All air transport news – Page 2554
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Lucas studies 'more-electric' technologies
Andrew Doyle/LONDON LUCAS AEROSPACE's Power Systems division is studying the next stage in the development of so-called "more-electric" aircraft concepts, following its successful bid to introduce variable-frequency generators on Bombardier's Global Express business jet. The company is focused on developing high-power variable-frequency generators for larger ...
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Thai plans A300 update renewal
Paul Lewis/BANGKOK THAI AIRWAYS International is negotiating to purchase five additional Airbus Industrie A300-600Rs and two Boeing 747-400s as part of a long-term plan to rationalise and modernise its fleet. The A300-600Rs are needed as replacements for Thai's elderly A300B4s, now used on domestic and ...
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Ranging wider
Canadair has gradually improved its Challenger corporate jet over the past decade. Harry Hopkins/WICHITA THE CANADAIR CHALLENGER series of corporate jets has evolved over 15 years in a series of small steps which have not detracted from the success of the original formula - to marry the ...
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BA beds in for class battle
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON BRITISH AIRWAYS SAYS that the highly publicised launch of its new long-haul first-class "cabin" concept is just part of a broader £500 million ($776 million) programme to redesign all cabin services over the next three years. The new first-class offering, which was officially ...
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Boeing ready for new 737
BOEING HAS reached the 75% design release point on engineering for the 737-700, the first of its next-generation family of small twins. The company's development plan calls for the production of all three versions of the family within 18 months. "Boeing has never done anything like this," ...
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Czech restructuring plans change again
Andrzej Jeziorski/PRAGUE ANOTHER PIECE of the Czech aerospace industry's restructuring appear to have unraveled, with the collapse of joint-venture discussions between Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) and Czech engine manufacturer Walter. It is believed that the deal finally fell through because P&WC was unwilling to ...
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New identity for Skyways
A NEW CORPORATE identity has been adopted by Swedish airline Skyways. Based at Linkoping, the airline has grown in the past two years to become the country's third-biggest airline, expecting to carry 420,000 passengers in 1995, giving it a 9% share of a still-declining domestic market. Its expansion ...
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Arinc/China in datalink deal
ARINC HAS SIGNED a multi-year contract with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to implement air-to-ground digital datalink systems in the country. The CAAC development, consistent with International Civil Aviation Organisation-approved communications, navigation, surveillance and air-traffic-management system, will enable datalink-equipped aircraft to transmit and receive air-traffic-control and ...
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Tyrolean Airways takes on four Canadair Regional Jets
EXPANDING Innsbruck-based Tyrolean Airways has placed an order for four Canadair Regional Jets, in a contract valued at $80 million. Options have also been secured on a further four aircraft. The first RJ is due for delivery in December. The Regional Jets will complement the recently acquired Fokker ...
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Lufthansa spends $1 billion
LUFTHANSA HAS authorised the acquisition of 18 aircraft at a total cost of DM1.7 billion ($1.14 billion). The purchase will be financed from its own resources. Four additional Boeing 747-400s and one Airbus A340 will be bought to strengthen the long-haul fleet in 1997. One of the 747-400s ...
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GE prepares for growth -90 runs
GENERAL ELECTRIC plans to make the first test run of its growth GE90, the 410kN (92,000lb)-thrust -92B, on 11 October at its Peebles site in Ohio. The US company hopes to start flight tests, in August 1996. The higher-thrust version will power higher-gross-weight, longer-range 777-200s, the first of ...
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Pension beckons for grandfather rights
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES David Learmount/LONDON EXISTING RULES governing the certification of derivative aircraft are to be scrapped if the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) approve new proposals presented by an international task force of manufacturers and aviation authorities. The ...
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NASA prepares to make major supersonic-systems choices
NASA AND ITS US industry team members are preparing to make major airframe and propulsion-system selections in December as the High Speed Research (HSR) programme moves into Phase II. The HSR project is designed to provide a technology base by 2001, which will support a US industry ...
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Vietnam poised to wrap up A320 deal
Paul Lewis/HANOI VIETNAM AIRLINES IS finalising an agreement with Region Air of Singapore to lease ten new-build Airbus Industrie A320s as replacements for existing wet-leased aircraft. The agreement, expected to be signed as Flight International went to press, calls for the delivery of eight aircraft ...
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Deregulation fails to dent European duopolies
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON MORE THAN TWO years after Europe signed up for liberalisation, the majority of the region's air routes remain dominated by traditional flag-carrier duopolies, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority's latest progress report on the European single air market. By the end of ...
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America West prepares for surge
AMERICA WEST Airlines plans substantial growth at its Phoenix and Las Vegas hubs over the next two years. The airline plans to increase capacity by 29% and departures by 17%, and to add at least eight cities to its route network. America West says that it plans to ...
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United kicks off transpacific FANS flights
UNITED AIRLINES has inaugurated transpacific operations using Boeing 747-400s equipped with Honeywell's FANS-1 satellite-based communication/ navigation system. The first FANS-1 flight was made on 2 September, from Chicago to Tokyo, over Russia. United Flight 881 was the first over Siberian airspace to communicate with a new FANS controller-workstation ...
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MD-95 powerplant will be a customer choice
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) says that the final selection of the engine for its MD-95 twinjet will depend on which power plant the launch customer selects. The BMW Rolls-Royce BR715 and the Pratt & Whitney mid-thrust family of engines are offered on the ...
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Portugal considers F-16 options
PORTUGAL IS considering procuring an additional 20-40 Lockheed Martin F-16s, along with taking on board the mid-life-upgrade (MLU) put together for other European F-16 operators. A team from the company is due to visit Portugal on 28/29 September, to discuss the upgrade. The aircraft on offer are secondhand ...
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Age-old dilemma
IT APPEARS that the European and US authorities have reached agreement over "grandfather rights" in the certification of derivative airliner types. Now all they have to do, is agree their respective interpretations over what is a grandfather right and what is a derivative, which may be a little more difficult, ...