News from FlightGlobal – Page 2312
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News
Boeing agrees SAA's swap of 777 orders for 747 whitetails
Hilka Birns/CAPE TOWN South African Airways (SAA) has agreed with Boeing to swap its outstanding orders and options for up to seven 777s for two whitetail 747-400s originally built for Philippines Airlines. Two General Electric CF6-80C2-powered 747-400s were delivered at the end of 1998 after nearly three years ...
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SIA abandons plan to buy stake in China Airlines
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Singapore Airlines (SIA) has abandoned plans to buy a stake in Taiwan-based China Airlines (CAL), ending proposals for a strategic tie-up, including codesharing, frequent flyer links and lounge sharing. In August 1998, SIA announced a memorandum of understanding with CAL, covering a wide-ranging alliance, with SIA ...
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JAL shareholder calls for senior management resignations
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The biggest single shareholder in Japan Airlines (JAL) has called for top management resignations following the airline's drop in profit and turnover in recent years. Eitaro Itoyama who owns about 4% of the airline, has demanded that the company's board of directors and president Isao Kaneko ...
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Niche accidents
David Learmount/LONDON Despite a worldwide campaign to reduce it, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) increased in 1998 for the second year running, both among jet and non-jet flights, confirming the reversal of a previously favourable trend. There were five jet CFIT accidents and eight involving propeller-driven commercial aircraft. This ...
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Boeing loses ground to Airbus in backing of firm orders
Boeing again sold more aircraft than Airbus Industrie in 1998, but its high delivery rate, combined with cancellations, saw it lose ground to its European rival in terms of firm order backlog. Provisional figures from Airbus suggest its share of the total backlog in the 100-seat plus sector grew ...
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Fresh delay threatens A3XX
Julian Moxon/PARIS The Airbus Industrie A3XX is facing further delay as potential customer airlines, confronted by increasingly tough market conditions, retreat from committing to the aircraft in time to support an already delayed late 1999 launch deadline. While the airlines consider their options on timing, the European consortium is believed ...
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747 cut forces Northrop Grumman to take pre-tax charge
Northrop Grumman is taking a pre-tax charge of $125 million in the fourth quarter of 1998, mainly because of a reduction in deliveries of fuselages for the Boeing 747-400 programme. A $20 million charge was also taken to cover a cost estimate increase on the Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) programme. ...
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Ex-Cathay executives try to save PAL
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Four senior executives at Cathay Pacific Airways have quit to form a new management consultancy that will try to save struggling Philippine Airlines from collapse. The executives are Peter Foster, formerly Cathay's general manager for Taiwan and the Philippines, who will become chief company adviser; Michael ...
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SAA/Air Namibia shake hands on long-term commercial alliance
South African Airways (SAA) and Air Namibia have agreed on a long term comprehensive commercial alliance which will include regional feeder carriers South African Express, South African Airlink and Kalahari Express Airline. A memorandum of understanding has been signed by SAA chief executive Coleman Andrews and Air Namibia's acting ...
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Orbital Sciences breaks record with $2.5 billion orderbook
Orbital Sciences (OSC) is claiming a record $2.5 billion-worth of new orders in 1998 for space and ground infrastructure systems product lines. Just over half the contracts were for Pegasus, Taurus and suborbital rocket launches and $475 million for sensors, electronics and satellite ground systems. The latest figures bring ...
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Boullioun purchase
Deutsche Bank's $120 million purchase of US commercial aircraft leasing firm Boullioun Aviation Services from Japan's Sumitomo Trust and Banking has been finalised. The Bellevue, Washington-based company has a one-third stake in Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise. Boullioun Aviation Services and Singapore Aircraft Leasing own 46 aircraft worth $1.6 billion. The ...
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Avant Airlines links with Continental for international feed
Avant Airlines of Chile has signed a marketing alliance with Continental Airlines in an effort to expand its international traffic feed and further strengthen its position as the country's second largest carrier. The two carriers plan to begin joint marketing activities and codeshare services early in the new year ...
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Euralair takes first leased 737-800
French charter carrier Euralair International Airlines has introduced the first of two Boeing 737-800s on lease from GATX Capital, with the second aircraft scheduled for delivery in January. The 737s will be operated on charter routes to Mediterranean and African destinations. The first aircraft is painted in the colours of ...
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Continental Express aims for all-ERJ fleet within five years
Paul Lewis/SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS Continental Express is committed to replacing its entire fleet of 98 turboprop aircraft with new Embraer ERJ-135/145 jets within five years, but has ruled out a near-term requirement for a larger 70-seat regional transport. The Continental Airlines subsidiary has ordered 75 ERJ-145s and ...
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Asian crisis will continue 'well into next decade'
The Australian Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation predicts that the crisis affecting Asia's airline industry will continue "well into the next decade". "The original shock was sharp and painful, but the bleeding will continue well beyond 1999," says Peter Harbison, managing director of the Sydney-based airport and aviation research ...
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Horizon brightens orderbook for CRJ-700 with $580 million deal
Paul Lewis and Ramon Lopez/ WASHINGTON DC The Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) Series 700 orderbook has been given a major end-of-year boost with the $580 million sale of 25 aircraft to US domestic carrier Horizon Air. The Canadian manufacturer has also secured another order for the smaller CRJ-200ER ...
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Debonair extends AB Airlines link with Boeing 737 lease
Debonair has expanded its co-operation with fellow UK low fare airline AB Airlines and boosted its fleet capacity with a nine-month deal to lease a 139-seat Boeing 737-300. The London Luton-based carrier will use the aircraft to supplement its fleet of 12 smaller British Aerospace 146s, initially to increase ...
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Delta boosts Boeing backlog by 49 aircraft
Delta Air Lines has topped up its Boeing orderbook to 173 aircraft by converting options and firming up previously announced purchases totalling an additional 49 Next Generation 737, 757, 767 and 777s. The carrier has announced option conversions and incremental orders covering the six-month period between June and December ...
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European creditors throw out Philippine Airlines rescue plan
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Troubled Philippine Airlines (PAL) has suffered a fresh blow with the rejection of its rehabilitation plan by European creditors. One local creditor, the Philippine International Commercial Bank (PCI Bank), has suggested changes to the plan, meanwhile. The European creditors control the leases on 12 Airbus ...
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Routes
-San Juan-based Sun Airways, a charter air carrier, has initiated services between Puerto Rico and Orlando and Fort Lauderdale with one Boeing 727-200. -Sabena has begun daily direct flights from Brussels to Catania (Sicily) and four weekly flights to Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and Faro (Portugal) from 18 December. -Virgin ...