News from FlightGlobal – Page 2236
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News
Pension problems threaten to delay SAA sell-off
Lufthansa chairman and chief executive Jürgen Weber says that the privatisation of South African Airways (SAA) is unlikely to take place before next year. Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines (SIA) are seen as front runners to take a 20-35% stake in the South African flag carrier, which was expected to ...
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SAirGroup buys 49% of LTU and eyes full access to EU market
Andrew Doyle/DÜSSELDORF SAirGroup has finally completed its long-awaited acquisition of a 49.9% stake in German tour operator LTU as the latest step in its plans for a major expansion of its operations in the European leisure travel market. The deal comes as senior executives at the Swissair parent are expressing ...
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Winnipeg consortium launches Canada's first scheduled cargo operation
Canada's first scheduled widebody cargo flights are being launched by Winnport Logistics, a consortium of 43 transportation companies. The Winnipeg, Manitoba-based consortium has leased a Boeing 747 freighter from Evergreen International Airlines, and will operate three flights a week between Winnipeg and the Chinese cities of Nanjing and Shenzhen. ...
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BA realigns fleet after pre-tax profits fall
British Airways is reacting to disappointing first half results and an impending economic downturn by realigning its fleet and route network. Pre-tax profits for the airline dropped 10.5% to £385 million ($639 million) for the first six months to 30 September as a downturn in the world economy and ...
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EVA offers to take control of Myanmar
Taiwan-based EVA Airways has made a provisional proposal to take a controlling stake in loss-making Myanmar Airways International (MAI). EVA says it could provide the manpower and expertise which Yangon-based MAI lacks, and support the cost of expanded operations. EVA believes there is strong potential for growth in the ...
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Common theme
Graham Warwick WASHINGTON DC Can airlines agree to buy a standard aircraft, in the hope of reducing costs, or will each continue to demand hundreds of custom changes that set its aircraft apart from any other carrier's? That is the question facing an airline task force which is to ...
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Order boost for Italy's General Avia
The Italian Aero Club has ordered 12 single-engined General Avia F.22B Piguinos for basic training and 3 F.22Cs for instrument flight rules (IFR) training. Deliveries will run from April 1999 to the end of the year. Designed by Stelio Frati, the F.22B has fixed gear and a 160hp (120kW) Textron ...
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Airbus may ditch A3XX thrust reversers to slow down costs
Andrew Doyle/LONDON Airbus Industrie is discussing with airlines a plan to remove the thrust reversers from its A3XX ultra-high capacity airliner design as part of efforts to further reduce the aircraft's direct operating costs. Airlines have generally reacted favourably towards the idea of dropping the system from the outboard engines ...
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Cathay's effort to revive PAL earns approval from receiver
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE A conditional offer by Cathay Pacific to invest up to $100 million in debt-ridden Philippine Airlines (PAL) has been accepted by PAL's interim rehabilitation receiver committee. The two airlines say they will jointly draft a "rehabilitation plan" for PAL, to be submitted to the Philippines Securities ...
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A330s head for Brazil after currency hiccup
Joe Sims/MIAMI TAM expects to take delivery of its first two Airbus A330s by the end of the month after a delay of over a month caused by a currency crisis in Brazil. The carrier, based in Sao Paulo, had been due to receive its first of five Pratt & ...
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Tupolev carries on with cryogenic fuel research
Tupolev is continuing research on cryogenic fuel tanks for its Tu-204 and Tu-334 twinjet airliners. It is also researching an innovative design of a twin-turboprop Tu-136 transport, with the layout determined by cryogenic fuel considerations. It is planned to conduct aerodynamic tests of the Tu-136 model in the TsAGI ...
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Airports
-The long-awaited start of construction of the Guangzhou New Airport in China has moved closer with the award of the initial design contract for the passenger terminal to Parsons Greiner of the USA. The deal, worth about $10 million, represents one of the first significant contracts to be awarded since ...
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British Midland goes regional with ERJ-145s
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON British Midland (BM) has confirmed its expected move into regional jet operations, with a $200 million order for up to 15 Embraer RJ-145s. The airline, however, has not yet finalised its fleet plans for long haul aircraft, but has held delivery positions with Airbus Industrie and Boeing ...
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First Tu-204s delivered to Air Cairo
New Egyptian carrier Air Cairo became the first airline to take delivery of the RB211-535E4-powered Tupolev Tu-204-120 on 2 November. Two aircraft were delivered to Cairo - one passenger model and one freighter - at the start of a seven-year lease. They are the first new generation Russian aircraft ...
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China Airlines shares will go on the market
Taiwan's state-controlled China Aviation Development Foundation (CADF) has approved the proposed sale of half of its 71% majority stake in China Airlines (CAL) to yet to be identified local or foreign investors. CADF plans to reduce its holding in CAL to 35.5%, as part of a move to revamp ...
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GB Airways follows BA with A320 family deal
GB Airways has followed the lead of its franchise partner, British Airways, and decided to drop its Boeing 737 fleet in favour of the Airbus A320 family, with a deal for up to 14 aircraft. The airline, which operates franchise flights for BA to North Africa and the western ...
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Equity purchase puts Texas Pacific in GPA driving seat
GPA shareholders have approved an equity purchase which looks set to put US group Texas Pacific in control of the Irish leasing company. If, by the closing date of 19 November, there has been no valid objection to the deal, Texas Pacific will own 62.63% of the Shannon, Ireland-based company's ...
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Marketplace
-Debonair has signed a lease purchase agreement with Air Atlantic parent IMP for the acquisition of three British Aerospace 146-200s, which have become available following the closure of the Canadian regional carrier. The first aircraft will arrive at the end of this month, with the second following in December and ...
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Boeing's Mulally details 'better plan' for profits
Andrew Doyle/SEATTLE New Boeing Commercial Airplanes president, Alan Mulally, has pledged to get the manufacturer's troubled airliner production lines back on track within the next 12 months as part of what he calls his "better plan" for restoring the company's flagging profitability. Mulally, brought in to replace Ron Woodard, ...
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Raisbeck installs Stage 3 mixer for 727 tests
Raisbeck Commercial Air Group has begun flight tests of a Boeing 727-200 fitted with newly developed engine tailpipe forced mixers. The tests are aimed at achieving certification of the company's heavy gross weight (HGW) Stage 3 system by March 1999. The US company says the tests are attracting "serious ...