All Ops & safety articles – Page 1278
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1900D collides with Cessna in mid-air
A Proteus Airlines Beech 1900D, with 12 passengers and two crew on board, collided in mid-air with a privately owned Cessna 177 Cardinal 10km (5nm) over the sea east of Quiberon, in Brittany, France, on 30 July . There were no survivors. The Proteus aircraft was on a scheduled ...
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Schiphol introduces graded landing charges for Chapter 3 aircraft types
Herman de Wulf/BRUSSELS Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has imposed a new sliding scale of landing fees for Chapter 3 aircraft from 1 August, as well as a 20% surcharge on night-time operations. The new fees for Chapter 3-compliant types are broken into three categories, varying according to the level ...
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Eurofighter advances external stores tests with fuel tank drop
Eurofighter has completed the successful mid-air release of a 1,000 litre (265USgal) fuel tank from development aircraft DA7 at Decimomannu AFB in Italy. The tank, attached to the centre-wing pylon on the starboard side, was released at an airspeed of 350kt (650km/h) at 5,000ft (1,500m). The company says the test ...
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US Airways and American begin marketing pact
US Airways and American Airlines have merged their frequent flier programmes in the first phase of a wider marketing pact announced earlier this year. From 1 August , each airline's club members also gained access to private airport lounges operated by both carriers. The two airlines have agreed to ...
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Atlas studies mid-size freighter
Guy Norris/SEATTLE Atlas Air has confirmed interest in expanding its operations beyond the Boeing 747-200F and 747-400F freighters with a new mid-size aircraft. "We are considering a 50-60t aircraft" says the Colorado-based cargo airline's president and chief executive, Michael Chowdry. Although Atlas has expanded its fleet with used ...
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ICAO and IATA join forces to beat millennium bug
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have outlined plans to merge their efforts to tackle the Year 2000 (Y2K) millennium bug, which threatens to disrupt computer software and could cause computers to crash when the year is effectively reset. The plan focuses ...
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Satellite bug delays launches
Tim Furniss/LONDON The launch of at least two Hughes Space and Communications HS-601-based satellites have been delayed following control processor failures aboard the similar DBS1 and Galaxy 4 and 7 spacecraft in geostationary orbit from May to July (Flight International, 22-28 July). The JC-SAT 6, scheduled for launch on 29 ...
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Searching for finance
Emma Kelly/RIO DE JANEIRO Building blocks for worldwide implementation of communications, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems are in place, but one crucial element remains. "It's up to us to provide the muscle - money - to put the building blocks together," Jack Howell, director of the ...
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Wheel of fortune
Hard to believe, but fewer people are flying to Las Vegas these days. Perhaps the slot machines and gaming tables are losing their appeal. No, say the casinos, people still want to come to the Nevada resort, they just cannot find the flights or the fares they want. The ...
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Pay review
TWA and the Air Line Pilots Association have come to a tentative agreement. Alpa says pay will rise from 60 to 90 per cent of the industry average by 2002. Two years of pay negotiations between Northwest and its pilots have stalled. The Air Canada Pilots Association has balloted its ...
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Pilots rage against PAL
The acrimonious pilots dispute at Philippine Airlines (PAL) is about to spill over into the Filipino Supreme Court as the legal mudslinging between sacked pilots and the airline hots up. The Airline Pilots Association of the Philippines (ALPAP) is suing PAL, accusing it of an illegal lockout. More than ...
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Asians clean up house
In hard times, heads roll. Sometimes leaders step aside voluntarily, as in the case of Japan Airlines' president Akira Kondo and chairman Susumu Yamaji. But purges at China Airlines (CAL) and Garuda Indonesia are part of major housecleaning efforts. In a dramatic move to distance China Airlines from its ...
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Island assets offloaded
Qantas Airways and Ansett Airlines have both sold most of their remaining interests in island resorts, thereby signalling a return to core operations. 'It's a classic case of sticking to your knitting,' explains James Strong, managing director of Qantas. 'I've never been convinced that Qantas could do as good ...
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Wall St frets over Boeing
With Boeing back on track to deliver 550 aircraft this year as planned, chairman Phil Condit is using the word 'turnaround', but some feel such confidence is premature. Boeing delivered 148 aircraft in the second quarter, prompting Condit to declare the production recovery programme a success. 'It's on the ...
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Nigeria hits rock bottom
Efforts to revitalise Nigeria's national carrier, Nigeria Airways, seem to have hit the rocks, due to its heavy debt burden, government apathy in providing financial help, and a lack of serviceable aircraft. The government is saddled with fashioning a credible political transition and creating a conducive economic environment. There ...
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CLK charges unchanged
Despite the current focus on resolving the initial hiccups, the long-term success of Hong Kong's new Chek Lap Kok (CLK) airport lies in keeping charges down. Since its inauguration on 6 June, technical and logistical problems have caused long delays for passengers and freight forwarders. But while these ...
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Startups look to citizen McCain
Last year it was the ticket tax; this year it's the Department of Transportation. The US majors have a new enemy in their gunsights and the atmosphere on Capitol Hill is bellicose once again. In 1997 the carriers that united in a campaign to abolish the 10 per cent ...
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And now for something . . . completely different
The term 'survivor' may be sorely overused in the airline industry, but it remains the most appropriate description for AirTran Airlines, the product of a merger with the ill-fated ValuJet whose once-bright future ended abruptly in 1996 with a controversial crash in a Florida swamp. Not that there is ...
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Rising confidence
Isao Kaneko became president of Japan Airlines the same day its shareholders approved a US$894 million write-off against capital reserves - the largest in Japan's corporate history. Kaneko succeeded Akira Kondo, who resigned as president to take responsibility for the unprecedented loss. It hardly seemed the occasion for the new ...
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Love rivalry in courtroom
Continental Express will be unable to implement its new regional jet service out of Dallas/Love Field fully until 1999 at the earliest, because of a legal wrangle that has developed with the city's main airport, Dallas-Fort Worth. The court case could set an important precedent. In the latest controversy ...