All Ops & safety articles – Page 1229
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News
Delta/Air France alliance makes an impact
Chris Jasper/LONDON Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The new Delta Air Lines/Air France alliance, announced amid much fanfare last week, has had a significant impact on other major airlines and could ultimately dictate the future strategic direction to be followed by carriers including Swissair and Continental Airlines. ...
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The big numbers
Airbus and Boeing continue to dispute the sales prospects for large airliners Max Kingsley-Jones/PARIS Airbus Industrie and Boeing renewed their long-term debate over the size and timing of demand for very large capacity aircraft at the Paris air show by releasing their market forecasts for the next 20 years. ...
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Lockheed Martin seeks commercial GPS role
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin has taken the first step towards fielding a commercially owned and operated satellite network for worldwide augmentation of the global positioning system (GPS), enabling it "to serve as the backbone for future air navigation". The company, which signalled its intent last year to ...
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FAA scrutinises repair stations
Rules governing maintenance of US-registered transport aircraft at foreign repair shops are to be tightened, the US Federal Aviation Administration says. The move will affect 525 foreign repair stations. The action follows criticism of the FAA's oversight of repair shops following the May 1996 crash of a ValuJet McDonnell ...
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VulcanAir 'moves forward' with Partenavia line
VulcanAir has begun revamping the former Partenavia aircraft line, which it acquired last year, in an effort to drive up sales and stamp its identity on the twin-engined models. "This is a natural evolution of the product. Partenavia had done nothing with the aircraft for some time and then ...
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Alitalia commits to $1 billion fleet upgrade
Andy Nativi/GENOA Alitalia has committed to a L2,000 billion ($1.1 billion) fleet upgrade of its Alitalia Express and widebody fleets, despite facing strike action by its workforce and downgraded performance estimates for the year. The airline's board has approved the purchase of five Boeing 747-400s, with deliveries from the ...
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Battle to power A318 intensifies
CFM International's bid to power the A318 is expected to be decided shortly, says president Gerard Laviec. The engine maker has offered the CFM56-5A or -5B to Air France as an alternative to the incumbent Pratt & Whitney PW6000, but talks with Airbus Industrie have stalled over financial arrangements ...
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Pegasus FMS heads for A340 flight tests with CNS/ATM
Airbus Industrie plans to use an A340 to flight test an advanced Honeywell Pegasus flight management system (FMS) fitted, for the first time, with communications, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) functionality. New functions include dual system communication links via Airbus' air traffic services unit (ATSU). The FMS-ATSU link provides ...
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New A340 faces weight problem
Guy Norris and Andrew Doyle/PARIS Airbus Industrie is battling to overcome weight problems threatening a payload/ range shortfall on its A340-500 and -600 models with a weight-reduction programme and the possible introduction of higher operating weights and uprated engines. Separately, Pratt & Whitney is expected to decide by ...
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Bell aims for US/Canadian 427 approval in July
Bell expects to receive Canadian and US airworthiness certification for its new 427 helicopter in July after completing modifications to the 407's similarly designed tail rotor in a move designed to prevent any further tail boom blade strikes. Certification of the eight-seat 427 has been delayed progressively since the ...
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747X Stretch plans are revived
Boeing's 747-400X Stretch plan has been boosted by signs of new interest from Asian airlines, and the company's decision to offer a more capable 777-300X. Speaking of renewed enthusiasm in the stretch proposal, director product marketing Joe Ozimek says: "Interest is coming back from Asian carriers, which are resuming ...
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Delta defers Boeing 777 fleet delivery over pilot pay dispute
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Delta Air Lines has been forced to defer delivery of its entire Boeing 777 fleet on order because of its failure to negotiate a pay accord with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) for the type. Earlier this year, the airline deferred indefinitely deliveries of ...
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Aeroflot discusses new fleet plans with Airbus and Boeing
Andrew Doyle/PARIS Aeroflot Russian International Airlines (ARIA) is in talks with Airbus and Boeing over a major aircraft deal that would be the first phase of the airline's plans to replace its entire fleet by 2015. The Russian flag carrier is initially focusing its attention on the Airbus A320 ...
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Relieved Sukhoi crash pilots blame missing two minutes
Exchanges of blame flew after a Sukhoi Su-30MK crashed during its display on the opening day of the show - exactly 10 years after a MiG-29 crashed at Paris. As with the 1989 accident, the crew ejected unharmed. Sukhoi was quick to exonerate the aircraft, and the crew controversially ...
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Successful Delta II launch cheers Boeing
A Delta II booster lifted Boeing's morale on 10 June, when a successful launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, placed four Globalstar satellites into orbit. It was the first launch since the Delta III mission failed in May. The Delta II is lined up for four more missions this summer, ...
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MAS and FlightSafety Boeing in training link
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and FlightSafety Boeing Training International (FSBTI) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form an aviation training joint venture in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, serving Asian airlines. The MoU includes a long-term agreement making the new venture the exclusive training provider to MAS. The venture ...
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Crash update
Stormy weather was the cause of a 9 June landing accident involving a Shantou Airlines Boeing 737-300(B-2525) at Zhanjiang, China, according to Shantou's major shareholder, China Southern Airlines. The aircraft came to rest off the runway with its landing gear collapsed. Meanwhile, the US National Transportation Safety Board says that ...
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Dassault discusses Falcon re-engining
Dassault aviation has confirmed that it is talking to engine manufacturers on possible re-engining of the twin-engined Falcon 2000 business jet to give the aircraft more range. A company source says the studies are at a "preliminary level" and would not result in the aircraft being offered with a ...
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Embraer pushes stretch plan
Embraer has advanced development of the planned 108-seat stretch version of the ERJ-170/190 regional jet on the back of a massive $4.9 billion order from Crossair and will complete the selection of all remaining subsystem and structural suppliers within the month. Crossair's launch order comprises 30 ERJ-170s and an ...
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Safety reporting system fails
A seven-year attempt to establish a Europe-wide confidential aviation safety reporting system has failed and will stop operating at the end of this month. However, the steering group of the European Confidential Aviation Safety Reporting System (EUCARE)has drawn up recommendations for a European Commission directive that could require all ...