All Airframers news – Page 1541

  • News

    Southwest's 737-700 enters flight-test...

    1997-04-09T00:00:00Z

    The second Boeing 737-700 is now flying in the colours of launch customer Southwest Airlines. The aircraft, which was unpainted for its maiden 2h 4min flight from Renton on 27 February, achieved an altitude of 41,000ft (12,500m) on 15 March, setting a new record for the type (Flight International, 26 ...

  • News

    MDC talks up MD-80 freighter for China

    1997-04-09T00:00:00Z

    McDonnell Douglas (MDC) remains optimistic that its MD-80 cargo conversion plan proposed to Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) earlier this year will receive the go-ahead before the end of 1997, despite uncertainty caused by the planned merger with Boeing. A key aspect of the plan is the supply ...

  • News

    Gulf Air reactivates TriStars following disposal of 767s

    1997-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Gulf Air is planning to return up to three of its five stored L-1011 TriStar 200s to service, for operation on services within the Gulf, and to the Indian sub-continent. The move comes in the wake of the sale of six Boeing 767-300ERs to Delta Air Lines. One ...

  • News

    Indian carriers receive aircraft import...

    1997-04-09T00:00:00Z

    India's Civil Aviation Ministry has given the go-ahead for three domestic private airlines to increase their fleets by importing more aircraft. The approval, announced by the ministry's Aircraft Acquisition Committee (AAC), affects Skyline NEPC, JVG Group and Bengal Air. Bombay-based NEPC Skyline will add two Boeing 737-200s to ...

  • News

    Egypt's AMC orders launch MD-90-30ER

    1997-04-09T00:00:00Z

    AMC Aviation of Egypt has placed the launch order for the McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30ER (extended range), with a contract for two aircraft. The MD-90ER features increased maximum take-off weight (MTOW) and additional fuel tanks, to boost range to over 4,000km (2,200nm). Compared to the standard MD-90, ...

  • News

    Airbus offers extended-range HGW A330-300s

    1997-04-09T00:00:00Z

    Airbus Industrie is actively offering an increased weight, extended range derivative of the A330-300 twinjet, as final assembly of the first A330-200 progresses at Toulouse. The range of the new high-gross-weight (HGW) version of the -300 would typically be boosted by some 1,300km (700nm) to around 10,200km. The ...

  • News

    Slovenian CRJs

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Adria Airways, the national airline of Slovenia, has signed a deal with Bombardier for two Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) Series 200LRs, plus two options. The two aircraft on firm order, valued at $43 million, will be delivered in January and February 1998, while the options are due in 1998 and ...

  • News

    United drives hard to gain a place in the training market

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    UAL Services is about to install the first of up to 15 new full-flight and fixed-base simulators at its Denver-based Flight Training Center, in a determined attack on the burgeoning US third-party aircrew-training market. The installation, on 15 April, will set a milestone in a $130 million expansion, scheduled to ...

  • News

    PIA hunts for strategic investor

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Pakistan has kicked off the search for a strategic airline-investor in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as the first move towards a re-capitalisation and further privatisation of the state-controlled carrier over the next 12 months. In mid-March, Pakistan's Privatisation Commission issued a tender, asking for bids from financial advisory ...

  • News

    A340-600 engine decision due in June

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Airbus Industrie is aiming to have secured agreements on a powerplant for its stretched, longer-range, A340-500/600 programme by the time of the Paris air show in June, and has apparently not ruled out offering an engine selection on the aircraft. The European manufacturer had been discussing an exclusive ...

  • News

    Airbus/AVIC AE-100 agreement is not expected until year-end

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Airbus Industrie Asia (AIA) is not now expected to reach a full agreement with Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) and Singapore Technologies (ST) on the joint development of the planned AE-100/A318 until the end of the year. The three sides are hoping to sign a "framework agreement" by ...

  • News

    Air China looks to build on initial 777 order

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Boeing hopes that the planned visit to the USA of Chinese president Jiang Zemin later this year will clear the way for Air China to order its remaining Boeing 777s, following its confirmation of an order for an initial five. After nearly two years of delay, the Chinese ...

  • News

    Finnair order contest warms up

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Finnair has invited final bids from Airbus and Boeing to replace its fleet of 12 ageing 121-seat McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51s, after completing technical evaluations of the A320 family and next-generation 737. The carrier also plans to eventually replace its 25 142-seat MD-80s with whichever type is selected. The ...

  • News

    Large aircraft: Airbus v Boeing...

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Sir - Your discussion of the different results from Airbus and Boeing for new large aircraft assumes that the fall in the size of aircraft flying over the North Atlantic is demand-led (Flight International, 19-25 March, P29). Could I suggest that US airlines' balance sheets a few years ...

  • News

    Hunting will sell off its non-core businesses

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    THE UK'S Hunting group has announced plans to disband its aviation division in a move expected to lead to the quick disposal of its aircraft-interiors businesses and the eventual sale of the cargo airline. Hunting chief executive Ken Miller says that the group wants to sell off its ...

  • News

    Pratt &Whitney offers Airbus PW4000 alternative for A3XX

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Pratt & Whitney is holding discussions with Airbus Industrie on the development of a PW4000-based derivative engine for the A3XX, as an alternative to the all-new GP7000 turbofan which is being proposed by the General Electric-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance. According to Alain Garcia, Airbus Industrie's senior vice-president ...

  • News

    Racal develops hand-held IFF

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    With an eye to Europe's developing "open-skies" approach to civil-aircraft routing, Racal Wells has launched a private-venture programme to develop a hand-held identification friend-or-foe (IFF) transponder for use aboard balloons, gliders, para and hang gliders, microlights and light aircraft. Work on the design is based on a study ...

  • News

    Rising star

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    In the byzantine world of the Russian aerospace industry, perhaps nothing should come as a surprise.The emergence, however, of Alexei Fedorov as Sukhoi's general director was an unexpected triumph for the boss of the Irkutsk Aviation Industrial Association. Fedorov's ascension has come at the expense of Mikhail Simonov, ...

  • News

    Flight Sciences, which specialises in...

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    Flight Sciences, which specialises in helping airlines reduce their fuel bills by improving efficiency, expects to sign contracts with major carriers later this year, as part of its efforts to expand its client base in Europe and Asia. The US company recently completed a five-month project with Austrian ...

  • News

    Hawkeye shows the way to procurement savings

    1997-04-02T00:00:00Z

    THE US NAVY'S E-2C Hawkeye airborne-early-warning (AEW) aircraft is being singled out by Paul Kaminski, the US Defense Department's acquisition chief, as a model for Pentagon acquisition reform. He says that application of new procurement practices will yield "billions of dollars in savings", including an estimated $375 million ...