All Systems & Interiors news – Page 929
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China's DFH struggles into GEO
CHINA'S FIRST three-axis-stabilised, advanced, indigenous, 24 C-band communications satellite, the DFH 3, has finally reached geostationary orbit (GEO). A navigation malfunction had left it stranded in a lower transfer orbit ever since its launch aboard a Long March 3A on 30 November (Flight International, 7-13 December, 1994). ...
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BE Aerospace posts third-quarter loss
BE AEROSPACE (BEA) sank to a loss in its third quarter, after writing off nearly $24 million against in-flight entertainment products outdated through the success of the group's MDDS interactive systems. The group had warned earlier that a charge would be made, but had not revealed the scale. ...
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The numbers game
For the first time in decades, there is an argument over which company sold the most new airliners in 1994. At headline level the dispute is, of course, irrelevant in a business whose time-scales are so long. Underneath, however, the fact that there is an argument at all, suggests that ...
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Duty times are no threat
Sir - In "Duty bound" (Flight International, 14-20 December, 1994, P32) you say that "...IFALPA [International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations] is convinced that the proposed European rules are dangerous". It is a nonsense for pilot unions to pretend to be prepared to leave decisions to the Aeromedical ...
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A question of scale
Will big also be beautiful, as consolidation creates American aerospace giants? Kevin O'Toole/LONDON Revolutions, it seems, can often start from surprisingly low-key beginnings. In the case of the Lockheed Martin merger, it began with a telephone call. In March 1994, Lockheed chairman Dan Tellep rang ...
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Smoother operations
NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle landing runway has been modified to reduce launch delays Tim Furniss/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER Space Shuttle launch delays may be reduced by more than 50% because of extensive modifications to the 4,570m (15,000ft)-long grooved-concrete runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) ...
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Canadian safety chiefs query airline checks
Jim Bagnall/OTTAWA CANADA'S Transportation Safety Board has criticised Transport Canada for failing to ensure that safety deficiencies it had uncovered during routine airline audits were actually fixed. In a report to transport minister, Doug Young, the Board notes that it has investigated 19 aircraft accidents since 1984, ...
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Venom's vital parts
GEC and Bell have upgraded the AH-1W SuperCobra and renamed it the Venom for the British Army's attack-helicopter competition. Peter Gray/ROCHESTER I "flew" the GEC-Marconi Avionics Venom simulator at the company's plant at Rochester, in the UK. This fixed-base device has two cockpits set up ...
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Heathrow hopes for 80 million passengers
LONDON HEATHROW airport is gearing up for a 60% passenger-traffic increase as its owner BAA fires the first shots in the political war for clearance to build a fifth terminal (T5). The public inquiry into the case for T5 starts in May. If BAA's case is defeated, ...
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JAST Avionics Agreement
The US Department of Defense has selected a team, led by Texas Instruments, to begin development of advanced avionics for the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) programme. Texas Instruments, along with Honeywell, Litton Amecom and TRW, received $2.5 million to analyse and define avionics systems for future JAST vehicles. The ...
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Suppliers
The MD-90 has received US certification from the Federal Aviation Administration. Rolls-Royce has agreed to buy Allison Engine Company for $525 million. Boeing will hold current prices on spares until mid-1996. Airbus Industrie has frozen the price of spare parts at 1994 prices for 1995 orders. ...
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New year, new partners
The alliance structure of Europe's carriers is set for a dramatic reshuffle in 1995. Lufthansa appears to have succeeded in disrupting the European Quality Alliance of Swissair, Austrian and SAS. As SAS prepares to leave the EQA, the effects are likely to spread throughout the European airline industry. ...
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Coded warnings
Aeropolitics The industry should be sending clear signals to the US government to leave codesharing alone. Michael F Goldman argues the case for its deregulation. Codesharing policy is taking centre stage again. In early December both the US Department of Transport ation's outside consultants and the General Accounting Office ...
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Paperless journey
The increase in self ticketing and ticketless air travel will cut the costs of distribution and bring a much needed reduction in airline operating costs. By Jane L Levere. A distribution revolution that began quietly in the United States late last summer could ultimately yield wide-ranging cost savings for ...
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US drives in Euro wedge
The US offer of open skies dialogue to nine European states has not only highlighted the European Commission's inability to obtain a mandate from EU member states to negotiate external aviation agreements, but is also attracting interest from other countries. The European countries that expressed initial interest in ...
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Qantas floats on and on
Qantas' drawn out privatisation process has been hit by further setbacks which threaten both the potential value and the timing of the public share issue. The main blow comes in a ruling which bars the Australian flag from pooling resources and setting prices with alliance partner British Airways ...
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Europe ready to travel Lite
While SAS and Lufthansa test the concept of ticketless travel, upstart Euro Belgian Airlines Express is doing it for real and Swissair is working on a paperless 'Lite' carrier. Offering one-class service, low fares, and a simplified booking/check-in, EBA Express began scheduled services in November from Brussels to ...
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US regionals pay the price
US regionals face sharp cost rises if new safety rules come into effect. The Federal Aviation Administration is overhauling the rules governing US commuter operators in response to recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board. The recommendations made in mid-November mean that aircraft with 20 or more passenger ...