All Ops & safety articles – Page 1279
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Czechs reach stalemate
Czech Airlines has become a bit too profitable, according to the Czech government, which is refusing to provide the airline with a capital injection. In July, the government said it would not provide CSA with a 500 million koruna (US$15 million) cash injection to help cut the company's debt ...
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Japan's economy faces overhaul
Japan is facing a crisis of historical proportions. The dramatic fall in the value of the yen and the long-term decline in the value of the companies which make up the Nikkei stock market index are simply symptoms of far-reaching changes taking place in the way in which the country ...
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Losses: What losses?
The airline industry is renowned, with few exceptions, for its poor returns. Indeed, airlines as a group actually destroyed value between 1992 and 1997, achieving a feeble 6 per cent return on invested capital - at least three percentage points below the 9 to 10 per cent cost of capital ...
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Narita slots scramble
Where there's a will, there's a way. Despite a nine year freeze on more takeoffs and landings at Tokyo/Narita airport, Japan's Ministry of Transport (MOT) seems to have found a way to accommodate more prime time flights by US carriers. But then, faced with the obligation to make the new ...
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A one-horse race
Though dulled by drink, the American business class passenger was able to stab a finger towards the aircraft window as it taxied into Frankfurt airport. 'Emirates. That's a good little airline,' he slurred, pointing at a parked Airbus 310. Therein lies the Dubai flag carrier's problem. Despite its well-deserved reputation ...
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ARAC advises caution on fuel tank safety improvements
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC An aviation industry advisory group led by Boeing and Airbus Industrie says the US Federal Aviation Administration should continue to investigate cost-effective ways to enhance fuel tank safety on in-service and new airliners while ordering the changes for new aircraft designs. Six months ago, the ...
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EC closes issue of Air France state aid despite court decision
The European Commission (EC) has effectively laid to rest the issue over its four-year-old Air France state aid package, brushing off legal questions raised by last month's decision in the European courts. Air France should now be free to press ahead with its planned share flotation. The European Court ...
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Fine Air set for Southern Air purchase
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Fine Air Services, the parent of Miami-based Fine Air, has revealed plans to acquire rival US cargo airline Southern Air Transport (SAT). Privately owned SAT, based in Columbus, Ohio, has been on the market for several months, with 747 freighter lessor Atlas Air previously tipped ...
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US low-cost airlines recover...
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON Further evidence has emerged of an upturn in fortunes for the beleagured US low-cost carriers, with a round of profits for the second quarter. Vanguard Airlines has posted its first-ever profits and Kiwi International Airlines is optimistic that it will return to the black this year. ...
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US Airways plans fleet overhaul
US Airways is planning to update and expand its Shuttle fleet with Boeing 737-300s, but it claims that this will require its pilots to agree to a modified employment contract The division, which operates a fleet of 12 Boeing 727-200s on services between Boston, New York and Washington DC, ...
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Ayres set to complete Let deal
Ayres, the US cargo and agricultural aircraft manufacturer, expects to complete its acquisition of a 93% controlling stake in Czech aircraft builder Let Kunovice from Aero Holdings by the end of July. "We have signed everything and are only waiting on US Government technicalities," says company president Fred Ayres. The ...
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BAe training will move to Spain
British Aerospace is to move its entire UK pilot training operation to south-west Spain. The relocation is expected to be announced by the company around the end of this month. The Prestwick International Airport-based British Aerospace Flight Training (UK) operation is to be relocated to Jerez. Industry sources are ...
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Domestic boom keeps majors' profits rolling
The major US carriers turned in another healthy set of profits for the second quarter, but as the mid-year results rolled in, Wall Street was already getting jittery over the likely timing of a downturn. The headline results were again based on the strength of the domestic economy, where ...
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Computer problems continue to delay Hong Kong freight
The disruption and delay in air freight at the newly opened Hong Kong International Airport is set to continue through to the end of August, as Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (HACTL) struggles to overcome computer problems and to bring its "Super Terminal One" back on line. According to ...
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Korean and SIA confirm widebody deferrals
Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Korean Air (KAL) have confirmed a series of deferred deliveries, affecting 13 Airbus Industrie and Boeing widebody aircraft on order until 2000. SIA says it is deferring delivery of 11 aircraft for 1998-2000 (Flight International, 18-24 March and 22-28 July). KAL has reached an agreement with ...
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Debonair looks for frequent flier links
Low-cost UK carrier Debonair has emerged from its meeting to discuss setting up a joint frequent flier programme for the independent airline sector, declaring that it has up to 15 European carriers on board, including Virgin Express and Air Malta. Potential deals are also in place to extend the scheme ...
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Sunshine jetset resets
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON While the sun is shining on Europe's holiday makers this summer, the tour operators have been hard at work on an industry-wide consolidation. The events of the last year or two have begun to reshape the major travel markets of Germany and the UK. The transformation has ...
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Workshop
-Hawker Pacific Aerospace has won a $5 million five-year contract to repair and service landing gears on 16 UPS Airlines Boeing 747 freighters. It will perform the work at its facility in the UK. The company has also secured a $6 million five-year landing gear maintenance contract from SAS, LOT ...
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Brake warning
An Airbus Industrie A320 overran a runway because sealant missing from a cap over its braking dual distribution valve allowed water ingress and freezing. This disabled the aircraft's standby braking system, according to a US Federal Aviation Administration emergency airworthiness directive, which calls for checks to be carried out within ...
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Further delays hit PW4098-powered 777-300
The long-delayed flight tests of the Pratt & Whitney PW4098-powered Boeing 777-300 are not expected to resume until at least the end of this month following an incident at SeaTac International Airport, near Seattle, in which a new engine slipped in its handling cradle. P&W says that the PW4098, ...