All air transport news – Page 2558
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Workers revolt threatens Sukhoi merger
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW MOVES TO MERGE the Sukhoi design bureau (OKB) and its associated manufacturing plants are being jeopardised by resistance in at least one of the major production sites, despite the plan being secretly sanctioned by the Government. The setting up of APC Sukhoi (Aviation Production ...
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Airbus set for A310 boost from VASP
VASP is in final negotiations with Airbus Industrie for a big A310 order, which will represent largest deal for the aircraft in the past four years. The Brazilian carrier is the hitherto undisclosed customer for ten A310-300s during the recent Farnborough Air Show (Flight International, 18-24 September). According ...
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Iridium is prepared for first launch
Structural and qualification models of the Iridium satellite are undergoing testing at Lockheed Martin, California before the first scheduled launches of the $3.34 billion telecommunications system later this year. The craft will allow subscribers equipped with pocket-size hand-held telephones to communicate anywhere in the world (Flight International, 4-10 ...
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BAe Airbus tests A3XX foreplane concept
BRITISH AEROSPACE(BAe) Airbus is carrying out preliminary windtunnel tests of an A3XX configuration which has foreplanes on the upper-forward fuselage, at its Bristol Filton, UK, site. The foreplanes are designed to reduce cruise drag, by off-loading aerodynamic forces on the aircraft's horizontal stabiliser. Their overall span is roughly ...
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Silk Air considers fleet replacement options
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE SILKAIR OF SINGAPORE is drawing up plans to re-equip its fleet with a new range of larger and longer range 150-seat and 100-seat aircraft over the next five years. The carrier says that its existing fleet of five 118-seat Boeing 737-300s needs to be ...
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US low-fare carriers launch services
The new Pan American World Airways began operation on 26 September, and is to be followed into the air on 1 October by Delta Air Lines' new Delta Express low-cost operation. Rival ValuJet Airlines won US Department of Transportation (DoT) approval to resume flying on 30 September. Initially, ...
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Green light shows up for second Malaysian carrier
Green light shows up for second Malaysian carrier THE MALAYSIAN Government has finally given the go- ahead for the launch of the country's second national carrier in November, some two years after Malaysia Airlines (MAS) first blocked its start-up. The new airline is being set up ...
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Options for change
Alaska Airlines' order for 12 Boeing 737-400s, plus 12 options (Flight International, 25 September - 1 October) includes the right to switch the options for the new 737-800. The airline will take delivery of the firmly ordered 737s over three years from mid-1997. The 140-seaters will replace some of the ...
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Centralised ATM is on the cards for UK
David Learmount/LONDON THE UK CIVIL Aviation Authority is expected to decide by the end of the year whether to proceed with plans to build the Prestwick-based Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre (SCATCC). A review of the UK's two-centre air-traffic-management (ATM) policy by the CAA could result in the ...
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Boeing upgrades transonic tunnel
BOEING IS refurbishing its 52-year-old transonic windtunnel as part of efforts to reduce development times for new models. The upgrade comes as Boeing's product-development work approaches recently unprecedented levels. At the core of the windtunnel upgrade is a new drive system made by French manufacturer Cegelec. It includes ...
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Homing Harrier
McDonnell Douglas (MDC) has made the first successful flight tests of an advanced navigation software module which allows AV-8B Harrier pilots to make precision approaches to restricted landing areas in bad visibility. The self-contained approach system uses the aircraft's existing navigation systems to calculate position and velocity precisely, relative to ...
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Pacific Aerospace seeks certification for CT4C trainer
PACIFIC AEROSPACE is proceeding with the certification of its turboprop CT4C trainer, in response to what the New Zealand company says has been strong renewed regional interest in its low-cost military trainer. The CT4C, on which considerable certification flying has already been carried out, is powered by an ...
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IAE selected
Egyptair has selected the International Aero Engines V2500-A5 engine to power four Airbus A321s it recently ordered. The aircraft are due for delivery during 1997, and will join seven V2500-powered A320s already in service. Source: Flight International
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Lufthansa criticises 747-X design
Andrzej Jeziorski/HAMBURG LUFTHANSA operations chief executive Klaus Nittinger has criticised recent changes in Boeing's design proposals for its 747-500/600X. "The aircraft has changed so drastically [since November] that it has moved far away from what we would like to see," says Nittinger. Lufthansa was enthusiastic about ...
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MDHS plans to produce MD902 Explorer in 1997
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES McDONNELL DOUGLAS Helicopter Systems (MDHS) is to phase out production of the MD900 Explorer in 1997 and replace it with a more advanced version, the MD902. The US company is upgrading the Explorer largely in response to competition from Bell, with its 427, ...
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European regionals grow
Julian Moxon/HANOVER The European Regional Airlines Association (ERA) has good cause to celebrate. In the year since its last annual meeting, the industry has seen strong passenger growth and the beginnings of the long-awaited shake-out among the aircraft manufacturers. The disappearance of Fokker, the sale of ...
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Indonesian firms plan nine new communications satellites
Companies in Indonesia are planning to build up to nine new telecommunications satellites. The Indonesian schemes are part of a recent explosion of interest in space ventures in the Asia Pacific and other fast developing regions of the world. PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) is to assess bids from ...
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FAA faces TCAS 4 decision
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The future of the US Federal Aviation Administration's work on the next-generation traffic-alert and collision- avoidance system (TCAS) hangs in the balance as agency officials prepare to present FAA administrator David Hinson with their findings on research into the TCAS 4. Terminating the ...
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American edges to regional goal
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA American Airlines and its pilots union have tentatively agreed a complex formula governing the introduction of regional jets by commuter arm AMR Eagle. The agreement foresees the acquisition of up to 218 45- to 70-seat regional jets by 2009, but limits AMR Eagle to a maximum ...
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Slots of value
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION (EC) is keen to overhaul the slot-allocation system at Europe's airports by creating a "market" in which some slots could be traded for money. It is right to be looking for an overhaul but, if it believes that airline services should exist as much for the customer ...