News from FlightGlobal – Page 2420
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News
Even the good times aren't good
It may appear to be a vintage year but life for some airlines continues to be troubled. A casual reader of this issue of Airline Business could be forgiven for not realising that 1996 is a vintage year for the the airline industry. Just consider some of the stories: ...
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Slots wrong for regionals
Not surprisingly Europe's regional carriers are up in arms over the European Commission's revision of its slot regulation, which is likely to come down in favour of slot trading. And alternative proposals circulating in Germany have heightened the dismay. The board of airline representatives in Germany (Barig) appears ...
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SAS Express is so simple
SAS has responded to the threat of competition on its profitable Nordic services by piloting a new simplified product, SAS Express. SAS Express is being used to brand 14 daily Stockholm-Oslo services for a three-month trial period from 22 October but could be extended throughout its Nordic and domestic network. ...
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Team works at Alitalia
Alitalia is squaring up to its impending scrutiny by the European Commission with the launch of its low-cost operation, Alitalia Team. But the carrier remains dogged by allegations of predatory pricing and collusion on slots. Brussels opened an investigation into the airline's planned 3,000 billion lire (US$2 billion) ...
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Dragon fired
Dragonair's owners have shelved the planned initial public offering until at least the end of 1997. Citic Pacific, one of the carrier's main shareholders, cited the impact of new route development which would not be fully reflected in the 1996 profits. Source: Airline Business
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Unions balk at BA plans
British Airways is facing a serious confrontation with its two main unions in the wake of plans to slash US$1.5 billion from its cost base in three years. The UK carrier has also come under fire from employees and the financial community over the apparently unfocused nature of its proposals, ...
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US startups lose value
Two low-cost US airlines launched service within a week of each other in late September, including a reborn ValuJet. But the experience of long-ailing Kiwi, which filed for Chapter 11 in early October, seems the more likely barometer for this sector. Some three months after ValuJet was shut ...
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Airbus is close to concluding A3XX powerplant agreements
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Airbus Industrie is working to conclude agreements with the General Electric-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance and Rolls-Royce, so it can formally offer airlines a choice of power plants for its planned A3XX ultra-high-capacity airliner. The engine manufacturers are expected soon to sign memoranda of ...
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Aviastar Asia ties up deal for 20 Tu-204s
Paul Duffy/SHANNON Aviastar Asia (AAC), the new joint venture set up in Taipei to market the Tupolev Tu-204 outside Russia, has now signed a contract for 20 aircraft, which is expected to be announced officially at Airshow China '96 at Zhuhai in November. Singapore-registered AAC brings ...
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BA ditches plans for British Mediterranean franchise
British Airways has abandoned proposals to operate its services to the Levant under a franchise agreement with British Mediterranean Airways (BMed), and both carriers say that they will continue to serve the Middle Eastern region independently. The two airlines struck a deal to operate joint services to Amman, ...
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US extends deadline for bag-match test
The US Aviation Safety and Security Commission, which was set up to improve airline security procedures in the wake of the crash of TWA Flight 800, has extended the 60-day deadline for testing a full domestic bag-match programme. US carriers have been able to convince the Clinton Administration ...
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CAAC holds up Chinese airliner approvals
Paul Lewis/BEIJING Chinese airlines are facing a growing backlog of pending aircraft orders and leases waiting for final approval from the country's civil aviation authority and Government. All Chinese aircraft orders and lease agreements of longer then one year are required to be submitted to ...
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IFALPA is set to act on African airspace 'risks'
Chris Yates/LONDON An urgent safety bulletin spelling out the growing danger of flying in African airspace is expected to be issued soon by the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations (IFALPA). Capt Tony van Heerden, president of the South African Airline Pilots Association says, that ...
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Cargolux accelerates
Cargolux of Luxembourg has reached an agreement with Boeing to accelerate the delivery of its fourth 747-400 freighter from September 1998 to August 1997. Cargolux, which was the first operator of the freight version of the 747-400, will then operate four 747-400Fs and four 747-200Fs on its international cargo network. ...
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Sabena links with Virgin Express for Heathrow route
Herman De Wulf/BRUSSELS Virgin Express is launching scheduled services between Brussels and London Heathrow, in a code-share deal with Sabena under which it will replace the Belgian flag carrier on the route. The low-cost Brussels-based airline launched services on 27 October with nine daily return ...
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Westpac orders 737s and takes options on -700
Western Pacific Airlines (Westpac) has finalised its expected order for new Boeing 737s, with an agreement for up to 12 aircraft, including options on the next-generation -700. The fast-growing, low-cost start-up, which has been in negotiations with Boeing for some months, has now placed a firm contract for ...
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Japan seeks GPS
Japan is expected to issue a request for proposals in November for a system to improve the accuracy, avail- ability and integrity of the global-positioning system (GPS). The system, dubbed MSAS, is Japan's equivalent of the US wide-area augmentation system. It will be operational by the end of 1998, providing ...
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Iberia emerges fighting as profits come into view
Iberia is gearing up to fight increasing competition on its international and domestic routes, with "a new aggressive commercial policy" says, chairman Xabier de Irala. "A lot of things are going to change-We will defend our leadership with all the weapons available," he pledges. Iberia has waded into ...
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BA moves closer to control of Air Liberte
Julian Moxon/Paris British Airways appears to have come a step closer in its bid to take over ailing French independent carrier Air Liberte after the unexpected withdrawal of a competing offer from a consortium led by French travel group Nouvelle Frontieres. One of the consortium members, the Banque ...
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White knight rides in for Kiwi
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Kiwi International Airlines, facing permanent shutdown of scheduled passenger services after filing for bankruptcy-court protection, has been rescued by Wasatach International, a Florida-based investment concern. The low-fare US carrier, which filed for Chapter 11, on 30 September and forced to suspend, scheduled ...