantas are racing to be the first to operate non-stop flights between Los Angeles, California, and Melbourne, Australia. Just hours after United announced that daily Boeing 747-400 flights will begin on 6 December, Qantas responded with a plan to launch five weekly flights on the new ...

  • News

    Virgin 747-400 flies the flag with new colour scheme

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    The first Virgin Atlantic Airways Boeing 747-400 is sporting the airline's new colour scheme. A total of 25 Virgin aircraft - six 747-400s, eight Series -200s, 10 A340s and one A320 - are due to wear the new colours by the end of next year. The aircraft will be repainted ...

  • News

    Delta defers Boeing 777 fleet delivery over pilot pay dispute

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Delta Air Lines has been forced to defer delivery of its entire Boeing 777 fleet on order because of its failure to negotiate a pay accord with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) for the type. Earlier this year, the airline deferred indefinitely deliveries of ...

  • News

    Pegasus FMS heads for A340 flight tests with CNS/ATM

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Airbus Industrie plans to use an A340 to flight test an advanced Honeywell Pegasus flight management system (FMS) fitted, for the first time, with communications, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) functionality. New functions include dual system communication links via Airbus' air traffic services unit (ATSU). The FMS-ATSU link provides ...

  • News

    Aeroflot discusses new fleet plans with Airbus and Boeing

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Andrew Doyle/PARIS Aeroflot Russian International Airlines (ARIA) is in talks with Airbus and Boeing over a major aircraft deal that would be the first phase of the airline's plans to replace its entire fleet by 2015. The Russian flag carrier is initially focusing its attention on the Airbus A320 ...

  • News

    East African airlines plan joint operations to serve Dubai

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Michael Wakabi/KAMPALA Gulf Air, Uganda Airlines and Air Tanzania are negotiating a tripartite agreement under which the three carriers will offer joint operations to Dubai out of East Africa. The East African airlines will gain access to Gulf Air's world route network. Signing is expected at the end of ...

  • News

    Crash update

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Stormy weather was the cause of a 9 June landing accident involving a Shantou Airlines Boeing 737-300(B-2525) at Zhanjiang, China, according to Shantou's major shareholder, China Southern Airlines. The aircraft came to rest off the runway with its landing gear collapsed. Meanwhile, the US National Transportation Safety Board says that ...

  • News

    Gulf Air transfers line maintenance to GAMCO

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Gulf Air has signed off the transfer of its entire line maintenance to sister company Gulf Aircraft Maintenance (GAMCO), and is beginning to replace its Boeing 767s with new Airbus A330-200s. The agreement to transfer the airline's worldwide line maintenance operation to GAMCO is part of an effort to ...

  • News

    NASA gives Hamilton $115 million Space Station contract

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Hamilton Sundstrand has won a $115 million contract from NASA to design, develop and qualify water and oxygen generation assemblies for the International Space Station (ISS). This is one of the largest development programmes undertaken by the company, which will be renamed Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International, following United ...

  • News

    Ministers link Airbus shake-upto A3XX research funding

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Chris Jasper/PARIS Ministers from the four Airbus nations have given the consortium's partner companies "until the end of the summer" to come up with "concrete" plans to transform the consortium into a single company. They have backed the request by making the closest link yet between a successful restructuring ...

  • News

    Westland looks for further growth

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Aerostructures manufacturer GKN Westland Aerospace is pursuing an acquisition or joint venture in France as part of an expansionist policy that has seen it take over seven US and European companies since 1997. Chief executive Chris Gustar says expansion into France, possibly as part of a joint venture, would ...

  • News

    Mexicana to join alliance, but as second tier 'Starlet'

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Mexicana de Aviacion will be given only "second tier" membership of the Star Alliance when it becomes the 10th airline to join the grouping, Flight International's sister on-line service Air Transport Intelligence (ATI) reports. State-owned Mexicana says it is joining Star on or around 7 July, but although the ...

  • News

    Aerospace Industry Awards - the winners

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    The aerospace industry's major achievements of the past year were recognised in the Flight International Aerospace Industry Awards 1999 at a spectacular gala dinner during the Paris air show. The event, on 14 June at Le Musée des Arts Forains - home of the largest collection of fairground attractions in ...

  • News

    VisionAire unveils Vantage improvements

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    VisionAire has published the design review of its VA-10 Vantage single-engined business jet. It commissioned the review early this year to address concerns over the aircraft's handling and weight which arose during the 300h flight test programme on its proof of concept airframe. "As a result of our efforts ...

  • News

    New A340 faces weight problem

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris and Andrew Doyle/PARIS Airbus Industrie is battling to overcome weight problems threatening a payload/ range shortfall on its A340-500 and -600 models with a weight-reduction programme and the possible introduction of higher operating weights and uprated engines. Separately, Pratt & Whitney is expected to decide by ...

  • News

    BAe eyes new way to Airbus SEC

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    British Aerospace says it is prepared to put its share of Airbus Industrie up for an immediate merger with France's Aerospatiale Matra or DaimlerChrysler (Dasa)/CASA following the announcement of the intended merger between the German and Spanish companies. BAe executive director Mike Turner welcomed the deal between the two ...

  • News

    New deal launches GE's CF34 variant

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    General Electric has given the go-ahead for the CF34-10, an 18,000lb-thrust (80kN) version of its CF34 regional jet engine, following its selection by Embraer for the ERJ-190. The engine, a derivative of the -8E version selected for the ERJ-170, will also be produced to power Fairchild's 928JET. The ...

  • News

    747X Stretch plans are revived

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    Boeing's 747-400X Stretch plan has been boosted by signs of new interest from Asian airlines, and the company's decision to offer a more capable 777-300X. Speaking of renewed enthusiasm in the stretch proposal, director product marketing Joe Ozimek says: "Interest is coming back from Asian carriers, which are resuming ...

  • News

    Battle to power A318 intensifies

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    CFM International's bid to power the A318 is expected to be decided shortly, says president Gerard Laviec. The engine maker has offered the CFM56-5A or -5B to Air France as an alternative to the incumbent Pratt & Whitney PW6000, but talks with Airbus Industrie have stalled over financial arrangements ...

  • News

    777X firms up as engine choice hangs in balance

    1999-06-23T00:00:00Z

    General Electric has offered Boeing substantial financing to assist in the development of the 777-200X and 777-300X in exchange for an exclusive position to power the aircraft with a development of its GE90. The US engine builder, offering the GE90-11XB, is believed to have made the offer as part ...