All Systems & Interiors news – Page 836
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News
Airborne golf buggy sought Down Under
Is there a helicopter specifically designed or modified to fly golfers around a Pacific island 18-hole golf-course? Australian golf executive Stephen Allen has scoured the aviation press for several months and has yet to find the answer to his dreams. "Our clients have opened a new ...
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Bell plans 427 flight by year-end
Bell Helicopter Textron says the first flight of its newest aircraft, the 427, is likely to take place before the end of the year. In the 18 months since Bell announced the development of the 427, the order book has swelled by more than 65 firm orders. The ...
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Systems maker surveys scene
Universal Avionics Systems Corporation is making a pioneering appearance in Dubai to "test the water" for its family of UNS-1 flight management systems, says Rolf Bickel, the Arizona-based company's international marketing director. Each of the systems includes an integral 12-channel GPS receiver and allows seamless operation throughout all ...
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Support in Gulf for FAA safety initiative
Karen Walker Senior US Federal Aviation Administration officials are in Dubai this week hoping to garner interest from Gulf aviation officials in a major demonstration programme that aims to improve civil aviation safety and efficiency. Flight 2000 will be a joint FAA and US industry effort ...
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China Northwest takes first single-aisle
The first of ten Airbus A320s for China Northwest Airlines was handed over to the airline in Toulouse on 6 November. The airline's A320 fleet will be powered by CFM International CFM56-5B4s, and configured to seat 158 passengers in a two-class layout. China Northwest Airlines, which is based in Xian, ...
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CityLine ponders Avro RJ future
Lufthansa CityLine is to make a decision by the middle of 1998 on whether to keep its fleet of Avro RJ85s in service after buying new 70-seat regional jets. The company says that fuel and maintenance costs for the Avros are high because of their four engines, and ...
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Fiji International is prepared for January launch
Start-up carrier Fiji International Airways has reached agreement with London Stansted Airport to begin scheduled flights from Nadi, in Fiji, Mumbai, in India, and Singapore from early January 1998. The airline will operate Boeing 747-300s. The carrier originally intended to launch services to Manchester in the UK, but ...
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Qantas asks Boeing to produce three long-range 747-400IGWs
Qantas has asked Boeing to build and certify its three newly ordered 747-400s to an increased-gross-weight (IGW) specification, to allow the Australian carrier to overcome payload-range restrictions to Europe and the USA. It is pressing the Seattle-based manufacturer to commit to a -400 growth derivative, with a maximum ...
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US airlines continue to surge
The major US airlines again surprised the markets with another record round of profits for the third quarter, including encouraging result from troubled Trans World Airlines, which now promises it has enough cash to carry it through the winter season. There had been speculation that the unprecedented run ...
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Growing pain
It is tempting, almost, to feel sorry for the world's airlines. Just as they were beginning to enjoy credible profits and sustained traffic growth, they find themselves staring at a near-term future in which their own growth threatens disaster. Any twinge of sympathy, however, is killed by the ...
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Passengers on the rack
If airlines and aircraft manufacturers were to characterise just one physical property of aeroplanes as the ultimate enemy, it would be weight. Weight increases drag and fuel consumption and reduces payload, so carriers and builders fight all the time to reduce it without sacrificing friendly properties such as strength, durability ...
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Bombardier finalises pilot-training deal
Bombardier has signed a 20-year, C$2.8 billion ($2 billion) contract to provide pilot training for the Canadian Forces, under its privately financed NATO Flying Training in Canada programme. Negotiations continue with Denmark, Norway and the UK to join the programme. The Canadian company will arrange capital financing to ...
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Regional-aircraft risks
November 3 should have been a defining date for regional-jet manufacturers. Most feared that Boeing would announce plans to develop an 80-seat derivative of the MD-95 as part of a wider declaration on the future of the aircraft it had acquired with the purchase of McDonnell Douglas. In the event, ...
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AB Airlines takes AIM for expansion funds
AB Airlines is planning a listing on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) early in 1998 to fund an expansion of its network and fleet renewal. The Stansted, UK-based airline is negotiating the acquisition of four new Boeing 737-300s, configured with two-class cabins, in January 1998 to replace its ...
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BA nears low-fares decision and re-equips regional unit
British Airways is expected to finalise plans before the end of the year to launch a European low-fare operation at London Stansted, using Boeing 737-300s. At the same time, the airline has begun an interim replacement of its BA Regional 737-200s. Earlier this year, BA commissioned the UK-based ...
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Europe considers new cabin-crew standards
Cabin-crew basic training standards may be unified across Europe, with staff issued with certificates of "professional competence", if a proposed new directive is approved within the European Union (EU). The new concept, being mooted within the European Parliament, would require states to approve training organisations, their courses and ...
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Thailand's PB Air is ready for 1998 launch date
Thai start-up operator PB Air is planning to launch its first charter/scheduled domestic service in 1998, initially using a recently acquired Fairchild Dornier 328 30-seat turboprop. The 12-month-old carrier hopes to fly daily from Bangkok to Hattyai via Chumporn Airport in southern Thailand, says PB Air chief pilot ...
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Discount airlines gain access to congested US airports
Five US low-fare airlines have been given permission to begin serving slot-controlled Chicago O'Hare International Airport and New York's La Guardia Airport, marking a first victory for the sector in its battle against the major network carriers. The permissions, granted by the US Department of Transportation (DoT), are ...
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Sabena springs surprise by taking City Bird stake
Sabena has taken a stake in Belgium start-up City Bird, adding a surprise twist to the low-cost carrier's flotation, and the airlines have unveiled a co-operation deal to cover new long-haul services. The listing had been delayed as news of the deal was released, but went ahead on 30 October, ...
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Too big a crowd
The withdrawal of first British Aerospace and then Saab from regional-turboprop manufacture does not signal the collapse of the sub-40-seater market so much as confirm that this market is changing rapidly into one for small jet airliners. It is also a market in which, no matter how buoyant the passenger ...