All news – Page 6430
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Spoiling tactics
When Boeing concluded its recent trade-in deal with Singapore Airlines (SIA) for 10 more 777s in exchange for a guarantee to buy and remarket its entire A340 fleet, the move seemed as capricious as it was masterful. But, with arch rival Airbus Industrie putting the finishing touches to a ...
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South Africa to levy 'safety' fee
Doug Birch/LONDON Foreign airlines flying to South Africa will have to pay fees totalling almost $3 million over the next 18 months as a contribution to an "aviation safety charge", according to the South African Civil Aviation Authority. The fees replace a fuel levy implemented in January by ...
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Thailand stalls on Alpha Jet decision
The Thai Government has shelved its go-ahead decision for the purchase of 50 ex-German air force Alpha Jets, to meet the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) trainer/light strike requirement. Prime minister and defence minister Chuan Leekpai now says more time is needed to consider the procurement, which may be ...
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All systems go for Transpac Express Pacific services
Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Australian cargo start-up Transpac Express has received outline approval to launch cargo services to Pacific islands, using widebody freighters. The draft approval from Australia's International Air Services Commission will allow the Brisbane-based company to operate separate weekly freight services from Brisbane to Nauru, New Caledonia, the ...
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Eurocontrol settles on remedies to increase capacity
Eurocontrol's Council has approved measures to increase air traffic capacity in Europe this summer and cope with potential capacity shortfalls between 2002 and 2005. At its 16 July meeting, the council approved the process for enhancing co-operation between area control centres (ACCs) to improve traffic flow. Eurocontrol has already ...
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Cathay Pacific mulls over larger widebody options
Chris Jasper/HONG KONG Cathay Pacific is studying all of the larger widebody types, including the planned Airbus A3XX, as potential replacements for its 19 Boeing 747-400s. Tony Tyler, corporate development director at Hong Kong based Cathay, says it is evaluating long range Boeing 777s, including the planned General ...
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MD-10 speeds up as passenger version is studied
Boeing is talking to potential customers about developing a passenger version of the MD-10, as it considers accelerating the cargo-led programme by up to three months. US express carrier FedEx is so far the only customer for the MD-10 conversion of the DC-10, with orders and options for 120. ...
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Workshop
Delta Air Lines' Technical Operations division has been selected by Boeing Business Jets as the primary aircraft heavy maintenance services provider for its Boeing NetJets (BNJ) fleet. General Electric Engine Services will provide primary engine maintenance services, while Delta will also provide selected engine maintenance services for the BNJ fleet. ...
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Airbus plans to thwart Boeing's SIA deal
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Airbus Industrie has drawn up a confidential business plan aimed at frustrating Boeing's efforts to remarket 17 A340-300s it is to acquire from Singapore Airlines (SIA)as part of a recent 777 deal. The consortium declines to comment on the plan, but a source familiar with its contents says: ...
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Boeing soft pedals on programme cutting
Chris Jasper/LONDON Boeing is playing down the possibility of cutting programmes in its get-tough approach to what it had labelled "value destroying" product lines. The US giant's chief financial officer, Debby Hopkins, says several programmes previously in doubt are "operating above the line", and are off the at-risk list. ...
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FAA validation
The US Federal Aviation Administration's computer systems have been independently validated as being Year 2000 (Y2K) compliant. The FAA met its 30 June deadline for completing repairs, despite lateness tackling the date rollover problem. Science Applications International completed verification and validation in July. Source: Flight International
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House vote puts first nail in F-22's coffin
Congressional moves to cut funds for production of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor took a set closer to reality on 23 July, when the House of Representatives voted to withhold $1.8 billion for the first six aircraft. US Air Force (USAF) and industry hopes to restore funding now rest ...
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First taker for SpaceDev asteroid mission
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC SpaceDev has secured the first customer for its planned commercial asteroid rendezvous mission. The company has signed a $200,000 contract with Dojin to carry a package on the Near Earth Asteroid Prospector (NEAP), to rendezvous with asteroid Nereus in January 2002. Poway, California-based SpaceDev already ...
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India urges industry to join launcher venture
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is seeking increased industry participation in its commercial launch vehicle programme. Following the successful first commercial launch of India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in May, ISRO wants the country's manufacturing industry to upgrade its role from that of supplying launch vehicle subsystems ...
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Liquid apogee engine testing completed
TRW has demonstrated an increased-efficiency liquid apogee (LAE) engine designed to increase the payload and extend the on-orbit life of geostationary communications satellites. The company has completed 25,000s of hot fire testing of a flight-like prototype of its TRS312, demonstrating a specific impulse (Isp) of 325s, 5-10s better than ...
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ESA aids in Bangladesh floods
The European Space Agency's (ESA) ERS earth observing satellites are assisting the Bangladeshi authorities in coping with floods in the region. A real-time data acquisition and processing system installed at Dhaka is providing near real-time flood information derived from data transmitted by radar imaging systems onboard ESA's ERS-1 and ERS-2 ...
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Columbia flies at third try
NASA successfully launched the Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS93 on 23 July after its second launch attempt on 22 July was called off because of bad weather. The Columbia, with its Chandra X-ray Observatory payload, was originally due for launch on 20 July - the 30th anniversary of the ...
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NASA Messenger mission will map Mercury
NASA plans to return to Mercury, after an absence of more than 30 years, when its Messenger spacecraft reaches the innermost planet in 2008. The Messenger mission to map Mercury is one of two new projects selected for NASA's "quicker, cheaper" Discovery programme (Flight International, 21-27 July). The other ...
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USAF chips in for X-37 spaceplane
The US Air Force is to contribute $16 million to the NASA/Boeing X-37 experimental spaceplane programme as a follow-on to the USAF-funded X-40, to demonstrate technologies for future military spacecraft. The X-37 design is scaled up from the X-40, an unpowered vehicle built by Boeing and drop-tested from a helicopter ...
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Safair takes major stake in general aviation operators
South African lease and charter specialist Safair has acquired a major stake in general aviation operators National Airways (NAC) and Streamline Aviation from Lonrho for R31 million cash ($5 million). Safair parent Imperial Group, South Africa's leading road transport leasing company, will hold a 63% stake, with the remaining ...