All news – Page 6625
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UK halts Air Atlanta leasing in parts maintenance inquiry
David Learmount/LONDON In a surprise move, the UK Civil Aviation Authority suspended operating permission for five days for UK airlines to lease aircraft from Air Atlanta Icelandic. The issue, says the CAA, was the manner in which Air Atlanta was using an out-of-service Boeing 747 to supply parts for ...
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BA closes on RB211 'hybrid' retrofit deal
Andrew Doyle/SEATTLE Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON British Airways is finalising a deal with Rolls-Royce to upgrade the engines on half of its 50-strong fleet of RB211-powered Boeing 747-400s, as it finalises a plan to phase out the remainder of its "classic" 747 variants within the next four years. The proposed contract, which ...
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British Midland to outline fleet expansion for long haul services
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON British Midland (BM) will this week outline plans to acquire a fleet of long-haul aircraft, as well as new deals for additional short-haul aircraft. In February, the UK airline unveiled plans for transatlantic services from London Heathrow in anticipation of a UK/US "open skies" accord, and ...
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Glenn blasts off into history
John Glenn, the USA's first man in orbit, returned to space aboard the SpaceShuttle Discovery STS95 mission on 29 October. At 77, the former Mercury astronaut and pilot of the Friendship 7 mission on 20 February, 1962, became the oldest person in space. The Discovery may have to land after ...
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US Airways takes first of up to 400 Airbuses
US Airways has begun operating its first of up to 400 Airbus Industrie A320 family aircraft, an A319. The airline selected the type for its future short-haul fleet, and holds firm orders for 124 aircraft and options on another 276. All the aircraft will be powered by CFM International CFM56-5 ...
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Japan Air Lines ramps up efficiency plan
Japan Air Lines plans to accelerate efficiency improvements across the airline including a reduction of up to 10 aircraft in its fleet acquisition planning. Measures in the new"strategic business plan" include: achievement of a 10% cost reduction is to be brought forward from March ...
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South Korea sets deadline for manufacturers' mega merger
Paul Lewis/SEOUL The South Korean Government has stipulated that Daewoo Heavy Industries (DHI), Hyundai Space & Aircraft and Samsung Aerospace have until the end of the year to overcome debt and conflicting programme hurdles and formulate a plan to form a single corporate entity. Following the submission of ...
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LOCAAS missile scores in test firing
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The US Air Force is preparing to award contracts to demonstrate a powered development of the Low-Cost Autonomous Attack System (LOCAAS), after successful research flights with the original unpowered version of the self-guided mini-missile. In the third and final flight of the unpowered LOCAAS, built ...
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Air Canada loss
Air Canada suffered a net loss of C$61 million ($40 million) during the third quarter, down C$242 million on the same quarter in 1997. The airline warns that the worsening performance of certain international and domestic routes will require fundamental changes to its business plan for 1999, possibly including order ...
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PAL resumes service as courts order aircraft to be returned
Brent Hannon/TAIPEI Philippine Airlines (PAL) was able to relaunch international flights on 29 October, following a US court decision ordering the US Exim bank to return its seized Boeing 747-400s to the struggling carrier. The airline has also received approval from Manila's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to return ...
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Qantas suspends regional services
Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Australian flag carrier Qantas suspended regional services to several eastern New South Wales provincial centres on 30 October, because of safety concerns over a trial of proposed new flight information and communication rules in uncontrolled "Class G" airspace. Up to 41 incidents reported in the first ...
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SAA secures bilaterals ahead of sell-off
Hilka Birns/CAPE TOWN South African Airways (SAA) has secured bilateral agreements with Swissair and Singapore Airlines (SIA) and has extended its alliance with Lufthansa as part of its streamlining process ahead of privatisation. The airline is also negotiating similar alliances in the Middle East, North America, South America ...
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Army offered combat 427 variant
Samsung Aerospace is studying development of a new multirole combat version of the SB427 commercial helicopter to offer to the South Korean army to replace its Boeing MD500s. The proposed SB427M derivative of the co-developed Samsung/ Bell twin-engine helicopter is being aimed at the army's future Korean Multi-purpose Helicopter ...
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Engine problems delay first flight of X-33
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Development problems with the linear aerospike engine have forced Lockheed Martin to delay the first flight of the X-33 reusable launch vehicle (RLV) prototype by four months to December 1999. Longer range tests will now not be conducted until 2001. Despite the delay, Lockheed Martin says it ...
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New loads calculator is unveiled
Aircraft design software developer MacNeal-Schwendler (MSC) has introduced a new tool for calculating and visualising external loads, as well as flutter and dynamic loads. MSC's FlightLoads and Dynamics tool has been designed to enable engineers to create a master model for internal and external loads calculations. Boeing and Lockheed ...
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American Utilicraft Freight Feeder makes progress
American Utilicraft has selected several subcontractors for its FF-1080-200 Freight Feeder, a twin-turboprop cargo aircraft which is being designed specifically for overnight package carriers. The UK's Meggitt Avionics will supply the flat panel flight and engine displays, and fuel quantity gauging and engine fire detection systems. Securaplane of Tucson, ...
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Sabre tackles Y2K
Airline reservations system operator Sabre has teamed with US computer retail chain CompUSA to provide Year 2000 compliance support to North American travel agencies, for non-Sabre software. Sabre's software is already Y2K-ready. Source: Flight International
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Bombardier chooses VIP aircraft motorised seat supplier
Canadian aerospace group Bombardier has selected B/E Aerospace's recently acquired Aircraft Modular Products division to develop the first motorised seats and side-facing divans meeting US Federal Aviation Administration 16g certification standards. AMP will supply the 16g seats and divans for installation in Bombardier's Global Express long-range business jet. ...
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Honeywell/TRW work on combined transponder
Honeywell and TRW have joined forces to develop the first combined Mode S and identification friend or foe (IFF) transponder for military aircraft. A Mode S transponder is needed for use with the traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS), which must be fitted to all US military passenger-carrying ...
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Tigers take wing
To be an Asian tiger, you have to be bold. And with neighbours like China and North Korea, you also have to have strong defences. Add to that nationalistic tendencies, regional ambition to be master of a high- technology industry such as aerospace, and the fact that many of the ...