All Ops & safety articles – Page 1347
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News
Canadian pair plan shake-ups
Canada's regional carriers face a shake-up following a decision by the country's two largest airlines to consider restructuring their domestic operations. Air Canada set the ball rolling by announcing a review of operations which could lead to a restructuring of four regional carriers - Air BC, Air Ontario, ...
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US carriers enjoy profits hike
Overall profits from the major US airline groups continued to forge ahead in the first quarter of 1997, shrugging aside the hike in fuel costs and re-imposition of the 10% federal ticket tax in early March. The leading airlines made a combined profit of over $750 million, more ...
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Two UK freight carriers prepare for widebodies
HeavyLift Cargo Airlines, and Hunting Cargo are working towards the introduction of widebodied freighters later this year to meet possible express-parcels carriers' requirements and their own needs. HeavyLift is finalising plans to introduce two Airbus A300B4 freighters this year, while Hunting says that it is considering the acquisition ...
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Cathay's mixed fleet cuts costs of crews
Cathay Pacific Airways claims that mixed-fleet flying on its Airbus Industrie A330s and A340s has yielded crew-cost savings of up to 25%. The Hong Kong-based airline is a world leader in two-engine/four-engine mixed-fleet flying. Capt John Bent, Cathay's flying training manager (policy), says that, following the initial costs ...
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Regional jets find a home
LABOUR TURMOIL and strike threats spawned by the introduction of new-generation "regional jets" have diverted attention away from an evolution that is taking place in both the airline and aircraft manufacturing industries. This is the opinion of aircraft manufacturers, airline-industry pundits and air-carrier officials who say that the ...
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Historic manufacturers return
Two famous names from German aviation history staged a comeback at the Aero '97 show, with the presentation of new prototypes from Zeppelin and Junkers. The general-aviation show, in Friedrichshafen, Germany, from 23-27 April, featured the public debut of the Zeppelin New Technology (NT) airship, the LZ N07. ...
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Sharing the loads
The utilisation by major carriers of regional airlines with low cost bases to operate low-volume, short-haul feeder services is a concept that has been established in North America since the 1980s, but has only recently caught on in Europe. British Airways was the first European carrier to conclude a franchise ...
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Latin cargo tempts Asia
Access to unlimited beyond rights is one of the main goals for the US in its global drive for open skies and now Asian carriers are discovering there may yet be benefits in return, in the booming Latin American cargo market at least. China Airlines will become the ...
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BA hires and fires equally
British Airways has agreed concessions with one main union but the others may not comply so easily as the carrier launches a recruitment drive to hire 1,300 pilots and 2,000 cabin crew. Ground staff of the transport workers' union, TGWU, voted in favour of a three-year proposal at ...
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Crossair tries back door
Swiss regional carrier Crossair has taken a 35 per cent stake in a proposed French startup carrier, in an attempt to improve its access to the European Union market. Initially, Euro Continental Airways would operate two Crossair Saab 2000s from major French cities to the French sector of ...
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India equity ban is shaky
The only consolation the world's air transport industry can take from New Delhi's decision to bar foreign carriers from investing in India's airlines is that the country finally has a firm policy in place. The problem is that the imminent collapse of the government could soon open up the whole ...
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Battle of wills
Washington has changed tactics on Japan. When President Clinton wrote to Prime Minister Hashimoto last September to urge that Japan and the US replace their contentious bilateral with a new open skies agreement, that represented a change of thinking in Washington. For eight years the administrations had insisted on Tokyo's ...
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Beijing mixes Taipei deals
Taiwan's aeropolitical relations with third countries are experiencing mixed fortunes at the hands of Beijing after China spoiled plans by EVA Air to fly to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, while being less vociferious in its opposition to China Airlines serving Russia for the first time. After ...
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Having fun in Brussels
As Sabena throws itself into revamping its shaky operations it had better remember to watch its back. Both Virgin Express and City Bird are attacking the flag carrier's Brussels base with gusto. The two airlines claim to be revolutionising the services on offer in Europe with a cheap, ...
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US user fees rock Canada
Canadian government has requested an urgent meeting with the US Federal Aviation Administration over proposed new overflight fees that Ottawa sees as 'highly discriminatory'. From 19 May, the FAA will begin charging fees for aircraft which fly through US airspace, but do not take off or land in ...
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Korea opens with a catch
South Korea, long considered a non-starter in US efforts to forge open skies in Asia, is hinting that it may yet join the party, but Seoul's insistence on preconditions is likely to sit awkwardly in Washington. A Korean transport ministry official says his country is willing to sign ...
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China set to fuel mergers
China looks set to hike fuel prices to try to force further consolidation among its many unprofitable local carriers as local fares are set to rise. The authorities have already cleared airlines to raise air fares for local residents by up to 20 per cent from July following ...
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Chinas start strait talking
The countdown to Hong Kong's handover is starting to realign China-Taiwan aeropolitics. There has been little progress in the two years since Taipei predicted direct flights would start in 1997, but there are signs that China and Taiwan want better relations and are willing to take tentative steps towards direct ...
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EMU on course for scheduled launch
Despite a number of obstacles it is now looking much more likely that European Monetary Union will go ahead as planned on 1 January, 1999. This will be the dominant theme for the Amsterdam summit of European leaders scheduled for June this year. During the build-up to monetary ...
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Delta deal fires debate
Delta Air Lines' decision to sign up with Boeing for 20 years prompted analysts to coo their approvals. But one former Capitol Hill veteran worries that this deal will only stoke the antitrust debate over the proposed Boeing- McDonnell Douglas merger. Mike Korens, managing director at consultants GKMG ...