All Ops & safety articles – Page 1196
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News
Pilots 'need real-time weather data' in cockpit
Real-time weather information is needed in the cockpit to deal with conditions such as those that played a role in the 2 June crash of an American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-82 in Little Rock, Arkansas, says the US Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). ALPA's Paul McCarthy told a Congressional ...
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Chautauqua tackles cost and pilot problems
US Airways Express operator Chautauqua Airlines is moving to overcome spiralling costs and pilot defections, while trying to mould operations around partner US Airways' requirements. The operator's new chief executive Bryan Bedford says "the last year has not been very good for Chautauqua-escalating costs and high pilot attrition are ...
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Tax break recommended for UK training
Training for pilots and maintenance engineers in the UK should be made more accessible to potential students by removing the 17.5% value added tax (VAT) from the price of training courses, the UK parliamentary transport committee has recommended in a recent report. The recommendation has been welcomed by the ...
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Boeing's spares
Boeing's new Rapid Response Center began operations last month, providing product support to airline customers outside normal business hours with an expanded team of technical experts and using upgraded databases. The centre, in Seattle, is primarily intended to deal with aircraft-on-ground (AOG) situations. "This is one of the steps ...
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NATS privatisation hits Scottish ATCC
The UK National Air Traffic Services' (NATS) has abandoned plans to build its New Scottish Centre (NSC) as a private finance initiative project with the Lockheed Martin-led Sky Solution consortium in the wake of a government announcement that the air traffic control provider is to be partially privatised. The ...
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ANA hijack triggers security crackdown in Japan
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The death of an All Nippon Airways (ANA) Boeing 747-400 captain at the hands of a knife-wielding hijacker has caused a tightening of security at all Japanese airports. His method of beating security has become clear. According to ANA, the Japanese transport ministry has instructed all ...
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Drinking alleged before Fiji crash
A Fiji Air pilot had been drinking alcohol less than 4h before his Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante crashed, the pilot's brother has alleged on Australian television. The accident happened on a flight from Fiji's capital, Suva, to Nadi, the island's international airport, on 24 July. Wreckage disposition, however, appears to support ...
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UK takes private air traffic control route
David Learmount/LONDON The UK Government is seeking an established company to take a 46% stake in National Air Traffic Services (NATS) after confirming plans to sell 51% of stock for around £500 million ($800 million) within the next two years. UK electricity distributor National Grid and France's Thomson-CSF are known ...
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Southern aims for September restart
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Start-up cargo carrier Southern Air hopes to begin Boeing 747 freighter operations in September, using routes and assets acquired from bankrupt Southern Air Transport (SAT). The Columbus, Ohio-based company plans to offer aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) wet-lease services initially, using an 18-year-old General ...
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Hushkit makers push for EU court action
Pressure is mounting on the US Government to take legal action against the European Union (EU) unless it repeals legislation banning the addition of Stage 3 hushkitted airliners to the European register after next May. Lobbyists for US hushkit manufacturers believe the government could file a protest this month ...
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717 emerges as favourite for BA requirement
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON British Airways could be poised to boost the Boeing 717's flagging sales fortunes, with the twinjet emerging as front runner for a requirement to purchase up to 40 of the 100-seaters. A request for proposals (RFP), covering 20 firm orders, plus up to 20 options, has ...
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ETOPS refusal wrecks Airtours A330 introduction
The introduction of the Airbus A330-200 by charter airline Airtours International has been severely disrupted after the UK Civil Aviation Authority unexpectedly refused to clear it to operate its new twinjets on 180min extended range twin engined operations (ETOPS) flights. UK-based Airtours introduced two 360-seat Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-powered A330-200s ...
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Gearing up for the millennium
At the eye of the hurricane it is very calm - at the edges there is a lot of wind. So says KLM, predicting that New Year's day 2000 is likely to be calmer than the frenetic build-up may suggest. There is optimism elsewhere that aviation will indeed be ready ...
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IT Trends Survey
Kevin O'Toole GENEVA Joint industry research conducted by Airline Business and SITA attempts to establish how far the airline industry is keeping pace with the new wave of information technology and the dawn of the Internet age. Is the airline industry keeping step with information technology? Less than a decade ...
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Virgin truce puts Irish operation on hold
Simon Montlake ATI LONDON Virgin boss Richard Branson has brokered a truce between disgruntled pilots and managers at Virgin Express, the Brussels-based low-cost carrier. But the agreement, signed by Branson and staff representatives, has only put off the day of reckoning for Virgin Express Ireland, the new subsidiary at ...
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Indian fare war erupts
India's airlines have slashed their fares by 20-25%, taking them to their lowest level in four years and setting the scene for a long and bitter war. Besides discounts, a wide range of gifts are on offer, from free holidays to complimentary stays in hotels and free travel for spouses. ...
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Delaying the inevitable
Europe's latest crisis in air traffic control looks unlikely to be its last unless the region faces up to the need for long-term solutions. Air traffic control (ATC) authorities have been forced to resort to crisis management. At the route of the problem is the patchwork nature of the ...
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Cintra plan for public float draws fire
David Knibb SEATTLE Mexico's Cintra group, which owns both Aeromexico and Mexicana, has caused a furore by announcing plans for an initial public offering (IPO) this autumn. Pilots claim that the government-linked holding company is using its ownership of both carriers to favour Aeromexico. Meanwhile, the Mexican federal competition ...
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Australian ownership rules criticised
Australia's new limits on airline foreign ownership have come under fire due to the special treatment of Qantas. British Airways chairman Lord Marshall claims the new limits discriminate against the foreign owners of Qantas, particularly BA. In June, Australia's government announced, as part of a package of ...
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The ATC obstacle course
Currently available statistics only reflect the amount of delays and the average time of delay. Few detail why an aircraft is late. European airspace is divided into 240 sectors, each controlled by an ATC centre on the ground. An air traffic controller in each of the 39 ATC centres ...