Networks – Page 1100
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Boeing's third milestone
Boeing was planning to deliver the last MD-80 series twinjet from Long Beach, California, on 21 December, marking the third major milestone in as many weeks for the company's narrowbodied aircraft. The final MD-83 is the 1,191st in the -80 series, and the last of 26 aircraft delivered to ...
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Merpati considers help from SIA
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Singapore Airlines (SIA) may be called in to act as management consultant to troubled Indonesian carrier Merpati Nusantara, according to the Indonesian Government. "It is possible that SIA may co-operate with Merpati," says Indonesian communications minister Agum Gumelar, who ruled out a rumoured similar tie-up with ...
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CF34-8C1 approval
General Electric has received US Federal Aviation Administration certification for the CF34-8C1, marking the end of a three-year test effort. The engine is in flight test on 70-seat Bombardier's Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) 700, for which it is rated at 56.4kN (12,679lb) and 61.3kN at maximum take-off auxiliary power reserve ...
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Russia plans manual Y2K override
Alex Velovich/MOSCOW Russia's Federal Service of Air Transport (FSVT) will have extra staff on 31 December/1January to take over air traffic control and other procedures manually if necessary, says FSVT director Vladimir Andreyev. Although the FSVT is predicting a smooth Y2K transition for Russian commercial aviation, only half of ...
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Where to build
Vital decisions have yet to be made on A3XX assembly Andrew Doyle/HAMBURG Julian Moxon/TOULOUSE The location for final assembly of the A3XX remains the only major technical decision for the consortium following the 8 December decision to go ahead with a limited commercial offer to the airlines. The original ...
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Settling in
The problems that have plagued Hong Kong's new Chek Lap Kok Airport are being resolved Andrzej Jeziorski/HONG KONGThe new Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has been surrounded by controversy from the outset. A disastrous opening period, high airport charges, slow traffic growth and simmering worries about weather phenomena have threatened ...
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Family rivalry
For decades, Cathay Pacific has dominated the skies over Hong Kong, unchallenged by local airline competition. That could soon change Andrzej Jeziorski/HONG KONG Hong Kong's skies are still clearly divided as far as the region's indigenous airlines are concerned and are dominated by well-established long-haul giant Cathay Pacific Airways. Cathay ...
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Boeing's big question
Is now the right time for the Seattle manufacturer to go ahead with a larger, heavily modified 747 family? Guy Norris/SEATTLE Decision time is looming again in Seattle. The future of the 747 and, with it, Boeing's dominance of the high-capacity long-range market, rests on whether the company commits ...
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Qantas ultra-long-haul request sets up fresh Airbus-Boeing challenge
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Qantas Airways has issued a fresh request for proposals (RFP) reviving its long-standing requirement for a family of long-range, ultra-long-haul 300-seat aircraft to expand capacity and begin replacing Boeing 747SP/-200/-300s and 767-200ERs. The Australian carrier is using the RFP to determine whether the economics are ...
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SAS board approves A330/A340 purchase
The SAS board has finally approved the Scandinavian flag carrier's long-awaited purchase of four A330-300s and six A340-300s to replace Boeing 767-300ERs on long-haul routes. The airline's selection of the Airbus types over the rival 777-200ER was revealed by Flight International in January, although the order was delayed until internal ...
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Forecasts for 2000 - Airlines
Global alliance-forming is nearing its endgame Chris Jasper/LONDON The dominant trend in the airline industry in 1999 was the continuing expansion of global alliances, taking place against a background of varying financial performance: the USA faring well, Asia beginning to recover from its slump, but Europe suffering a ...
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Atlanta becomes all-widebody and sets its sights on 767s
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Air Atlanta Icelandic is phasing out its narrowbodies and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar fleet and focusing on an all-widebody fleet of Boeing 747s and 767s. The Reykjavik, Iceland-based wet-lease specialist recently signed agreements to take five more 747s on lease, bringing its 747 fleet to 11 aircraft. ...
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Routes
Virgin Atlantic has signed a codeshare agreement with Air India that will see the UK airline operating three frequencies a week between London Heathrow and New Delhi from next summer, using Boeing 747s. Virgin will take up Air India's unused frequency rights, and intends to double flights to six a ...
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JetBlue ready as first A320
New York-based low-fare startup JetBlue Airways has taken delivery of the first of at least 32 International Aero Engines V2500-powered Airbus A320s. The airline has received one of seven aircraft to be taken on operating lease - two from Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise and five from International Lease Finance - ...
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Crossair gears up for ATM-2000+
Andrew Doyle/SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS Crossair aims to become the first regional airline to have aircraft compliant with Europe's future communications, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) operating environment when it begins taking delivery of a fleet of 15 Embraer ERJ-145s in February. The carrier says it decided ...
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US political pressure forces El Al to delay Airbus and R-R plans
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV El Al has firmed up its planned purchase of three Boeing 777s, but its acquisition of up to four Airbus A330s is still in the balance amid a tense row between the airline's management and Israel's minister of transport. The airline is also understood to have ...
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Next-generation datalink held up
Efforts by the US Federal Aviation Administration to develop and deploy the next-generation digital air-to-ground communications system could be delayed by budget cuts, US aviation agency officials have warned. For now, controller pilot datalink communications (CPDLC), a key element of the FAA's "free flight" programme, remains on track despite ...
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Libyan carriers to discuss division of domestic market
Andrew Chuter/TRIPOLI Libyan Arab Airlines will hold talks with Air Jamahiriya next year over a possible division of Libya's domestic market between the two carriers. The Libyan Government lifted operating restrictions on Air Jamahiriya, formerly the Light Air Company, earlier this year, giving it permission to operate domestic ...
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Ex-SAA boss launches charter airline from Johannesburg
Hilka Birns/JOHANNESBURG Former South African Airways boss Mike Myburgh has launched a South African charter airline that plans to fly to Israel, Mecca and the Bahamas. SA Non-Scheduled Airlines, which has a South African charter licence, will operate from Johannesburg International Airport with a Boeing 707 and 737, ...
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New PETAL partners will join in 2001
Swissair, Northwest Airlines and Honeywell (formerly AlliedSignal) are to join Europe's Preliminary Eurocontrol Test of Air/Ground Data Link (PETAL II) programme in 2001. PETAL II is Europe's groundbreaking validation of air-ground data links in operational air traffic control. The three-phase programme involves air traffic controllers and aircraft crew communicating ...