News from FlightGlobal – Page 2494

  • News

    BAfrees USAir and prepares to intensify American fight

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    British Airways has finally agreed to sever its partnership with USAir, putting its shareholding in the US carrier up for sale and planning to draw the marketing alliance to a close by April. The news increases pressure on BA to push through its new alliance with American Airlines, ...

  • News

    Continental calls halt to merger talks

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    CONTINENTAL Airlines says that it has broken off merger talks with rival air carriers, believed to include Delta Air Lines. In a message to employees, Gordon Bethune, Continental's chairman and chief executive , disclosed that the fifth-ranked US airline had recently undertaken "preliminary" merger discussions with "many different ...

  • News

    Racal close to clinching Aerad deal

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    Racal Avionics is in advanced talks with British Airways over the acquisition of the airline's wholly owned flight-documentation subsidiary Aerad. Racal provides worldwide navigation data for flight-management systems and sees Aerad's business as complementary. The UK avionics company declines to confirm that the talks are taking ...

  • News

    In a long tradition

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    Every Boeing commercial airliner since the 707 has been extended at some stage, with two exceptions: the 747 and 757. It now seems that, after many years of study and debate, the 747 is about to be elongated into the -500 and -600 series and the 757is finally set to ...

  • News

    Silk purse

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    SilkAir has experienced more than its fair share of turbulence since its establishment in 1989 as Singapore's regional carrier. After years of sustained losses, the carrier is on course to make a full recovery and is planning for a brighter future. Following a wide-ranging restructuring of its fleet ...

  • News

    Safety

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    A poor year for civil-aircraft accidents in 1996 has helped to pave the way for further international pressure to be applied during 1997 on those areas of the world where air-safety standards are seen to be in need of improvement. The argument is that the law of diminishing ...

  • News

    Air transport

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    If 1996 was the year in which aircraft orders at last started rolling again from the world's airlines, then 1997 is due to be the year in which airliner manufacturers begin to increase production rates in earnest. Despite two years of growing backlogs, deliveries from Airbus, Boeing and ...

  • News

    Embraer studies EMB-145 range

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    EMBRAER IS STUDYING a long-range version of the EMB-145 regional jet, with uprated engines and increased fuel capacity. The aircraft would have a 3,000km (1,600nm) range, compared with the present 2,400km, and is intended to meet demand from US regional airlines for increased sector lengths. The aircraft would ...

  • News

    AI(R) courts Saab for new regional-jet programme

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    Aero International (Regional) (AI(R)) has made what are described as "serious overtures" to Saab Aircraft to join the European consortium as a risk-sharing partner in its forthcoming regional-jet programmes. While neither side will confirm the talks officially, it is understood that British Aerospace, one of the three existing ...

  • News

    Qatar conflict

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    Sheikh Hamad Ali Al-Thani, the former chief executive of Qatar Airways, claims that his departure from the airline followed moves by the board to co-operate rather than compete with Gulf Air, for which the chairman is Qatari general sales agent. Contrary to our report (Flight International, 10-17 December, 1996, P10), ...

  • News

    Airlines

    1997-01-01T00:00:00Z

    There can be little doubt that one of the recurring themes running through the world airline industry in 1997 will be the continued US-leddrive towards world open skies. In its wake, expect further manoeuvring among carriers to strengthen transpacific and transatlantic alliances. Arguably, the most significant (and certainly ...

  • News

    New 737 launch stresses technology and low cost

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Max Kingsley-Jones/SEATTLE Boeing CLAIMs that it has put itself "ten years ahead" of Airbus Industrie in the short-haul, jet-powered-airliner technology/low-cost stakes with the official unveiling of its first next-generation 737 (a -700) at its Renton plant, near Seattle, Washington, on 8 December. Sales of next-generation 737s ...

  • News

    Boeing delays 747X go-ahead

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris and Paul Lewis/SEATTLE Boeing has been forced to delay the 747-500X/600X programme by at least four months because of continuing market uncertainty and the late definition of the General Electric/Pratt & Whitney joint-venture engine. The stretched, rewinged 747 was expected to be given the ...

  • News

    US ATA plans to establish safety-information exchange

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    US airlines will have a prototype system for the exchange of safety information operational within a month if predictions by US Air Transport Association (ATA) vice-president operations Al Prest are realised. The aim is to build a database of safety-incident information, which will be large enough to enable ...

  • News

    Constellation prefers A320s to 737-300s

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Constellation International Airlines has switched from its selection of the Boeing 737-300 to the Airbus Industrie A320 to replace its fleet of Boeing 727-200s. The Belgian charter airline will take delivery in April 1997 of two A320s on lease from International Lease Finance, in time for its 1997 ...

  • News

    Indian Airlines selects Saab 2000s for regional services

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    The Saab 2000 has emerged as the winner in the competition to supply the Indian Airlines low-cost division, Alliance Air, with a 50-seat regional airliner. Alliance is planning an initial acquisition of six aircraft. Alliance, launched in April with Boeing 737-200s transferred from its parent, had been evaluating ...

  • News

    Botswana takes out arrest warrant

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    The Botswana Government has started an international search for airline executive Brian Pocock after issuing a warrant for his arrest, alleging an offence of corruption during the period when he was general manager of national airline Air Botswana. The warrant was issued following, a two year investigation into ...

  • News

    Kato launches Sirocco to lead R-R-powered Tu-204 effort

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Paul Duffy/MOSCOW Sirocco Aerospace International has been launched in Moscow by Egypt's Kato Aromatic and its partners, to spearhead marketing for the re-engined Tupolev Tu-204-120. A list price for the aircraft, which is powered by Rolls-Royce RB.211-535s, has been set at around $36 million. The ...

  • News

    Condit takes over as chairman as Boeing booms

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Boeing president and chief executive Phil Condit will be appointed chairman, on 1 February, 1997. The surprise board decision was made known at the company's year-end press conference on 9 December, when Boeing revealed orders for 621 commercial aircraft for the year to date, almost double the 1995 tally and ...

  • News

    Gulf Air considers share sale as part of shake-up

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Gulf Air is considering a major revamp which could involve the Abu Dhabi Government acquiring a majority stake in the company, says a report in the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED). The airline's board met late in November to discuss the carrier's future. Chief executive Majed Bin Saud ...