All Ops & safety articles – Page 1262
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Gathering clouds threaten European open skies deals
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Julian Moxon/PARIS Any prospects of an immediate UK-US open skies agreement have disappeared, following the confirmation by British Airways that it is postponing its plans for a full-blown strategic alliance with American Airlines. Meanwhile, France is pressing ahead with implementing its bilateral aviation agreement with the ...
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Macedonia in control
Former Yugoslav Republic Macedonia became Eurocontrol's 28th member state on 1 November. It has taken part in projects such as the European Air Traffic Control Harmonisation and Integration Programme and Central Flow Management Unit through its membership of the European Civil Aviation Conference since July 1997. Source: Flight International
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Universal targets corporate jet market with flightdeck family
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Universal Avionics has launched a bid to become a major supplier of flightdeck equipment for corporate and commercial aircraft with the introduction of its System-1 product line. Building on its UNS-1 flight management system (FMS), Universal's System-1 includes flat panel displays, a terrain awareness and warning system ...
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Russian Topol flops during launch
A Topol-M (RS-12M2) intercontinental ballistic missile, fired from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia, self-destructed during the system's fifth test on 22 October, following first stage engine burn-out. The Strategic Rocket Forces denies that the missile's destruction was caused by a system failure, claiming that the incident was a ...
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Muscular Malibu
Dave Higdon/WITCHITA In developing the Meridian, a turboprop derivative of its Malibu high-performance piston single, New Piper Aircraft is counting on the fact that customers will find the transition to turbine power both attractive and manageable. To test this premise, Flight International evaluated the Malibu turboprop conversion developed by JetProp ...
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Routes
-Dutch carrier Transavia is to become the first non-Greek airline to operate scheduled domestic services between Greek territories when, from 2 November this year to 27 March 1999, it sets up flights between Rhodes and Heraklion, Crete. -Martinair Cargo will increase both routes and capacity in the Latin American region ...
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Embraer gears up for the massive regionsl jet production boost
Guy Norris/Palm Springs Embraer plans to deliver more than 470 RJ-135/145s over the next five years as it rushes to boost regional jet production to 12 a month by May 2000. The company, however, is still not convinced that it wants to enter the 70-seater market. The Brazilian manufacturer revealed ...
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MD-11 probe leads to entertainment disconnection
Swissair has voluntarily disconnected the in-flight entertainment systems on its Boeing 747 and MD-11 fleets as a precaution because some heat-damaged wiring associated with it has been found in the MD-11 which crashed off Nova Scotia, Canada, on 2 September. Both the airline and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada ...
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BA closes on RB211 'hybrid' retrofit deal
Andrew Doyle/SEATTLE Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON British Airways is finalising a deal with Rolls-Royce to upgrade the engines on half of its 50-strong fleet of RB211-powered Boeing 747-400s, as it finalises a plan to phase out the remainder of its "classic" 747 variants within the next four years. The proposed contract, which ...
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Aerospatiale stakes claim for A3XX assembly at Toulouse
Julian Moxon/PARIS The new chief of Aerospatiale's aeronautics division, Jean-Francois Bigay, has added to the controversy over the location of the new assembly line for the Airbus A3XX by pitching strongly to set up a plant at the existing Toulouse location. Aerospatiale is responsible for the final assembly of all ...
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Boeing tests 747-X trailing edge wedge
Boeing has begun flight tests of a trailing-edge wedge wing modification on a 747-400 as the first element of a potential package of changes that could be applied to future 747 derivatives. The modification consists of a triangular-shaped wedge on the lower surface of the wing trailing edge, and ...
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Bombardier refines 90-seater
Guy Norris/PALM SPRINGS Bombardier has refined its plans for the proposed BRJ-X regional jet family and says a launch decision is likely to be taken around October 1999, pending the conclusion of a solid business case. Bombardier is now outlining plans for two main family members, a 90-seater ...
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FlightSafety adds new Miami hub
FlightSafety Boeing Training International is to establish a $100 million Latin American training hub in Miami, Florida. This follows the August announcement by the Boeing/ FlightSafety joint venture of plans to build an $85 million European training hub in London. The new Miami centre is scheduled to open in ...
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UK halts Air Atlanta leasing in parts maintenance inquiry
David Learmount/LONDON In a surprise move, the UK Civil Aviation Authority suspended operating permission for five days for UK airlines to lease aircraft from Air Atlanta Icelandic. The issue, says the CAA, was the manner in which Air Atlanta was using an out-of-service Boeing 747 to supply parts for ...
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Japan Air Lines ramps up efficiency plan
Japan Air Lines plans to accelerate efficiency improvements across the airline including a reduction of up to 10 aircraft in its fleet acquisition planning. Measures in the new"strategic business plan" include: achievement of a 10% cost reduction is to be brought forward from March ...
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SIA wants slice of China Airlines
Brent Hannon/TAIPEI Singapore Airlines (SIA) wants to buy an equity stake of up to 30% in China Airlines (CAL), but the Taiwanese flag carrier will insist upon taking an equal share of SIA in return, according to CAL vice-president-commercial Sandy Liu. SIA has indicated a willingness to consider the 30% ...
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American Utilicraft Freight Feeder makes progress
American Utilicraft has selected several subcontractors for its FF-1080-200 Freight Feeder, a twin-turboprop cargo aircraft which is being designed specifically for overnight package carriers. The UK's Meggitt Avionics will supply the flat panel flight and engine displays, and fuel quantity gauging and engine fire detection systems. Securaplane of Tucson, ...
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USA moves to block Northwest bid for Continental
The civil lawsuit which the US Department of Justice (DoJ) filed in late October to block Northwest Airlines from purchasing a controlling stake in Continental Airlines could take federal courts years to resolve. The airlines describe the DoJ's claims as groundless, and Northwest still plans to buy the 51% ...
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British Midland to outline fleet expansion for long haul services
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON British Midland (BM) will this week outline plans to acquire a fleet of long-haul aircraft, as well as new deals for additional short-haul aircraft. In February, the UK airline unveiled plans for transatlantic services from London Heathrow in anticipation of a UK/US "open skies" accord, and ...
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Correcting the deviants
David Learmount/LONDDONPilots and maintenance engineers not only make mistakes, some often break the rules, a fact confirmed by studies on human performance presented at a seminar held by the UK Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) on 24 September, in London. The aim of the seminar, entitled Professionals performing poorly, was ...