All air transport news – Page 2498

  • News

    ANZ plans twice-weekly Australia-Shanghai flights

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    AIR NEW ZEALAND (ANZ), plans to use up its remaining Australian fifth-freedom rights, by flying twice weekly between Australia and Shanghai. The carrier says that it will "probably" operate the services from Sydney, but has not ruled out using its Brisbane hub. General manager sales and marketing international ...

  • News

    Uprated Proton is postponed

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    PLANS TO DEVELOP THE up-rated Proton M geostationary-orbit (GEO) satellite-launch vehicle have been delayed to at least the year 2000 by budget cuts. The Proton M was to have entered the commercial market in 1997, capable of placing 4,500kg into GEO, equipped with improved first-stage engines and the KVD-1 cryogenic ...

  • News

    Aviall continues disposals in quest for core profits

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    Kevin O'Toole/LONDON AVIALL IS TO sell its aerospace-fastener operation, in another step towards its ambition of stripping the group back to its profitable aircraft-parts distribution business. An agreement was signed at the end of April to sell the fasteners-distribution unit to a new company formed ...

  • News

    BWIA drops EMB-145 plans, renegotiates A340 order

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON BWIA HAS ABANDONED its intentions to operate up to ten Embraer EMB-145s and is rethinking its plans for an Airbus long-haul fleet. The airline, however, discounts rumours that it is talking to Boeing again. The Caribbean-based carrier, which signed a letter of intent ...

  • News

    El Al profits boost

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    EL AL TURNED IN net profits of $15 million in 1995 and expects to improve on the performance this year, helped by rising traffic between the USA and Israel. The Israeli flag carrier says that it expects to make gains from its improved access to US gateways and ...

  • News

    Leaving on a high

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    Allan Winn/LONDON SIR CHRISTOPHER Chataway retires from the chairmanship of the UK Civil Aviation Authority at the end of this month. In his five years as chairman, he has overseen a dramatic improvement in efficiency and productivity in an organisation, which, he acknowledges, may in the past have ...

  • News

    Regional and utility aircraft directory

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    Fokker's demise is the most dramatic in a series of upheavals taking place throughout the regional-aircraft industry Compiled by Andrew Doyle and Jennifer Pite/LONDON Graham Warwick/ATLANTA FOKKER IS DOWN, the count almost over, but the winner is far from clear: not the customers left with unfulfilled orders for ...

  • News

    Ilyushin sells first production Il-103

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    ILYUSHIN HAS SOLD the first production version of the five-seat Il-103 to an undisclosed customer. The aircraft, is believed to have been sold to a South African client who undertook demonstration flights in April. The Il-103 is produced at the Lukhovitsy plant near Moscow, which is a member of MAPO ...

  • News

    Zimbabwe Government loses patience with Fokkers

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    THE ZIMBABWE Government has told Air Zimbabwe to terminate its leases on two Fokker 50 turboprops, following concerns about their performance and their adverse effect on the country's tourist industry. After a parliamentary committee concluded that the aircraft were not suitable for operations from hot-and-high airports during the ...

  • News

    FAA icing rules change

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    MOST US REGIONAL-airline operators of turboprop-powered aircraft will face minor operational restrictions rather than costly modifications, according to the finalised Federal Aviation Administration rules about flight in icing conditions (Flight International, 7-13 February). Major anti-icing system design changes like those demanded for the ATR 42 have not been required. ...

  • News

    GE and P&W join forces on 747X

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis and Guy Norris/SEATTLE GENERAL ELECTRIC and Pratt & Whitney have agreed to joint development of an engine to power Boeing's new-generation 747 models, the 747-500/600X. Meanwhile, Boeing is expecting to be complete definition of the new models by mid-year. The surprise teaming of ...

  • News

    Boeing sets decision date for new versions of 777

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris and Paul Lewis/SEATTLE BOEING IS targeting September for a decision on development of either the 777-100X "shrink" or higher gross weight -200X derivative as its new ultra-long range passenger aircraft. A continuing product development study of the two new proposed 777 family members ...

  • News

    NTSB criticises FAA on 737 FDR

    1996-05-15T00:00:00Z

    NATIONAL Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), chairman Jim Hall has criticised the US Federal Aviation Administration, for rejecting the Boards call for an immediate upgrade, of Boeing 737 flight data recorders (FDRs). Proposed new rules about the retrofit of modern FDRs on commercial passenger-carrying aircraft will soon be issued ...

  • News

    Lufthansa

    1996-05-08T00:00:00Z

    German national carrier Lufthansa has appointed Jurgen Raps as its new chief pilot, replacing Robert Salzl, who is retiring from flying duties. Raps has been with Lufthansa since 1970. He flew Boeing 737s and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s before being appointed head of the airline's 737 fleet in 1994. He took ...

  • News

    Learjet

    1996-05-08T00:00:00Z

    Roger Sperry has been named vice-president for marketing and sales at Bombardier subsidiary Learjet, of Wichita, Kansas. Sperry, previously vice-president for North American sales, replaces Ted Farid, who has resigned. Before joining Learjet, Sperry held senior sales-management positions during a 20-year career with Cessna Aircraft. Source: Flight International

  • News

    Optegra for Embraer

    1996-05-08T00:00:00Z

    Brazilian manufacturer Embraer has ordered $260,000-worth of software and ser-vices from computer-aided-design specialist ComputerVision, including the Optegra data-management system and Electrical Design Entry wiring-design system.     Source: Flight International

  • News

    Mesaba shift

    1996-05-08T00:00:00Z

    Northwest Airlink carrier Mesaba Airlines has signed an amended agreement under which Northwest Airlines will purchase all of the regional's capacity, while the cost of Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8 heavy maintenance will be shifted from Northwest to Mesaba. The agreement will allow both carriers to benefit from Mesaba's lower ...

  • News

    Varig emerges from cutbacks

    1996-05-08T00:00:00Z

    VARIG dipped into the red during 1995 after shouldering the cost of widespread redundancies, but the Brazilian carrier has outlined plans to expand again this year. After making a profit of around $209 million in 1994, the airline slipped to a deficit of just under $7 million ...

  • News

    Low-fare Europe?

    1996-05-08T00:00:00Z

    Kevin O'Toole/BRUSSELS IT WAS ONLY a matter of time before the US "no-frills" experiment began to take root in Europe's rapidly deregulating market. Pioneers have already emerged, offering the kind of no-frills point-to-point services which shot Southwest Airlines, ValuJet and others to fame in the USA. ...

  • News

    Winglet gives Gulfstream GII 'hot-and-high' benefit

    1996-05-08T00:00:00Z

    AVIATION PARTNERS, a Seattle-based company producing a blended-winglet conversion for the Gulfstream II, hopes to attract new sales for the aircraft in 1996 on the back of better-than-expected hot-and-high performance from the modified wing. The company says that "hidden advantages" of the drag-reducing winglet modification are emerging ...