All news – Page 7390
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Saab discusses South Pacific venture
Saab Aircraft is discussing the setting up of a new South Pacific airline operation, in response to what it believes are unfounded complaints over the unreliability of the Saab 2000 being operated by state-owned Air Marshall Islands (AMI). Saab blames the AMI problems on inadequate spares support and ...
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Atlas closes on freighter order decision-
Atlas Air, the world's largest Boeing 747 freighter operator, is close to deciding whether to order an unspecified number of 747-400 freighters. According to Michael Chowdry, chairman and chief executive officer, the 747-400F is seen as "the next step" for the US contract cargo operator. Atlas Air is ...
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Order boom forces Boeing to raise production rates
Boeing is planning another increase in production rates as it prepares to keep pace with a surging orderbook and growing delivery backlog, now moving towards 1,500 aircraft. New urgency was injected into the company's continuous assessment of production rates by the Delta Air Lines order in March for ...
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First Airbus A330-200 on the move
The first Airbus A330-200 was rolled out of the assembly building at Toulouse in France in early April, and has now been moved "on-dock" for final systems installation. The aircraft, powered by General Electric CF6s, will be flown in mid-August, and enter service with Canada 3000 next April, on lease ...
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Extended-range Airbus A321 enters service
Airbus delivered the first increased gross weight A321-200 on 8 April, to UK charter airline Airworld, on lease from International Lease Finance (ILFC). The carrier, which will take a second 220-seat CFM International CFM56-5B3-powered A321-200 from ILFC in 1998, put the first aircraft into service between Manchester and Tenerife on ...
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Delta shows off its new.colour scheme
Delta Air Lines has unveiled a new colour scheme, the first major change in the US company's livery in 35 years. The new scheme, which will extend to the aircraft interiors, was first seen on a Boeing 767 and will be applied to the remainder of the airline's 550-strong fleet ...
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Chinese airlines lease more Airbuses
General Electric Capital Aviation (GECAS) has signed lease agreements with two Chinese airlines to supply additional Airbus Industrie A320s, to supplement the large number ordered by China in 1996. China Northwest Airlines and Zhejiang Airlines have each signed letters of intent with GECAS for two more A320s. The ...
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Finnair signs fresh pacts to strengthen Stockholm hub
Finnish flag-carrier Finnair has signed co-operative deals with Braathens Safe, Transwede and Maersk Air, as part of plans to strengthen its presence at Stockholm, Scandinavia's main hub, in neighbouring Sweden. The deals, which include increased codesharing and links on frequent-flier programmes, follow signs of weakening in Finnair's long-standing ...
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Challenger RVSM
Calgary-based Canadian Pacific has become the first business-jet operator to receive approval under reduced vertical-separation minima (RVSM) regulations now in force over the North Atlantic, with its Bombardier Challenger 601-3R. Source: Flight International
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PIA prepares for $1 billion fleet renewal
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is gearing up to order $1 billion worth of new aircraft, as part of plans to replace 21 ageing widebody and turboprop aircraft in its fleet by 2000. The move comes as the carrier enters the throes of a major restructuring, with the Pakistan ...
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Saudi Arabia talks to Russia and China about new missile
Saudi Arabia has approached China and Russia for a possible replacement for its ageing Chinese-made CSS-2 surface-to-surface missiles (SSMs), raising fears in Washington that the move could undermine Western non-proliferation efforts. The Saudi defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Sultan, has held talks on the subject in both Moscow ...
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NASA may re-fly Columbia in July
The Space Shuttle mission, the STS 83/Columbia, which had to be aborted because of a problem with a fuel cell, could be re-launched as early as July using the same seven crew, says NASA. The $500 million, 16-day mission ended when the Shuttle touched down at the Kennedy ...
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SIA is first to order FANS-A upgrade for Airbus A340s
Singapore Airlines (SIA)has become the first customer for the Airbus future-air-navigation system-A (FANS-A), with a commitment to install it on its fleet of long-haul A340-300s. Airbus aims to gain certification of FANS-A equipment on the A330/340 in April 1998, with ßight trials using its A340 testbed due to ...
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Virgin Executive Aviation takes off
The Virgin Group has joined forces with the McCarthy leisure-investment group to form Virgin Executive Aviation, a corporate-jet and helicopter charter company aimed at exploiting European business and leisure-travel markets. The new company also plans to offer feeder services into London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports for Virgin Atlantic's ...
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R-R, Lyulka Saturn form joint venture
Rolls-Royce and Russia's Lyulka Saturn are to form a joint-venture company to develop an industrial-gas-turbine engine based on the design bureau's AL-31 powerplant, which is fitted to the Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft. The 16mW-power AL-31ST will be marketed by Lyulka Rolls-Royce, and will use advanced combustion system technology ...
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MD-95 takes shape
Alenia has completed the first fuselage sections for the McDonnell Douglas MD-95, and shipped them to the US manufacturer's Long Beach, California, final-assembly plant. The Italian manufacturer has completed the first shipset 17 months after beginning design work on the fuselage when the programme was launched in late 1995. Korean ...
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Raytheon poem
Raytheon Cossor has won a $15 million Eurocontrol contract to supply a pre-operational European Mode S (POEMS) secondary-surveillance radar system, as part of the European Air Traffic Control Harmonisation Improvement Programme. The POEMS system will be used to validate Eurocontrol's specification for a Mode S ground station, including full networking ...
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China pins hopes on latest Long March
The launch of a Long March (LM) 3A booster from Xichang towards the end of April is regarded as critical to the future of the country's commercial-launcher aspirations, following a series of commercial failures. The failures, climaxing with the loss of the first LM3B in February 1996, has ...
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Titan DMSP launch
A US Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) weather satellite was launched by a Titan 2G booster from Vandenberg AFB, California, on 4 April. It was the first launch of a DMSP by a refurbished Titan intercontinental ballistic missile, called the 2G, which has replaced the retired Atlas E. ...
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Ray Hillman...
Head-up-guidance-system specialist Flight Dynamics has appointed Ray Hillman director of products and customer services - a newly created job. Based in Portland, Oregon, USA, he will be responsible for product line management, field service, technical manuals and the Portland repair station. Hillman's career has included work for British Aerospace, Smiths ...