All air transport news – Page 2487
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India's private malaise
MODILUFT'S dispute with Lufthansa over lease payments has made headlines, but it also highlights a deeper malaise afflicting India's fledgling private-airline operators. Of the five major private carriers established in India since liberalisation began some three years ago, only Jet Airways and the cargo carriers appear to ...
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Burbank wins thrust-reverser approval
California-based hushkit specialist Burbank Nacelle (BNC) has won a US Federal Aviation Administration supplemental type certificate (STC) for an acoustic thrust-reverser for McDonnell Douglas (MDC) DC-9s fitted with ABS Partnership Stage 3 hushkits. The key element of the new reverser is an acoustic liner made by Astech Manufacturing ...
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Airbus evaluates age forming for wing skins
Andrew Doyle/LONDON BRITISH AEROSPACE Airbus is studying the possible introduction of "age-forming" techniques in the manufacture of wing skins for all Airbus narrow-body aircraft, following its successful implementation for part of the upper-wing skin of the A321. The company is using a 14m-long oven supplied by Aeroform of ...
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BA courts JAL as world tie-ups spread
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE BRITISH AIRWAYS is now focusing attention on Japan Airlines (JAL) as a possible strategic partner in Asia, following the UK carrier's recently announced tie-up with American Airlines. BA executive chairman Sir Colin Marshall travelled to Tokyo to meet JAL chairman Susumu Yamaji shortly ...
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Aer Lingus evaluates 180-seaters
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON AER LINGUS IS evaluating the various 180-seat (two-class seating) aircraft types, with a view to introducing a new aircraft in 1997, but more likely in 1998. The airline says that it is in "-the early days of looking at the options available". The ...
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China to resume satellite launches
CHINA GREAT WALL Industry (CGWIC) is to resume satellite launches with Asia Pacific Satellite's Hughes-built ApStar 1A aboard a Long March 3 (LM3) booster from Xichang, in July. This follows a hiatus in launches, after the loss of the first Long March 3B booster on 15 February, along with its ...
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Lufthansa struggles with weak first half
CONCERNS ARE growing among analysts that Lufthansa may be left showing a loss for the first half of the year after a poor set of traffic performances over the first five months of the year. "The traffic figures are not very promising at all. The year has ...
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Manx will make decision on new 50-seater shortly
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON MANX AIRLINES is about to finalise its decision for a fleet of 50-seat regional aircraft, with the Embraer EMB-145 the leading contender for the order. It is understood that the airline could acquire up to eight aircraft, with deliveries starting in time for the 1997 ...
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Hong Kong wins more Chinese rights
IN A MAJOR SIGN of improved relations between the UK and Chinese Governments, Hong Kong carriers Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair have been granted additional rights to fly across and into China. Under the deal, Beijing has opened up new routes through Chinese airspace to Europe, North ...
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Boeing reveals massive 737 production boost
Guy Norris/SEATTLE BOEING IS TO boost production of its 737 to 17a month by January 1998, and is studying more increases that could see production exceeding the record-breaking rates of the early 1990s, when 21 aircraft a month were being built at Renton in Washington. ...
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Heathrow slots are price for BA/American go-ahead
THE US DEPARTMENT of Transportation (DoT) is demanding that additional slots be freed up at London Heathrow as the price for granting anti-trust immunity to the proposed alliance between BA and American Airlines. Senior DoT policy official Patrick Murphy says that new US carriers would have to be ...
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Finnair warns of slowdown in Europe
FINNAIR HAS WARNED that its financial performance will "decline substantially" this year following signs of a significant economic slowdown in Finland and key European markets. The airline says that it will add no new destinations and maintain capacity at present levels over the year as it prepares for ...
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South Korea rethinks after China fall-out
SOUTH KOREA is re-assessing plans to develop its civil-aerospace industry, following the final collapse of talks with China on the joint development of a proposed new 100-seat regional jet. Leading Korean Commercial-Aircraft Development Consortium (KCDC) partners, Daewoo Heavy Industries, Korean Air and Sam-sung Aerospace, together with the ...
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Egyptair A321
Egyptair says that it is close to finalising an order for four Airbus A321s, with delivery expected between May and September 1997. The carrier, which operates seven International Aero Engines V2500-powered Airbus A320s, says that it has not made its engine selection for the A321s. A European bank loan has ...
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Boeing prepares to offer 747-500/600MD
Guy Norris/SEATTLE BOEING IS to seek board authority to offer the "Major Derivative" (MD) 747-500/600 in July, but may be forced to extend the development timescale by more than a year to incorporate more advanced technology, at the insistence of its airline advisory group. Boeing ...
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Investigators query Garuda DC-10 abort
INVESTIGATORS of the Garuda Indonesia Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 fatal runway overrun (Flight International, 19-25 June) are examining the captain's decision to abort the take-off following a No 3 engine failure, say sources close to the accident inquiry. The aircraft had been rotated for take-off. At that stage, ...
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Brunei FANS-1 upgrade is first on 'Classic' 747
Andrew Doyle/LONDON THE Brunei royal family has ordered the world's first Future Air Navigation System-1 (FANS-1) upgrade for a "Classic" Boeing 747. Work on the modification, which is being performed by Lufthansa Technik, is under way. The aircraft, a 747SP, is being fitted with ...
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Rivals set to benefit from ValuJet suspension of operations
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON VALUJET HAS built its main hub at Atlanta Harts-field, and at its peak, the airline represented about 8% of the passenger traffic at the airport, ranking it second only to Delta Air Lines. With ValuJet flights unavailable, "price-sensitive" customers from Atlanta have been ...
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Out with the light blue
AMERICA WEST IS repainting its fleet in its recently unveiled new colour-scheme. As illustrated here on one of its Airbus Industrie A320s, the airline has replaced its light-blue pin-stripe livery with a design of white and dark blue, incorporating bold "billboard" lettering. America West operates more than 90 aircraft, including ...
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EC135 certificated
THE EUROCOPTER EC135 light twin-engined helicopter has been granted visual-flight-rules day/night certification by Germany's Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, in accordance with European Joint Aviation Rules Part 27 requirements. The approval covers the Turbom,ca Arrius-2B- and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B-powered versions of the seven- to eight-seat EC135, and follows a 1,000h flight-test programme ...