All news – Page 6442
-
News
EC gives green light to BAe and Marconi
The European Commission's (EC) competition directorate has approved the civil side of the planned $12.7 billion merger between British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and aerospace arm of GEC. The military element of the merger escaped scrutiny in April, after the UK Department of Trade and ...
-
News
Allied forces
Things just don't seem to be getting any better when it comes to getting a cohesive European defence structure. Calls for a better equipped and more militarily capable Europe, by Adm Guido Venturoni, the chairman of NATO's military committee, and UK defence secretary George Robertson, merely echo pleas that have ...
-
News
Korean Air signs for pilot training
Korean Air (KAL), struggling to improve its safety record, has signed a $30 million pilot training contract with FlightSafety Boeing, a joint venture between Boeing and FlightSafety International. The carrier has suffered 12 serious accidents since 1990, leading to a management reshuffle in April. The five-year contract, signed in ...
-
News
US carriers agree to passenger rights plan
Prodded by US lawmakers and the Administration of US President Bill Clinton, the USA's major airlines have adopted voluntary measures designed to address a growing number of complaints by passengers and to stave off consumer protection legislation. The industry plan is aimed at heading off Congressional proposals to write passenger ...
-
News
BA 777 crews to get new rest area
A novel upper lobe crew rest area, designed by B/E Aerospace for the Boeing 777, has been launched into production with an order from British Airways. The airline is to retrofit 16 777-200ERs with compartments in overhead spaces above the main cabins. The compartment houses eight sleeping bunks and two ...
-
News
Marconi still keen on Super 7 contract
Marconi Avionics still wants to tender to supply the radar and avionics suite for the Chengdu FC1/Super 7 fighter, but says that it is prevented from doing so by a lack of information on a clearly defined weapon systems for the proposed joint Sino-Pakistan programme. The UK manufacturer confirms ...
-
News
Romania extends Brasov deadline
Romania has given Bell until next month to resubmit a proposal to take over state-run aerospace manufacturer IAR Brasov and establish a licence production line for the AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter. Bell presented fresh proposals to the Romanian prime minister on 23 June, and was given a 60-day extension ...
-
News
Sterling's strength saves UK costs
The strength of sterling against the US dollar will reduce the cost of the UK Ministry of Defence's 25 most significant procurement programmes by £185 million ($317 million), forecasts the National Audit Office (NAO) in its Major Projects Report for last year. Procurement of GKN Westland WAH-64DApache Longbow attack ...
-
News
Pilot fatigue probed in safety investigation at American
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC American Airlines and US federal aviation safety officials are reviewing the carrier's operations over the past six years to determine if any factors link two fatal crashes and some serious incidents in which it has been involved. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation is ...
-
News
First 767-400ER gets into shape
The wings, body sections and tail of the first Boeing 767-400ER have been joined together on the production line at Boeing's plant in Everett, near Seattle. The 767-400ER, which seats up to 304 passengers in a two-class arrangement, is 6.4m (21ft) longer than the 767-300ER. The first example is to ...
-
News
Atmospheric pollution set to worsen, study predicts
Julian Moxon/PARIS The effect of aircraft on global atmospheric pollution in the next century has been assessed in detail for the first time in a report by an international group of scientists. The main finding of "Aviation and the Global Atmosphere", prepared by the Zurich, Switzerland-based Intergovernmental Panel ...
-
News
UK court convicts in-flight mobile user
An airline passenger has been convicted of endangering an aircraft in flight by refusing to turn off a mobile telephone. Airlines have been watching the case, brought under Article 55 of the UK Air Navigation Order concerning endangering an aircraft or its passengers, with trepidation because of the implications if ...
-
News
American will test new medical kit
American Airlines will launch an in-flight trial of Remote Diagnostic Technologies' (RDT) Tempus 2000 medical monitoring and transmission device this summer. The airline is the first to commit to an in-service trial of the product, which allows cabin crew to transmit to experts on the ground data from an ...
-
News
US cargo carriers ready to launch ADS-B tests
UPS Aviation Technologies and the US Cargo Airlines Association will start flight trials of their automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) technology on cargo aircraft this month. A dozen freighters, operated by FedEx, UPS and Airborne Express, have UPS Aviation Technologies' datalink technology to allow them to broadcast real-time position information, ...
-
News
Swissair sued over IFE system
Emma Kelly/LONDON Swissair will not reactivate the in-flight entertainment (IFE) system on its Boeing MD-11s and 747s until the investigation of the crash last year of the MD-11 flight SR111 off Nova Scotia is complete. The airline had hoped to restart the system in October during maintenance downtime. ...
-
News
JAA addresses in-seat power problem
Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities will complete guidance material for airlines this month on the installation of in-seat power supply systems for portable electrical devices (PEDs). The material, compiled with the US Federal Aviation Administration, will be passed to the JAA's Requirements Committee for approval and publication at the end ...
-
News
GTE to sell in-flight telephone business
GTE is to sell its in-flight communications division, GTE Airfone, as part of ongoing efforts to divest itself of "non-strategic operations". At the same time, new satellite system operator Iridium has pulled out of plans to acquire fellow in-flight telephone service provider Claircom Communications from AT&T and Rogers Cantel. ...
-
News
SIA adds audio/video to long-haul
Singapore Airlines (SIA) intends to have audio- and video-on-demand (A/VOD) service available on all of its long-haul flights by the end of next year. The airline's A/VOD service, dubbed Wisemen, was introduced in the first and business class cabins on a Boeing 747-400 last month. Wisemen, which runs off Matsushita ...
-
News
Globalstar finds funds as Iridium struggles
While questions remain about the survival of Iridium's mobile communications satellite system, competitor Globalstar has arranged a further $500 million credit facility. This brings to $3.8 billion the amount raised to set up the system. Initial Globalstar commercial services will start in September, with 32 operational satellites and nine ...
-
News
Second test for Vega's Zefiro
The second test firing of the Zefiro engine for the European Space Agency's (ESA) proposed Vega small satellite launcher has been completed in Sardinia, Italy. The Vega will be able to place 1,000kg (2,200lb) payloads into low earth orbit (LEO) at between $10 million and $25 million a launch, ...