All Ops & safety articles – Page 1211
-
News
Europe's RVSM plan gets the go-ahead
Emma Kelly/LONDON Eurocontrol's Provisional Council has approved the master plan for the introduction of reduced vertical separation minima (RVSM) in Europe, paving the way for capacity improvements in the continent's airspace in 2002. The RVSM plan calls for the introduction of six more levels between flight level 290 ...
-
News
USA takes up Sextant state support issue with EU
The USA IS to seek "consultations" with the European Union (EU) over the French Government's funding support of Sextant Avionique for development of a new flight management system (FMS) for Airbus aircraft. If the talks fail to resolve the dispute, the US Government plans to ask the World Trade ...
-
News
Interactive makes connection in latest IFE industry shake-up
In-flight entertainment (IFE) system supplier Interactive Flight Technologies (IFT) is aiming to complete its purchase of fellow IFE hardware manufacturer, the Network Connection (TNCi) on 15 May. The move is the latest stage in the shake-up of the IFE hardware supplier industry, which has seen the departure of some players ...
-
News
Three sign deal to develop commercial turbulence sensor
United Airlines, Allied-Signal Aerospace and Coherent Technologies (CTI) have signed agreements to develop a turbulence sensor for use in commercial aircraft. Turbulence is the leading cause of injury in non-fatal airline accidents. AlliedSignal has agreed to explore combining an enhanced version of its weather radar with CTI's infrared radar. ...
-
News
New European safety body keeps to schedule
The new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is on schedule to start operations in 2001 or 2002, despite disagreements on several key aspects of the organisation. Although it is being formed on the initiative of the European Union (EU), EASA will not be a European Commission (EC) agency. Instead, ...
-
News
Safety audit seals China Eastern/Qantas deal
Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Qantas and China Eastern Airlines have finalised their partnership deal which will see the two airlines launching codeshare operations from mid-year. The conclusion of the deal, which had been planned to take effect at the end of March, is understood to have come after the Chinese ...
-
News
New Greek ATC system faces summer challenge
The recently rebuilt and much delayed Greek air traffic control (ATC) centre is facing a major challenge this summer, as controllers adjust to new digital equipment, while coping with the demands of restructured airspace during the Kosovo crisis. The Greek Government has been slow to provide enough personnel to ...
-
News
ANZ may block Ansett plan
Chris Jasper/AUCKLANDAir New Zealand (ANZ) has indicated that it is giving serious consideration to a possible move to block Singapore Airline's (SIA) plan to take a 50% stake in Ansett Australia. The company has rejected suggestions that it has insufficient funds to mount the operation. Ansett is jointly owned by ...
-
News
Airlines oppose restrictions on ownership
Jens Flottau/PHOENIX The aviation industry should behave just like any other industry and abolish current ownership restrictions. That is the view emerging from international airlines at the eighth Annual Phoenix Aviation Symposium, held in Arizona in early May. Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, vice-president of international relations at Lufthansa, says the ...
-
News
TNT restructuring signals an end to contract with Air Foyle
TNT's decision to restructure its air cargo operations under a single grouping based at its hub in Liège, Belgium, will see Air Foyle cease flying for the express package company when its contract expires in May 2000. TNT's director of airline operations, Niky Terzakis, says it aims to have an ...
-
News
SAir reconsiders TAP stake after pilot rise
SAirGroup is reconsidering whether to go ahead with its planned purchase of a 20% stake in TAP Air Portugal after a tribunal court recommended that the Portuguese national airline's pilots be awarded a 95% pay increase. The Swiss company is also negotiating to take a large minority stake in privately ...
-
News
FAA advances FDR upgrades
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Federal Aviation Administration will require upgraded flight data recorders (FDRs) on newer Boeing 737s, a year sooner than previously ordered. In the light of the recent report on the 1994 US Airways Boeing 737 crash near Pittsburgh, in which rudder hardover was a suspected factor, ...
-
News
Swissair pilots to mix A320/A330 flying
Swissair says it will take advantage of its plans to operate a fleet made up of fly-by-wire Airbus Industrie types, to train its pilots for mixed fleet flying (MFF). The move could see the carrier becoming the first major airline with all of its pilot group able to fly every ...
-
News
Airlines push Airbus to speed up plans for A3XX freighter
Andrew Doyle/TOULOUSE Airbus Industrie is accelerating development of the freighter version of its proposed A3XX ultra-high capacity airliner, in response to strong demand from potential operators. The consortium has also revised the design of the cargo variant, to carry an increased payload of 150t over 10,545km (5,700nm) following ...
-
News
IAI signs with Boeing for work on MD-11 freighter conversions
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) has concluded an arrangement with Boeing which will see it become a freighter conversion and upgrade specialist on the Boeing MD-11 tri-jet. The deal between Boeing and the Tel Aviv-based Bedek division of IAI includes a subcontract to carry out 40 MD-11 freighter conversions, at ...
-
News
Shorter story
Smaller may not always be better, but for Embraer it is a route to further success Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DCIt seems a simple, sensible approach: take a proven airframe, shorten the fuselage to produce a smaller aircraft, leave the rest unchanged, and avoid the time and cost of developing a new ...
-
News
Vantage work set to resume
Dave Higdon/ST LOUISThe Vantage single-engined jet will be heavier and use a more powerful engine when VisionAire begins certification testing of the first production prototype towards the end of this year. The St Louis, Missouri-based company plans to resume development of the aircraft after a lengthy design review is published ...
-
News
Eurofighter passes test milestones
Eurofighter has explored about 90% of the flight envelope of its initial operating capability (IOC) baseline configuration. Tests are pushing ahead, with the aim of the four Eurofighter partners receiving IOC air-defence configured aircraft in 2002. DaimlerChrysler Aerospace's DA5 aircraft is flying with the FCS 2B/1 software that gives Eurofighter ...
-
News
Disquieting move
US strong-arm tactics, of which the threatened ban on Concorde flights to the USA was the most visible sign, have forced the European Union (EU) to climb down from its deadline for implementing the ban on operating hushkitted aircraft in EU airspace. The prospect for another trade war with the ...
-
News
United joins PETAL II datalink trials
Emma Kelly/LONDON United Airlines has committed its Boeing 777s (above) to Europe's Preliminary Eurocontrol Test of Air/Ground Data Link (PETAL II) programme. PETAL II is Europe's groundbreaking datalink programme aimed at validating air-ground datalinks in an operational air traffic control environment. The three-phase programme involves air traffic controllers and aircraft ...