Programmes – Page 1310
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News
Alitalia pilots feel the heat
Alitalia is forcing its intransigent pilots into a corner. The recent move by management to convert lower cost domestic subsidiary Avianova to a regional European operation follows the decision to wet-lease B767s on some transatlantic routes. Both moves mean cheaper labour for Alitalia and less work for its pilots. ...
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New SA fires flag growth
South Africa's new found international acceptance has forced its flag carrier sub- stantially to upgrade its fleet of long-range, wide-bodied aircraft and go on a billion dollar spending spree to compete with growing competition. South African Airways will spend $1.1 billion acquiring some 10 new wide-bodied aircraft over ...
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Dollar distress
Even its most ardent supporters would have to admit that the US dollar's spectacular slide against most of the world's leading currencies has left it looking decidedly less solid of late. For the world's aerospace and airline industries, at least those outside the USA, it is a further uncertainty in ...
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Precise positioning
Boeing plans to evaluate GPS-based landing systems in parallel with the FAA. Graham Warwick/ATLANTA Boeing is leading an industry programme to validate use of the global-positioning system (GPS) for Category III automatic landings. While the US Federal Aviation Administration intends to demonstrate Cat III GPS, Boeing's ...
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BA profits soar but its alliances falter
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON BRITISH AIRWAYS HAS once more cruised to a record set of results, helped by a mix of premium-passenger growth and cost-cutting. The performance was marred only by continuing problems at alliance partners TAT and USAir. Group pre-tax profits were at a new high of ...
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When an inspection calls
Operators are seeking better, less expensive ways to evaluate ageing airframe condition Graham Warwick/ATLANTA While cost-conscious carriers are keeping aircraft in service longer, they want to minimise the maintenance burden of ageing airliners. New inspection techniques provide one answer. The goal of NASA's Airframe ...
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Airbus partners disagree over future development strategy
Julian Moxon/PARIS Major differences of opinion are emerging between French manufacturer Aerospatiale and its principal partner in the Airbus Industrie consortium, Daimler Benz Aerospace (DASA), over future aircraft development strategy. Aerospatiale is seeking German support for investment in a supersonic transport, for which it believes there ...
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Team launches DC-10 upgrade
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) has teamed with Alenia subsidiary Aeronavali to launch a DC-10 product-improvement programme ranging in scope from a completely new, two-crew, digital flightdeck to a full conversion from passenger to freighter. The plan is aimed mainly at the expected growth in ...
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Ukraine wins first launch contract
Tim Furniss/LONDON NPO YUZHNOYE OF Ukraine has been awarded a contract from Space Systems/ Loral to launch 36 Globalstar telecommunications satellites into low-Earth orbit aboard three Zenit 2 boosters. The launches will be from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in 1998. The contract is the first dedicated commercial-launch deal ...
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India tests engine
India's Hindustan Aeronautics has test flown an indigenously designed engine for the Lakshya unmanned air vehicle. It is uncertain whether the engine is a turbofan or turbojet. The first flight test of the engine took place on 18 May. Source: Flight International
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FAA applies to join Boeing GPS trials
Boeing says that the US Federal Aviation Administration is negotiating to join the manufacturer's global-positioning-system (GPS) landing-system evaluation programme, scheduled to start in June with delivery of four rival systems for installation on NASA's Boeing 757. The Boeing programme would follow the FAA's GPS automatic-landing technology demonstration, conducted ...
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P&W releases PW150 turboprop details
Pratt & Whitney Canada is talking to potential partners about joining it in development of the PW150 turboprop, selected to power the Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8-400. The 4,500-5,600kW (6,000-7,000shp) PW100 derivative includes an axial low-pressure compressor, new core materials and high-power/low-speed gearbox. P&WC says that it is talking to ...
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China's aircraft-buying ban crumbles in face of demand
China's ten-month-old ban on commercial-aircraft purchases is showing signs of being relaxed, as small provincial carriers have had several new orders and leases approved. The clearest indication of the moratorium being eased was the $120 million order by China Aircraft Supplies (CASC) for three new Boeing 737-300s to ...
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SIA remains the world's most profitable carrier
SINGAPORE AIRLINES (SIA) again emerged as the world's most profitable carrier as it revealed improved results for its latest financial year. The group warns, however, that it faces tougher times ahead from aggressive international competition and the strength of the Singapore dollar. The group has revealed that net ...
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SIA sparks competition to replace Airbus A310 fleet
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE SINGAPORE AIRLINES (SIA) has given Airbus Industrie and Boeing until 31 May to submit tenders to meet its "Y-aircraft" requirement for a new regional-passenger jet airliner. SIA has asked for pricing on a firm order for 16 aircraft, plus options for a further 17. ...
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ATARS F-15 Tests
McDonnell Douglas has suspended flight tests of an F-15 equipped with a reconnaissance system after just two sorties, claiming that all goals have been achieved. Six to eight flights of the F-15, fitted with the Advanced Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System (ATARS) pod had been planned. Source: Flight International
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Germany tests hydrogen fuel on APU
GERMAN SCIENTISTS are preparing to rig-test an auxiliary power unit (APU) fuelled by gaseous hydrogen as part of a study aimed at reducing the nitrous oxide component of aircraft-exhaust emissions. The tests, scheduled to begin later this year, will be carried out on an AlliedSignal GTCP 36/300 ...
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Laser alignment used on F-18E/F
McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) has joined the forward and centre/aft fuselage sections of the first F-18E/F fighter, using a laser-alignment technique pioneered on the MDC C-17 transport. Computer-controlled alignment reduces assembly time and results in a "near-perfect" splice, MDC says. The F-18E/F is the first US fighter to be ...
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Challenging Germany's Goliath
In three years, Deutsche BA has become the second-biggest German scheduled carrier. Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Not quite three years since its launch, Deutsche BA is firmly established as Germany's second-biggest scheduled carrier, behind the formidable Lufthansa. It has achieved this by maintaining a steady ...
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Strategy-split forces Reims president out
THE FUTURE OF French general-aviation manufacturer Reims Aviation has again been thrown into confusion by the sudden, apparently forced, resignation of company president Jean-Paul Pellissier. According to a communiqu, from the major shareholder in the Reims-based company, Compagnie Fran+aise Chaufour Investissements (CFCI), the board of directors decided on ...