All air transport news – Page 2368
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Ayres takes over Let Kunovice
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH After almost a year of talks, US agricultural and utility aircraft manufacturer Ayres has completed the purchase of 93.6% of Czech regional aircraft producer Let Kunovice. The US company says that it has taken over Let's long-term debt as part of the deal, but declines to disclose the ...
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Qantas warns on competition
Paul Phelan/SYDNEY Qantas has warned that increasingly desperate competition from rivals in the region will make it difficult for the Australian airline to sustain the record profits it has just declared for the 1997/8 financial year. Operating profit was up 13.6% on the previous year at US$282 million, ...
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S Korean air force considers stopgap fighter
The South Korean air force is considering leasing interim fighter aircraft to make up for a two-year delay in its future F-X programme. Samsung Aerospace is lobbying to sell more Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds to make up the shortfall and keep its Sachon licence production line open beyond 2000. South ...
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Slimming down
Assembly times are under attack on British Aerospace's regional airliner production line Ian Sheppard/Woodford While Boeing struggles to stay profitable producing hundreds of airliners a year, British Aerospace Regional Aircraft (BARA) faces a different challenge - how to make money producing a handful of aircraft each year. Based at Woodford, ...
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Thinking thin
Ian Sheppard/London Launched in April, the UK Lean Aerospace Initiative (LAI) is a 50:50 Government/industry-funded programme co-ordinated by the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) as part of its Competitiveness Challenge. Donald Craig, seconded from Rolls-Royce as SBAC LAI programme manager, believes that the UK is leading the ...
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Boeing burgers
Boeing is reshaping the way it produces airliners to reduce costs and speed up deliveries Guy Norris/Seattle To most, burgers and airliners do not readily mix. Yet, as Boeing fights hard to reduce costs, cycle times and defects, the fast-food production concept is exactly the sort of philosophy it is ...
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Skynet 5 goes national
European military space integration has been ditched by the UKTim Furniss/LONDON The UK is to develop a new generation of military communications satellites rather than enter the Trimilsatcom collaborative programme with France and Germany (Flight International, 19-25 August). When he announced the Ministry of Defence decision on 12 August, Lord ...
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Orenda gets OE-600A approval
Orenda Recip has received Canadian approval to begin production of its 450kW (600hp) OE-600A vee-8 piston aero engine. Certification of the first re-engineing programme using the powerplant is expected before year-end, with others pending. The Canadian company plans to produce engines at a new plant set to open at ...
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New Piper test demand for complete range of aircraft
Dave Higdon/VERO BEACH New Piper Aircraft is examining market needs for a complete family of piston, turboprop and jet-powered aircraft. "We want New Piper to grow, and our product line to expand into a full family of aircraft," says chairman Chuck Suma. The Vero Beach, Florida-based company is also keen ...
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717 sales drought may prompt Air Canada 'walk-away' offer
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing is stepping up its sales campaign for the 717-200 in North America and is negotiating possible "walk-away" deals with Air Canada as anxiety grows internally over the lack of new orders for the small twinjet. Boeing declines to comment on specific campaigns, but Air ...
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ILFC prepares to finalise $1.5 billion A340-500/600 deal
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Guy Norris/Los Angeles International Lease Finance (ILFC) is finalising a $1.5 billion order with Airbus Industrie for 10 A340-500/600s. Details are expected to be unveiled at the Farnborough air show in September. According to Rob Duncan, a senior vice-president at the Los Angeles, California-based leasing company, just "one ...
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Russia and USA extend Tu-144 test programme
Paul Duffy/MOSCOW The international supersonic transport flight-test programme, involving a Tupolev Tu-144 as a flying laboratory, is set to be extended following a new agreement by the Russian and US programme partners. Tupolev, NASA and a group of US aerospace companies led by Boeing have agreed to undertake ...
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Pratt & Whitney will appeal against Chromalloy ruling
Pratt & Whitney says it will appeal against a US court ruling that clears the way for engine repair supplier Chromalloy Gas Turbine to provide airlines with P&W-approved repairs of components of PW2000, PW4000 and International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans. "We don't agree with the judgement and we will ...
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AlliedSignal tunes in to datalinks
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES A full high-frequency datalink (HFDL) service for the North Atlantic is expected to begin operating this month, leading its designer AlliedSignal to predict significant new business in its battle with dominant supplier Rockwell Collins. The company's confidence stems from the certification of its XK516 HFDL ...
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Continental upgrade
Continental Airlines has ordered two MaxVue Plus visual systems from CAE Electronics to upgrade its flight simulators. It already has MaxVue Plus-equipped Boeing 737-700 and 777-200 simulators on order. Source: Flight International
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SIA seconds pilots
Singapore Airlines will transfer two of its senior Airbus A340 and Boeing 747 management pilots to China Airlines (CAL) for two years, following recent signature of a strategic alliance by the two carriers. Pow Tuk-Kwan will serve as CAL's new vice-president of flight operations and Gui Wee-Kee as special assistant ...
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Iberia concludes major A320 lease deal
International Lease Finance has confirmed details of a major leasing deal with Iberia, covering 16 A320 family aircraft. The Spanish flag carrier has signed for nine A319s and seven A320s, for delivery between May 1999 and September 2001, on five-year leases with extension options. The aircraft will be powered by ...
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Flight West launches international services
Australian regional carrier Flight West Airlines will start international services in October with eight weekly flights to Papua New Guinea (PNG) capital Port Moresby. The services, six from Cairns and another two from Townsville, will use a third Fokker F28 Mk4000 acquired by Flight West from Ansett Australia. Its ...
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FAA turns safety spotlight on 747 fuel pumps
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Boeing 747 fuel pumps are to be subjected to additional compulsory checks because excessive wear, which could cause arcing leading to fire, has been discovered. The US Federal Aviation Administration is taking a rigorous view of the issue in light of the July 1996 Trans ...
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El Al attempts to block plans to open Israeli freight market
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV El Al is trying to foil an Israeli Government plan to open up the country's air cargo market to another local carrier, claiming that the move would threaten its revenue as it prepares for privatisation. El Al is the only Israeli airline with a licence ...