All Safety News – Page 1293

  • News

    Boeing defines 747-400X

    1998-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Paul Lewis/SEATTLE Almost 18 months after cancelling the 747-500X/ 600X programmes, Boeing has finally settled on a firm design configuration for the next version of the 747-400, which could be in service in less than three years. The long awaited move increases the maximum take-off ...

  • News

    Dassault Electronique prepares to rival AlliedSignal's EGPWS

    1998-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Ian Sheppard/LONDON Despite delaying certification of its ground collision avoidance system (GCAS) until September, Dassault Electronique is still confident that the system will head off AlliedSignal's market domination with the enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS). The French company, now allied to Thomson-CSF, is flying the GCAS on ...

  • News

    Cerberus upbeat on fire detection

    1998-06-03T00:00:00Z

    Cerberus Guinard is confident it can still increase its share of the fire detection market, bolstered by recent safety legislation, despite losing the contract for the Boeing Next Generation 737 to Kidde Technologies. The French company claims that, although its system is more modern, the fact that Kidde could ...

  • News

    China seeks foreign cash

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    David Knibb Zhu Rongji may be starting cautiously as China's new premier, but his pro-market plans are clearly visible in recent aviation initiatives. Beijing is cutting its own spending as the Civil Aviation Administration of China considers whether to allow more foreign capital in airlines and how to attract ...

  • News

    Delta ties knot at last

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    Karen Walker To the relief of its new chief executive officer, Delta Air Lines has joined the US matchmaking game. But the planned strategic alliance with United Airlines has union and governmental hurdles ahead. The two airlines confirmed their alliance plans on 30 April. The pair say they will ...

  • News

    Taca lays into US open skies deals

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    Karen Walker Pop! That's the sound of Central American carriers reacting to the open skies agreements they were applauding just a few months ago, but which they now regard as black clouds that have opened the floodgates to US competition and left local airlines with little shelter. The bubble ...

  • News

    Who's ready for a cosy threesome?

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    And then there were three. If things work out as planned - and that's a big 'if' - over 80 per cent of the US airline industry will be in the hands of three alliance groups. Globally, the situation is less clear-cut, but the industry is moving in the same ...

  • News

    How does your airline grow?

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    Tom Barkin and Todd Morgan With most airlines failing to deliver satisfactory shareholder returns over the full business cycle, it is essential to look beyond the core business for profitable growth. But seeking out and exploiting the best opportunities is not easy. Airlines need to combine their unique capabilities or ...

  • News

    Indian policy starts afresh

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    Ravi Prasad The appointment of a new Indian civil aviation minister, Ananth Kumar, is translating into a fresh outlook for Indian aviation policy. The minister is scrutinising recommendations made by an expert group, headed by a senior civil aviation ministry official, to reassess India's aviation sector. Kumar promises ...

  • News

    Will sun rise in Japan?

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    David Knibb After a bad year for all three major Japanese airlines, the debate is now whether their woes are temporary or due to deeper, more fundamental problems. Japan Airlines claims to have resolved its problems and cleaned up its balance sheet by taking a US$1.2 billion write down. ...

  • News

    Korea opens up its skies

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    David Knibb Both Koreas have taken strides towards liberalisation as South Korea agrees to an open skies bilateral with the US and North Korea allows regular commercial overflights. The South Korea-US bilateral was sealed in late April, after three rounds of tough negotiations in which Seoul successfully held out ...

  • News

    Peru opens skies first

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    Peru has leapfrogged past Chile in its open skies negotiations and agreed to a deal that phases in liberalisation over four years. The open skies agreement was initialled on 9 May but not made public by presstime. The deal follows the pattern of recent treaties signed with Japan and ...

  • News

    Ryanair passes go in Europe

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    Tom Gill With soaring profits, share price and traffic, Europe's largest and longest established low-cost airline may yet achieve its ambition to be the Southwest of Europe. But as it strives to continue its profitable growth path Ryanair can expect to cross swords with the new British Airways ...

  • News

    Lufthansa to fight EC plan

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    Tom Gill Lufthansa is threatening legal action against the European Commission if it proceeds with plans to force it to relinquish slots at Frankfurt. Lufthansa is prepared to proceed to legal action in the EuropeanUnion Court of Justice if necessary, it declares. The German flag carrier's comments came ...

  • News

    Time to climb?

    1998-06-01T00:00:00Z

    Karen Walker From the bottom of the pile, life offers a different perspective. While most US airlines have returned to profitability in the 1990s, the financial haemorrhage at Trans World Airlines has continued. So management was encouraged to note, after announcing 1998's first quarter results, that the words 'beleaguered' ...

  • News

    Cargo L-610

    1998-05-27T15:14:00Z

    Czech manufacturer Let, soon to be acquired by Ayres of the USA, has begun design work on a cargo version of the L-610G regional turboprop. Ayres sees a market for the aircraft in Europe as an express-package feeder, with FedEx a target customer. Ayres says the 40-seat L-610G will be ...

  • News

    British Midland V2500 fails after only 150h

    1998-05-27T00:00:00Z

    Ian Sheppard/LONDON An International Aero Engines (IAE) V2500-powered Airbus A321-200 operated by British Midland (BM) suffered an in-flight engine failure on 15 May shortly after departure from Heathrow Airport. The 147kN (33,000lb)-thrust V2533-A5 powered aircraft had been in service only 20 days and had flown around 150h with the UK ...

  • News

    Boeing warns on China hopes

    1998-05-27T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis/BEIJING Boeing is sounding a warning that earlier expectations of a large new order for aircraft from China in June could be affected by a marked slowdown in local airline traffic growth and the knock-on effects from Asia's wider economic difficulties. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) ...

  • News

    Lufthansa eyes 747-400 freighter

    1998-05-27T00:00:00Z

    Shahe Ouzounian/FRANKFURT Lufthansa Cargo says it will need to replace its fleet of Boeing 747-200Fs early in the next decade, with the 747-400 freighter the prime candidate, even though the German operator considers the aircraft "too expensive". Wilhelm Althen, chairman of the executive board, says that its fleet ...

  • News

    Marketplace

    1998-05-27T00:00:00Z

    -Augsburg Airways has placed orders for six additional Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8s, including two series 200s and four larger series 300s, and taken options on a further seven aircraft. The order represents the ratification and expansion of a deal originally reached in November 1997 for three aircraft. The options ...