All air transport news – Page 2580
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Bangkok Airways president aims for second carrier slot
Julian Moxon/BANGKOK THE PRESIDENT and owner of Thailand's privately owned airline Bangkok Airways wants to start a new airline to respond to the Thai Government's imminent call for offers for a second carrier to operate services on domestic and regional routes. Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, who owns ...
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The Top Fifty Airlines
The world airline industry made record profits in 1995, but will the boom last? The signs are mixed from this year's ranking of the world's top 50passenger-airline groups. Kevin O'Toole/LONDON IT HAS TAKEN a long time to arrive, but recovery in the world airline industry appears to ...
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The mission equipment
THE SENSORS, display and communications units fitted to the Dash 8 maritime-patrol aircraft (MPA) are typical of the large range of such equipment on offer. There were two choices of radar considered: the travelling-wave-tube (TWT) type, or the power-hungry, but cheaper, magnetron variety. The latter has longer ...
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Thai plans MoU for six 747-Xs
Paul Lewis/BANGKOK THAI AIRWAYS International is discussing signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for up to six new Boeing 747-500/600X aircraft, but the carrier is now waiting for Government approval for its earlier fleet modernisation before committing itself. The airline is among a group of ...
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Galaxy 10 booked as first Delta 3 payload
HUGHES Communications' Galaxy 10 satellite will be the first payload of the new McDonnell Douglas (MDC) Delta 3 booster on its maiden flight in 1998. The HS-601HP Galaxy satellite is one of ten payloads which Hughes assigned to the Delta 3 in 1995. With Hughes exercising another Delta ...
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Aviastar builds the first 'Westernised' An-124
AVIASTAR IS nearing completion of the first "Westernised" Antonov An-124 at its Ulyanovsk factory, although the Russian manufacturer's claims that the aircraft is being fitted with General Electric CF6-80 engines are being disputed by GE and Antonov. "The aircraft, line number 08-03 and designated An-124-130, will be ...
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Antonov's second An-70 nears completion despite lack of funding
THE SECOND Antonov An-70 propfan-powered medium transport is nearing completion at the design bureau's prototype plant in Kiev. The programme has been stalled since the first aircraft crashed in early 1995. Antonov deputy general designer Oleg Bogdanov says that the airframe and wiring has been completed, and ...
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Gallois moves to take over at French railways
Julian Moxon/PARIS THE FRENCH Government has appointed Aerospatiale president Louis Gallois to run the state-owned railway company, SNCF, leaving at least four men in contention for his vacated position. The decision to move Gallois has been prompted by the poor state of SNCF's finances and the ...
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BWIA takes first Airbus A321
BWIA INTERNATIONAL HAS TAKEN delivery of its first Airbus A321-100, on lease from International Lease Finance. The type entered service with BWIA on 13 July, on flights from Port of Spain, Trinidad, to New York Kennedy, via Antigua. BWIA, which will take a second A321 in October and has an ...
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ARIA looks to PW2000s to improve Il-96-300s
ILYUSHIN IS TO DEVELOP modifications to the Il-96-300 to allow Aeroflot - Russian International Airlines (ARIA) to re-engine its Il-96 fleet with Pratt & Whitney PW2037 turbofans, and improve reliability. A formal agreement on the design work, which was signed recently by ARIA's general director Marshal Evgeni ...
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Italy's Aermacchi prepares to take over Siai Marchetti
FINMECCANICA has finally agreed to sell its Siai Marchetti subsidiary to Aermacchi, in a move which will create a single Italian training-aircraft manufacturer. A contract is due to be signed by the end of the year. There have been previous attempts to reconcile the two rival jet-trainer manufacturers, ...
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Boeing 747-X flies by wire
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES BOEING HAS AGREED to airline demands to offer a full fly-by-wire (FBW) flight-control system and other advanced-technology features on its new 747-500X and -600X. The US manufacturer has also told its airline working group that, despite the move to FBW and other ...
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Continental switches to 737-700/800s
CONTINENTAL Airlines has renegotiated its orders with Boeing, substituting 48 737-700/800s for 18 737-300/500s and 12 767s previously on firm order, and deferring delivery of five 777s by three years. The carrier has taken options on 15 additional 737-700/800s, and added options for eight 757s to its order for eight ...
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Under oversight?
FIRST, THE FEDERAL Aviation Administration in the USA was the target: now it is the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK. Each has been accused of failing to maintain satisfactory oversight of airline maintenance operations. If they cannot satisfy the expectations of the travelling public and their legal representatives, are ...
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China takes first MD-90
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) has delivered the first of 11 MD-90 TrunkLiners to China Northern Airlines, marking the culmination of a four-year development effort. The delivery followed the long-delayed signing of a purchase agreement in Beijing on 17 July which had been threatened ...
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Japan seeks Asian co-operation for low-cost regional-aircraft programme
JAPAN IS LOOKING at co-operating with other Asian countries to develop a small, low-cost regional aircraft, as a possible alternative to earlier plans to develop a larger 90- to 110-seat twinjet. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) says that it is seeking finance-ministry funding in ...
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British Midland fined
British Midland Airways has been fined £150,000 ($233,000) by a UK court after admitting "negligently endangering life", following an unprecedented criminal prosecution brought by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. The case relates to an incident in February 1995, when one of the airline's Boeing 737-400s made an emergency ...
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Boeing to review 777 cabin pressure after diversion
BOEING IS AGAIN reviewing the design of the 777 cabin-pressurisation system, following the diversion of a United Airlines (UAL) aircraft to Gander, Newfoundland, while being flown on a transatlantic flight. The 777 suffered "a loss of pressure" rather than a sudden depressurisation, says the airline, which adds that ...
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Funding blow hampers Modiluft's fleet-expansion plans
MODILUFT'S plans to expand its fleet could be hampered by the refusal of the Indian Government to permit it to undertake a bond issue to fund the acquisition of additional aircraft. The Delhi-based domestic carrier is already faced with the prospect of finding replacements for its entire ...
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Dashing looks
Modified Dash 8s are to be used in Australia for maritime-patrol missions. Flight International test-flew one of them. Harry Hopkins/OSLO COASTAL PATROL IS increasingly vital to countries with extensive shorelines, whether they be interested in smuggling, illegal immigration, unapproved fishing or sea pollution. Well over a dozen ...