News from FlightGlobal – Page 2276

  • News

    Aer Lingus wet-leases MD-11 to boost summer capacity

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

     Aer Lingus has introduced a Boeing MD-11 on a six-month wet-lease from World Airways. The tri-jet is being used to supplement the airline's long haul fleet of Airbus A330-300s on transatlantic services during its 1998 summer season. It will be used mainly on services from Ireland to New York ...

  • News

    Lufthansa looks at cargo version of Tu-204

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Sirocco Aerospace demonstrated the Rolls-Royce RB211-powered Tupolev Tu-204-120C to Lufthansa in early June as a potential medium haul freighter for the airline's cargo division. Lufthansa is the technical advisor to the Sirocco programme, but wanted to check the freighter version's capacity to load/unload the containers and pallets used by ...

  • News

    Marketplace

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    -Air Macau is subleasing an Airbus A320 and five crews to TAP Air Portugal for six months during the period of the Lisbon Expo. The airline, in which TAP holds a 25% stake, has been suffering from falling demand on some Asian routes. -US Airways has accelerated deliveries of its ...

  • News

    Qantas picks RB211 power for 747-400s

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Qantas has selected the improved Rolls-Royce RB211-524GT turbofan for its three recently ordered Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft, clearing the way for a decision on a powerplant retrofit to the Australian carrier's 18 747-400s. The airline opted for the R-R engine after a competition involving the General Electric CF6-80C2 and ...

  • News

    Routes

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    -Iberia and Royal Air Maroc have signed a code-sharing agreement. -Swissair has added four new destinations to its route network, with the introduction of scheduled services from Zurich to Malabo (once weekly) and Skopje (four flights a week), as well as daily flights to Bologna and Venice in co-operation with ...

  • News

    Workshop

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    -Gulf Aircraft Maintenance (GAMCO) and Pratt & Whitney Eagle Services have signed a memorandum of understanding to "-further define business arrangements" to incorporate GAMCO into its global engine support operation. -Rotables management specialist Arinmar has signed a three-year agreement with British Aerospace RegionalAircraft to manage the repair and overhaul of ...

  • News

    Xian signs Y-7 deals with five Chinese domestic airlines

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Xian Aircraft (XAC) has signed initial sales agreements with five domestic airlines for 11 Y-7-200A passenger aircraft, following recent Chinese airworthiness certification of the improved twin-turboprop development. China's Changan Airlines, Guizhou Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Swan Airlines, and Zhongyuan Airlines have each signed letters of intent to take two to ...

  • News

    Airline comeback disguises Asian crisis

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Kevin O'Toole/LONDON Airline profits rebounded strongly to near record levels last year, says the International Air Transport Association (IATA),but director general Pierre Jeanniot again warns that margins remain too low and that the headline figures disguise the crisis still unfolding in Asia. The detailed figures, issued in the ...

  • News

    Thai puts aircraft deliveries on hold as financial woes bite

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Thai Airways International has been forced to place on hold the delivery of seven new Airbus and Boeing aircraft as it struggles to secure $700 million in financing. At the same time, the state-owned carrier has moved a step closer to partial privatisation with Thai Government approval for ...

  • News

    Ailing Tigers

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Anyone still nursing hopes that the Asian downturn would prove to be a short, albeit sharp, shock to the region's once buoyant airline industry, will have struggled to retain their optimism in the face of the extraordinary news pouring out over the past fortnight. Perhaps most ominous was the ...

  • News

    Ageing airliner census 1998

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    SUPERSONIC Aerospatiale/BAe (BAC) Concorde Of the 20 Concordes built, 14 were delivered to Air France and British Airways between 1975 and 1980, and 13 remain in service. The remaining six aircraft - two prototypes, two pre-production aircraft and two production aircraft - were used for testing and not ...

  • News

    IATA approves millennium bug plan

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which estimates that the so-called "millennium bug" will cost the airline industry $1.6 billion, has won approval from airlines for a plan to ensure that airlines, airports, air traffic control providers and manufacturers work together to minimise the effect of ...

  • News

    Crisis spreads to China as airlines make losses

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    The Asian economic downturn has begun to have an impact on the Chinese air transport industry, with the country's 11 largest carriers announcing for the first time a collective loss of ¥1.7 billion ($206 million) in the opening quarter of the financial year. According to the state-run China ...

  • News

    GPA plans to shed GE Capital

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Kevin O'Toole/LONDON GPA could re-emerge from the shadow of GE Capital, with plans to buy out of the agreements signed five years ago when the US finance giant stepped in to rescue the Irish leasing company from near collapse. A memorandum of understanding has been agreed between the ...

  • News

    EGPWS move leads Korean Air safety drive

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Korean Air (KAL) is to begin fitting its entire fleet with enhanced ground proximity warning systems (EGPWS), starting in July with the delivery of new Airbus Industrie A330-200/300s and Boeing 777-200/300s. The airline warns, however, that some of its future widebody deliveries may be delayed because of the economic ...

  • News

    Star Alliance members join forces for spare parts pact

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Air Canada, Lufthansa and United Airlines, three founder members of the Star Alliance, have joined forces to buy and sell aircraft materials in the secondary spare parts market. The new joint venture company, AirLiance Materials, is expected to start operations later this year. It has appointed David Sisson as ...

  • News

    PAL fights for survival as pilots are sacked and flights slashed

    1998-06-17T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Philippine Airlines (PAL) is drawing up survival plans for a massive shrinkage of its international and domestic operations, after sacking 600 pilots involved in a week-long strike that has brought the national carrier close to financial ruin. Pilots were protesting over plans to force redundancies among older ...

  • News

    Boeing direct

    1998-06-10T16:40:00Z

    Boeing and freight carrier UPS have expanded their spare parts delivery service to cover all Boeing's distribution centres. The service was launched in 1996 and previously covered only Seattle and Atlanta - now to be joined by Beijing, London and Singapore. Boeing says the move will allow airlines to reduce ...

  • News

    717 faces new problems before planned September flight

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing revealed several last minute aircraft and engine modifications to the 717-200 regional aircraft on the eve of its planned roll-out on 10 June. Despite the problems, the company still hopes to achieve a first flight for the aircraft in early September, according to programme manager ...

  • News

    757-300 prepared for flight test

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/SEATTLE The first Boeing 757-300 is being prepared for flight testing, provisionally scheduled to begin with a maiden flight on 1 July, following the roll-out ceremony at the company's Renton site on 31 May. Three 757-300s are due to take part in the test effort, which is ...