All air transport news – Page 2585
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Challenging Germany's Goliath
In three years, Deutsche BA has become the second-biggest German scheduled carrier. Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Not quite three years since its launch, Deutsche BA is firmly established as Germany's second-biggest scheduled carrier, behind the formidable Lufthansa. It has achieved this by maintaining a steady ...
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Strategy-split forces Reims president out
THE FUTURE OF French general-aviation manufacturer Reims Aviation has again been thrown into confusion by the sudden, apparently forced, resignation of company president Jean-Paul Pellissier. According to a communiqu, from the major shareholder in the Reims-based company, Compagnie Fran+aise Chaufour Investissements (CFCI), the board of directors decided on ...
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JetRanger replacement helps drive 407 market
PRODUCTION OF Bell Helicopter Textron's Model 407 light helicopter, launched in February, is sold out until mid-1997. The company has firm orders for 105 aircraft, with company demonstrators and other commitments taking the number of delivery positions accounted for to 140. Production at Bell's Canadian plant will ...
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Boeing leans to enhanced 747 as NLA solution
DERIVATIVES OF the 747, and not a new design, are emerging as the leading options from Boeing's New Large Airplane (NLA) initiative. Meanwhile, studies of a Very Large Commercial Transport (VLCT) with the Airbus partners appear to be reaching a hiatus. President of Boeing Commercial Airplane Group Ron ...
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Korean Contract
Korean Air's Aerospace division has received a subcontract from Boeing to produce wing-flap support fairings for the new 737-700. Korean also produces components for Boeing 747s and 777s, and in 1994 signed a deal to build the nose section for the yet-to-be launched 100-seat McDonnell Douglas MD-95. Source: ...
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Thai domestic start-up wins approval
The THAI OWNERS OF former Cambodian International Airlines have been granted permission to start domestic services in Thailand. The carrier, renamed Orient Express, has been given rights to operate up to 20 routes from Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The airline already owns a Boeing 737 and three Boeing ...
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Boeing progresses on halving cycle times
BOEING SAYS THAT it is making progress on its aggressive cost-cutting strategy, with which it aims to slash production-cycle time by half, and to hold aircraft-manufacturing costs to 1992 levels. Boeing Commercial Airplane Group president Ron Woodard says that the group is already close to bringing cycle times ...
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JAST hover tests to start in June
LOCKHEED MARTIN will begin hover testing of its Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) candidate in June at NASA Ames, California. Its JAST contender is now being re-assembled at NASA Ames before the start of engine and lift-fan tests. The aircraft is an 86%-scale version of ...
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US airlines hold profit course
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON US AIRLINES continued their long haul back into profit during the first quarter, although news that Trans World Airlines is heading back into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection sounds a warning note that the restructuring is not yet over. TWA says that it has ...
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NEPC acquires Damania
NEPC AIRLINES, one of India's fastest-growing private carriers, has bought rival Damania Airways for some $33.3 million. It is unclear whether Damania will remain a separate company, or be merged with NEPC, which operates five Fokker F27s on feeder routes in southern India. Merger seems more likely since, ...
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777 ETOPS approvals go down to the wire
Guy Norris/SEATTLE BOEING AND UNITED Airlines hope to receive US Federal Aviation Administration approval for 180min extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) for the 777 by 30 May - just a week before revenue services begin. The European Joint Aviation Authorities' (JAA) timetable is unclear. British Airways ...
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GE carries on searching for cause of 777 surge
THE GENERAL Electric GE90-powered Boeing 777, which is to be used in seeking early-extended range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) approval, had its first flight on 16 May. The company, meanwhile, is still no nearer solving the mysterious 4 May, surge on a GE90 engine powering the first British Airways ...
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US start-up leases three BAe 146s
TRISTAR AIRLINES, a new US start-up carrier, has leased three British Aerospace 146-200s for five years from BAe's Asset Management Organisation (AMO). The agreement, signed at the convention, allows TriStar to begin scheduled operations from mid-July. The airline plans an initial, nine daily scheduled flights from its ...
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Sierra will lease 13 Jetstream Super 31s
JSX CAPITAL HAS LEASED 13 Jetstream Super 31s to California-based start-up carrier Sierra Expressway, which has options for ten additional aircraft. Five of the 19-seat aircraft will be delivered in June and the low-cost carrier plans to begin operations on 1 July, linking Oakland International Airport with destinations in California ...
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Quick-Change Brasilia
Embraer has sold, two EMB-120 Brasilia Quick Change passenger/cargo aircraft, to new Brazilian regional carrier Passaredo Transportes Aereos, for $17 million. Passaredo, based in Ribeirao Preto, is to begin operations in July. Embraer says that it has commitments for 148 EMB-145 regional jets, including letters of intent from two undisclosed ...
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Saab sounds off on noise
SAAB AIRCRAFT IS tackling sound at source to try to achieve the 76dB average cabin-noise level promised for the Saab 2000 high-speed regional turboprop. Launch customer Crossair criticised Saab earlier this year for failing to meet cabin-noise guarantees. The Swedish manufacturer says that the present average noise-level of ...
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Beleaguered Solitair plans share issue
SOLITAIR, THE SWEDISH-based aircraft leasing company, is planning a new share issue, and refinancing of loans in a bid to resolve a looming financial crisis. Shareholders are due to vote on the refinancing package on 29 May. Failure to approve the deal could result in almost immediate bankruptcy ...
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Boeing wins Chinese/Danish orders for 737s
BOEING HAS REVEALED orders for a total of nine 737s from Chinese and Danish carriers, together worth over $300 million. Shandong Airlines of China has ordered 737-300 passenger aircraft, worth a total of $120 million with spares and training. The Jinan-based carrier will take the first in December ...
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Eurofighter 2000 flies again
THE EUROFIGHTER 2000 test-flight programme resumed on 17 May, with a flight of the DA2 development aircraft from British Aerospace Warton. A Paris air show debut in June is in doubt after the programme's management agency raised contractual questions about its appearance. The DA2 took off from Warton ...
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Cash shortage shackles Mikoyan fighter project
THE FUTURE of Mikoyan's next-generation air-superiority aircraft, Article 1.42, is being questioned as budget problems continue seriously to hamper the project. The first prototype of the aircraft still languishes in a hangar at the Zhukovsky flight-test research centre months after the completion of taxi trials and months ...