All Safety News – Page 1268
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News
Boeing tests 747-X trailing edge wedge
Boeing has begun flight tests of a trailing-edge wedge wing modification on a 747-400 as the first element of a potential package of changes that could be applied to future 747 derivatives. The modification consists of a triangular-shaped wedge on the lower surface of the wing trailing edge, and ...
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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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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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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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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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Air Canada rings up the costs of strike
Its pilot strike may push Air Canada temporarily into the red, but analysts differ over how much that will hurt the carrier's long-term strength. Air Canada's two-year settlement involved a 4% pay raise this year retroactive to April, a 5% raise next year plus stock options, pension enhancements and ...
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Deluge of troubles flood Peru
Peruvian aviation was never for the fainthearted, but its current turmoil is volatile even by Lima's standards. The chief executive of bankrupt local carrier Faucett Peru is the apparent victim of a behind-the-scenes power struggle even with his airline in receivership. A new law allowing foreign carriers to operate domestic ...
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FLEETS
Long commitment The world's fourth-largest regional airline, Comair, has signed a 10-year agreement with Bombardier to acquire 50 more CRJs, comprising 30 CRJ-200s and 20 CRJ-700s. The deal includes a further 115 options. Wayout west America West has taken delivery of two more Airbus A320s, ...
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Regional jets prompt runway campaigns
The regional jet phenomenon is prompting some small US airports to campaign for funds to extend their runways so that they do not find themselves left out in the cold. Managers at Salisbury-Wicomico County Regional Airport in Maryland are the latest to have grown nervous over their inability to ...
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End of the road for Southern
Having failed to find a rescuer, Southern Air Transport (SAT) ceased operations at the end of September. The US cargo carrier, which had operated for more than 50 years, was largely hampered by its fleet of Lockheed L-100 Hercules, which left it as an oddball in today's freighter market and ...
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Indian Airlines raises fares
Burdened with a depreciating rupee and rising operating costs, Indian Airlines has again hiked its fares, this time by just over 11%. The latest rise, which took effect at the start of October, is the tenth since 1990 and comes less than a year after the airline last announced a ...
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as sell-off row surfaces
India's mercurial foreign ownership rules are again causing controversy, with an apparent split between ministries over whether airline partners will be allowed to buy shares in either Air-India or Indian Airlines as they come up for privatisation. Civil aviation minister Ananth Kumar plans strict enforcement of the domestic aviation ...
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Japanese react to recession
Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways are both accelerating plans to restructure in response to falling yields. As the two carriers prepared to announce first-half results at the end of October, neither was expecting to hit previous forecasts. "Japan's recession is JAL's fundamental problem," says Isao Kaneko, the ...
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Sun Air seeks a listing
A second South African carrier, Sun Air, is planning to seek a listing on the Johannesburg stock exchange. Comair, which operates under a franchise agreement with British Airways, listed in July and Sun Air now plans to follow suit in around 2000. Managing director Johan Borstlap says that he ...
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Taiwan and China edge closer
The prospect of direct flights between Taiwan and China suddenly looks brighter. Prior predictions have all proven wrong, but now there are signs that such flights could follow a warming in relations. First, there have been recent breakthroughs in shipping. Taipei has previously said that shipping could be a ...
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World economic outlook is bleak
There was no disguising the universal gloom as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued its latest World Economic Outlook report - regarded by economists around the world as the most authoritative of international economic projections. Even the USA, which has enjoyed seven years of unprecedented growth, now looks close ...
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Current outlook
There are still some glimmers despite the gloom, it seems. Although there is little doubt that the world is poised for downturn, the latest projections coming out for the airline industry, if not exactly buoyant, are at least cautiously optimistic. The new passenger forecasts from the International Air Transport ...
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Balkan and Malev face sale
The Bulgarian Government is on the verge of selling a controlling stake in its national carrier, Balkan Bulgarian. The buyer is a locally based consortium, calling itself Balkan Air, made up of management, local financiers and a US institutional investor. The original offer is understood to be a straight ...