All air transport news – Page 2443
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News
Saudi air force may add on 25 more F-15s to Boeing order
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) has begun preliminary discussions with Boeing over the acquisition of as many as 25 F-15Ss to complement the 72 it already has on order. The RSAF has asked for "pricing and availability data" on the two-seat variant of the F-15. The purchase would ...
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Sirocco enters Lufthansa Tu-204 talks
Sirocco Aerospace International is negotiating with Lufthansa Cargo to lease between eight and ten Tupolev Tu-204-120C freighters. A deal which could see the aircraft introduced on Lufthansa's intra-European routes during 1999 is possible in the first half of 1998. Sirocco will not comment on the negotiations. Sirocco already ...
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FMS hitch holds up Saudi air force's tanker-fleet plans
The Royal Saudi Air Force's (RSAF) ambition to replace its fleet of five Boeing 707 tankers is being delayed by problems servicing Saudi Arabia's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) debt to the USA. The impending resolution of Saudi Arabia's purchase of commercial aircraft from Boeing for Saudia, its national airline, ...
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Tiltrotor will be used to support oil-production operations
Dubai is to play host to the first company in the world set up solely to operate the Bell Boeing 609 Tiltrotor aircraft. The company, Petroleum Tiltrotors International, is a joint venture between Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Sheikh and an unnamed Dubai oil and gas support company. ...
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Westland will take a look at resurrecting Egyptian Sea Kings
GKN Westland will send an evaluation team to Egypt in the first quarter of 1998 to examine grounded Sea King helicopters with the aim of bringing them back to a flyable state. Egypt has some 30 Sea Kings, a mix of Mk47s, Mk1 and Mk2 Commandos, VIP and electronic-warfare ...
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ERA chief speaks out on liberalisation
Regional-airline operators in the Middle East will have to persuade governments in the area to liberalise their air service agreements, cut bureaucracy and ease travel restrictions if the industry is to grow, according to Mike Ambrose, the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) director-general. Ambrose was in Dubai to gather ...
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Ross Aircraft is given amber light on amphibian
KateSarsfield/LONDON Ross Aircraft (RAC) plans to start developing its first twin-engined amphibian aircraft in early 1998 after appointing UK investment bank Austin Friars to provide a financing package for the certification programme. Chief executive Kenn Heeley says that the UK company needs about $9 million to take a ...
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Emirates signs for up to 12 A340-500s
Paul Lewis/DUBAI Emirates Airlines has signed a letter of intent (LoI) for 12 Airbus A340-500s, increasing the consortium's commitments for the -500 and -600 derivatives to 78 from seven international carriers. The United Arab Emirates carrier joined a growing list of launch customers, after inking an LoI to ...
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American plans to choose HUD soon
American Airlines expects an "imminent" response to its request for proposals (RFP) from head-up-display (HUD) system manufacturers. The move follows the Delta Air Lines selection of a Flight Dynamics head-up-guidance system (HGS) for its Boeing Next Generation 737 fleet. The RFP covers HUD installations for 75 Next Generation 737s ...
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BAe enters talks with Alenia on defence
British Aerospace is understood to have held preliminary talks with Italy's Alenia Aerospazio over a possible merger of defence activities. BAe confirms that John Weston, managing director of BAe Defence, visited Italy early in November but is playing down its significance. The visit has sparked off a raft of ...
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BA clouds skies for UK low-fare airlines
British Airways' confirmation that it will launch its own low-cost airline next year at London Stansted airport has provoked immediate protests from the UK's existing "no-frills" carriers easyJet, Ryanair and Debonair. The new airline, which is yet to be named but is being referred to internally as "Operation Blue ...
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Sabena switches from Boeing to Airbus for short-haul fleet
Herman de Wulf/Brussels Sabena has selected the A320 family over the Boeing Next Generation 737 to replace its entire 737 fleet, and will sign a contract for up to 39 aircraft for delivery from January 1999. The airline's selection of the Airbus single-aisle aircraft is part of a ...
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FBI passes TWA crash investigation to NTSB
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has closed its 16-month criminal probe into the crash of Trans World Airlines Flight 800, saying that it revealed no evidence of a criminal act. As a result, the investigation of the loss of the TWA Boeing 747-100 ...
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New alloy used in Comanche casting
Starmet Aerocast has produced castings for the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter using its new Beralcast beryllium-aluminium alloy. The complex investment castings will be used in the Comanche's Lockheed Martin electro-optical sensor system (EOSS). Massachusetts-based Starmet, which is under contract to produce three ship-sets of 58 Beralcast parts for ...
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JV venture will market SS-18 satellite launchers
Kosmotras, a joint venture between ten Ukrainian and Russian companies, has been set up to market the former Dnepr SS-18 ballistic missile for commercial launches into low Earth orbit. The firms, led by the Russian and Ukrainian space agencies, plan to convert 150 SS-18s into the Dnepr booster and ...
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Rohr joins 7Q7
Rohr, the San Diego-based engine-nacelle specialist, has formally joined the Omega-led "Seven Q Seven" programme which is being established to re-engine Boeing 707s with Pratt & Whitney JT8D-217 turbofans. Delivery of flight-test hardware will begin in August 1998. Source: Flight International
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Kaman sells Sciences
Kaman Corporation has agreed to sell Kaman Sciences, its defence-related sciences unit, to ITT Industries for $135 million in cash, with the deal expected to be finalised by the end of the year. Helicopter group Kaman put the sciences subsidiary up for sale in July. Based in Colorado Springs, Kaman ...
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Avcorp Robotics deal
Canada's Avcorp Industries has signed a deal with Dassault's CRTI Robotique to develop and market the French automation unit's anthropometric assembly robots. In April 1998, Avcorp will install a robotic cell to automate the assembly of the fin and horizontal stabiliser of the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet(CRJ) Series 700, allowing ...
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Saudis look abroad for airline finance
Alan Peaford Saudi Arabia is on the verge of privatising Saudi Arabian Airlines, the national airline, and allowing a number of small private operators to form airlines for the Kingdom's domestic market. There has been concern for some time that Saudia has been making greater losses ...
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Airbus gets $1.5billion Sabena fleet order
Karen Walker Airbus Industrie has won an order estimated to be worth $1.5 billion from Belgian flag-carrier Sabena for a fleet of 34 new A320 family aircraft. Sabena's decision comes after a fierce competition between Airbus, offering A319s, A320s and A321s, and Boeing, offering new-generation 737s. ...