All Ops & safety articles – Page 1198
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Gemini set to double cargo capacity
Gemini Air Cargo plans to double the number of freighters it operates by the end of 2000 from nine aircraft. The increase is the result of major US investor The Caryle Group acquiring a majority stake in the carrier. "Caryle will be an excellent financial partner in the next ...
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Landing gear deals clear BFGoodrich/Coltec merger
BFGoodrich and Coltec Industries completed their $2.2 billion merger on 12 July, after agreements were reached with AlliedSignal and Crane to preserve competition in the US landing system industry. The agreements ended lawsuits which had blocked the deal, but left the "strategic and economic fundamentals of the merger completely ...
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Virgin makes plans to be bigger in Asia
Chris Jasper/SHANGHAI Virgin Atlantic Airways chairman Richard Branson has mapped out plans for a major expansion of the UK carrier's Asian route network over the next few years while conceding that its aim of establishing a US domestic subsidiary looks unlikely to become a reality. Speaking in Shanghai during ...
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Boeing is considering 'shrunk' 767-400ER for long range role
Guy Norris/SEATTLE Boeing is considering a possible shrink of the 767-400ER as an alternative to meeting the long range requirement of the proposed 767-300ERX with discrete upgrades from the stretched twin-aisle development. The move would be a subtle but distinct change in direction for the 767 programme and ...
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A340 beats 777 at China Airlines
China Airlines (CAL) has selected the Airbus Industrie A340-300 over the Boeing 777-200 for its long haul requirement as part of a larger refleeting plan totalling 24 aircraft. It includes orders for additional Boeing 747-400 freighters and 737-800s. The Taiwanese flag carrier, after a prolonged evaluation, is planning to ...
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KAL launches $200 million safety reforms
Andrzej Jeziorski/SEOUL Korean Air (KAL), desperate to restore its credibility after a string of crashes, is embarking on a $200 million reform programme to boost safety. The airline hopes this will lead to resumption of codeshare agreements with Air France, Delta Air Lines and Air Canada, which have ...
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China Eastern nears decision on MD-11 fleet replacement
Chris Jasper/SHANGHAIChina Eastern Airlines is finalising plans to order new long-haul aircraft to replace its Boeing MD-11s, as it agrees a new delivery schedule for 10 A320s with Airbus Industrie. China Eastern operates five Boeing MD-11 passenger aircraft and a single cargo version, but will remove the type from its ...
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Boeing tackles winglet erosion in MD-11 modification package
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing plans to complete work by the end of the year on improvements to tackle long-standing operational problems on the MD-11. They include new coatings to prevent excessive erosion to the winglets, modifications to stop skin cracks and changes to system fittings and valves to prevent ...
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Sound solutions
BFGoodrich's campaign to quieten Boeing 727s is making rapid progress Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Spending serious money to extend the life of an airliner is tough, but spending more to re-engine it is harder. Despite the apparent economic headwind, BFGoodrich's Super 27 Boeing 727 re-engining programme is rapidly gaining momentum and ...
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SAirGroup warns Switzerland on proposed noise penalties
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH SAirGroup is warning that Swiss Government plans to increase aircraft noise penalties around Zurich and Geneva airports threaten its ability to compete effectively internationally. The government is proposing that the two airports be forced to pay up to SFr1 billion ($658 million) over five years to ...
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SpaceDev and Lockheed Martin probe low-cost services scheme
SpaceDev and Lockheed Martin have joined forces to investigate the development and marketing of low-cost access to orbit for small payloads. The delivery service will be based on the Lockheed Athena booster and SpaceDev's standardised MiniSIL spacecraft buses. Two SpaceDev craft would fly on the Athena, carrying science and ...
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Free flight
The UK's new air traffic services supremo believes privatisation is the way forward for ATC David Learmount/LONDON Airlines are condemned to face serious air traffic control delay in European airspace for the foreseeable future unless there is a revolution in how policy decisions governing the continent's air traffic services ...
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Digital data network software progresses
Aeronautical Communication International (ACI) has completed the first of three phases of aeronautical telecommunications network software for the communications, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management environment. The software will determine the routing of digital data messages between aircraft and air traffic control. ACI, which comprises Airsys ATM, AlliedSignal, Honeywell, Sextant ...
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Carriers put transpolar plans on ice
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC North American carriers are being forced to shelve plans for new non-stop direct services between US and Asian destinations as infrastructural and political problems delay the opening of transpolar routes . Trial flights over the North Pole have stopped only 12 months after the inaugural ...
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Germany's DFS eyes Euro ATC liberalisation and NATS tie-up
Andrew Doyle/LANGEN German air traffic services provider Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS)is interested in forming a strategic alliance with the UK's National Air Traffic Services (NATS), as part of efforts to kick-start the rationalisation of Europe's fragmented air traffic control (ATC) infrastructure. "We think that, in the longer term, we ...
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UK police Islander will test anti-noise propellers
In response to growing environmental concerns over noise from general aviation aircraft in Europe, the UK's Britten-Norman plans a six-month trial of new generation propellers on a BN2B light utility piston-engined Islander. The test is part of a UK Government-backed programme. Designed by US propeller manufacturer Hartzell as part ...
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African Star licence continues, despite troubles
Hilka Birns/JOHANNESBURG South Africa's Department of Transport (DoT) is continuing to process the licence application of African Star, despite the start-up's chief executive facing charges of contravening the country's Customs & Excise Act. Investigators refuse to comment on the case, but sources say that the diversion of duty-free ...
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GE90 secures exclusive position on 777X
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Boeing plans to begin offering the ultra-long-range 777-200X/300X to airlines by the end of the year, following its selection of General Electric as exclusive engine supplier to the programme. The agreement with GE is for the life of the programme and comes ...
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Pratt & Whitney courts Airbus for A340 variant engine
Pratt & Whitney is in discussion with Airbus Industrie to offer the PW8160 geared fan engine on the A340-500/600 as early as 2003, in a direct challenge to Rolls-Royce's sole position on the aircraft and Boeing's selection of General Electric as its exclusive 777X engine supplier. R-R and P&W ...
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Fairchild 328JET receives European certification
The Fairchild Aerospace 328JET has gained European Joint Aviation Authorities certification, with US approval set to follow before the end of the month. The certification comes as the company moves closer to finalising a 110-aircraft contract from a US carrier, believed to be Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA). The approval, ...