News from FlightGlobal – Page 2495

  • News

    Flying a legend

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Despite being more than six decades old, the Junkers Ju-52 is still going strong. Herman De Wulf/BRUSSELS How long do aircraft last? The legendary Junkers Ju-52/3m tri-motor transport is 60 years old and still extremely popular - especially for pleasure-trips. One airworthy example is operated in Lufthansa ...

  • News

    Blindness in its sights

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 has been made into a well-equipped eye hospital. Eryl Crump/MANCHESTER THE FATE OF AN AGEING airliner is usually either to decline towards the scrap yard via a series of increasingly lower level airlines, or to be turned into a freighter. For one McDonnell ...

  • News

    Lufthansa/Bombardier prepare business-jet charter venture

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Lufthansa's supervisory board has approved a new business-jet charter company, to be formed as a joint venture between Lufthansa City Line and Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier. The board gave its go-ahead to the plan at a meeting in early December, after the signing of a joint-venture agreement ...

  • News

    Airbus achieves two firsts with delivery of A319 to Air Canada

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Kevin O'Toole/Toulouse Airbus INDUSTRIE handed over the first A319 to Air Canada on 12 December, the first of the type to go into operation in North America and also the first Airbus aircraft to be delivered on a nine-month production lead time. Airbus and Boeing have ...

  • News

    Boeing targets Delta for stretched 767

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis and Guy Norris/SEATTLE Boeing is close to launching the stretched 767-400ERX on the back of an anticipated order from Delta Airlines for a complete fleet of passenger aircraft. Interest in the 767 derivative has been revived after years of inactivity, during which time ...

  • News

    MD-95 begins to take shape

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    McDonnell Douglas has re-affirmed its commitment to the MD-95 regional twinjet as the nose section for the first aircraft was delivered to its Long Beach assembly site on 12 December. Despite having received no new business since it was launched more than a year ago with an order ...

  • News

    Loss of power

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    The world, it seems, is awash with new airliner projects. The manufacturers may be able to afford to launch some of these aircraft and, in some cases, the airlines will be able to afford to buy and operate them - but will the engine makers be able to afford to ...

  • News

    Japan Air System takes its first Boeing 777

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Japan Air System (JAS) took delivery of its first Pratt & Whitney PW4084-powered Boeing 777-200 on 4 December, from an order for seven aircraft. The JAS 777s, which are the first to be painted in the airline's new scheme, will also be the first operated on the Japanese domestic network ...

  • News

    Continental

    1996-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Continental Airlines has appointed executive vice-presidents and senior vice-presidents. Executive vice-presidents are: Ben Baldanza, marketing; Lawrence Kellner, chief financial officer; C D McLean, operations; and Jeffery Smisek, general counsel. Senior vice-presidents are: Bonnie Reitz; Janet Wejman; David Grizzle; George Mason; and Kuniaki "Jun" Tsuruta. Source: Flight International

  • News

    Boeing looks to increase 777IGW take-off weight

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis/SEATTLE Boeing is discussing a further increase in the 777-200IGW's maximum take-off weight (MTOW) as an interim step towards a new ultra-long-range derivative of the twinjet. The US manufacturer is considering offering a 777-200IGW+ version for entry into commercial service from 1998 onwards, says ...

  • News

    KLM agrees to buy back Government stake

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    KLM has agreed to buy back a further part of the Dutch Government's shareholding in the airline, which will reduce the state's stake in its national carrier down to 25%. The cost of the share deal is expected to run to around DFl1 billion ($590 million), which KLM ...

  • News

    American and FedEx finalise DC-10/727 hushkit exchange

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES American Airlines has concluded a long-awaited deal with FedEx, which will see the US package carrier take over at least 14 of American's McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10s in exchange for supplying hushkits for up to 81 Boeing 727-200s. Some 30 of American's 727s ...

  • News

    Flight engineers call for world drive to improve flight safety

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    Andrezj Jeziorski/MUNICH The International Flight Engineers Organisation (IFEO) has highlighted six areas in which it considers that action must be taken to counter spiralling air-accident fatalities. At its 1996 general assembly in Munich, the organisation expressed "regret and dismay" at the increasing number of fatalities ...

  • News

    Aeroflot and Ilyushin agree Il-96T production deal

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    Aeroflot and Ilyushin have signed the final contract paving the way for the production of 20 Il-96Ms and Il-96Ts. The $1.5 billion deal, signed on 3 December, will see the Russian-manufactured aircraft fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW2337 turbofans and Western avionics to be integrated by Rockwell-Collins. ...

  • News

    New Zealand unites

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    Air New Zealand and United Airlines have linked up as strategic partners, which will see them initiate codeshare flights between the USA and Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands. Although the tie-up will not affect the level of aircraft capacity on the routes, the two carriers intend to ...

  • News

    Qatar Airways decides on strategy for growth

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    Qatar Airways, fresh from a series of top management appointments, says that it will finalise its new long-term strategy after a board meeting in January, with the aim to "triple the size of the airline" by the end of 1997. The moves follows the appointment of Akbar ...

  • News

    TriStar gets ready for major restructuring

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    TriStar Airlines, which recently returned three of its four British Aerospace 146s, says that it will soon announce a major restructuring of its operations and a move into new markets, with the acquisition of larger aircraft. The Las Vegas, Nevada-based airline, which began operations in 1995, says that ...

  • News

    German Government turns up heat on Airbus restructuring

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH The German Government is linking the provision of further aeronautics-research funding to the restructuring of Airbus Industrie and the launch of the A3XX, putting further pressure on the Airbus partners to reach agreement on the establishment of a new commercial structure for the consortium. ...

  • News

    Malaysia profits remain steady

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    Malaysia Airlines (MAS) just managed to hold profits steady over the first half of its 1996/7 financial year, but the group promises to emerge "stronger and leaner" in 1997 as restructuring continues. The group's net profit over the six months to the end of September dipped slightly ...

  • News

    UK tax increases anger airlines

    1996-12-11T00:00:00Z

    UK tax increases anger airlines UK Government plans to double airport departure tax have angered airlines which claim that the country will now have the highest rates in Europe. A departure tax was first announced in the UK budget two years ago, set at ú5 ...