All Systems & interiors articles – Page 768
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United Space accepts shuttle delay costs
The Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture United Space Alliance, which operates the Space Shuttle fleet for NASA, is to pay "several million dollars" in penalties for delays to the flight schedule caused by wiring defects in the orbiters (Flight International, 29 September-5 October). The cost of the repairs to the Endeavour ...
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Bombardier offers to stretch Canadair jet to 90 seats
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Bombardier is offering airlines a stretched 90-seat derivative of the Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ). A decision on whether to launch the new model, dubbed CRJ-900, is planned for year-end. Deliveries of the aircraft, which would be derived from the 70-seat CRJ-700, could begin in 2002, ...
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System 3000 launch
Matsushita is close to finalising a 40-aircraft launch order for its new System 3000 interactive in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. The System 3000, to be available from the second or third quarter of next year, will be an upgraded version of the System 2000E, the leading interactive IFE system installed on ...
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Rockwell seeks $28 million damages from Hughes
Rockwell Collins has filed a lawsuit against Hughes Electronics for breach of contract over Rockwell's purchase of the former Hughes-Avicom International. The manufacturer is seeking damages of at least $28 million plus interest. Rockwell bought Hughes' in-flight entertainment division in late 1997 to form Rockwell Collins Passenger Systems. ...
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A question of scale
KEVIN O'TOOLE Conventional wisdom has held back outsourcing of heavy maintenance, but as it starts to be challenged, only as few as a dozen airlines may emerge able to justify keeping work captive, argues IPG Consulting. On paper the equation looks perfect. On one side, airline boardrooms are keen ...
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Low-cost survivors
CAROLE SHIFRIN WASHINGTON DC After years of uncertain and even disastrous performances by new entrant carriers in the USA, some seem to be thriving and even beginning to report profits. Why did these start-ups survive where so many failed? Accepted wisdom in the USA is that the fate ...
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Labouring in Europe
TOM GILL LONDON Industrial relations appear to have improved and European workers are becoming more efficient. But will the changes be far-reaching enough to enable airlines to cope with cyclical downturn? The British Airline Pilots Association(BALPA) describes itself as "serene". The UK white-collar union MSF says it is ...
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Delta pilots talk tough
KAREN WALKER WASHINGTON DC Delta Air Line pilots have thrown down the gauntlet to airline management and demanded formal negotiations in one of the most important US contract negotiations of the year. But a swift response by management has already led to a tentative agreement In addition to ...
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New challenge to charter
European low-cost scheduled operators have begun to make small inroads into traditional charter markets. But, despite some aggressive noises, they have some way to go before posing a serious threat. Europe's low-cost carriers may continue to grab the headlines, but one sector remains resolutely unimpressed. The traditional charter airlines ...
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European carriers to get no relief
European carriers are still suffering from declining yields and it could be some time before there is any good news. The damage of the weak market conditions is finally showing through in Europe. Results for the last quarter and half year ending June put them hard and cold ...
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Bright quarter for US low-costs
Second quarter results for both US regionals and independents paint a generally bright picture with demand high for low-cost flights and regional jet service. Some regional carriers warn that their business is seasonal and second half results may not be as bright. But most airlines seem to be maintaining a ...
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Low-costs in fierce battle at Stansted
LOIS JONES LONDONc Cut-throat competition between low-cost players at London Stansted airport looks set to cause casualties with the launch of KLM uk's Buzz KLMuk is to set up a low-cost fares airline next year called Buzz at Stansted to compete with Go and Ryanair. The carrier, ...
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Is Asia close to a turning point?
Asia's economic woes authored much of the over-capacity appearing on the North Atlantic. Chris Tarry of Commerzbank looks for sings of recovery Over the last few months much attention has been focussed on the current blood bath taking place on the North Atlantic. The conclusion very early on from ...
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Privatisation the second time around?
PETER BENNETT VIENNA After decades in state ownership, privatisation could finally be on the cards for eastern Europe's airlines. Eastern European airlines, dogged by government procrastination, bureaucracy and stalled privatisation plans, may be about to see a change in their fortunes. Privatising the region's carriers has been ...
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Ansett reverses fortunes
NICK IONIDES ATI SINGAPORE Australia's once-troubled second carrier Ansett has reported strong year end earnings, but observers say that its turnaround has raised the stakes in a battle surrounding its ownership. Early in September Ansett reported a fourfold increase in both net and operating profit for its 1998/9 ...
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Sabre chief's departure fuels talk of rift with AMR
JANE LEVERE NEW YORK The head of Sabre, the travel distribution and information group controlled by American Airlines' parent AMR, unexpectedly left his job in early September, raising questions about the company's future. Michael Durham, Sabre's president and chief executive officer, left the company suddenly, saying in a ...
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Uneasy alliances
The global alliances have often looked more like mutually-beneficial truces between competitors than genuine joint . The Austrian Airlines move to Star seems to confirm that partners still value their independence. News that Austrian Airlines had chosen to forego its long-term partners for the bright lights of Star has ...
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EC shifts competition scrutiny to European alliances
ALAN GEORGE BRUSSELS After a lengthy period spent focusing on European-US aviation alliances, the European Commission's competition authorities plan to devote more effort to intra-European alliances. The intra-EU focus follows the EC's setting of conditions on the recent Alitalia/KLM alliance. The Commission ruled that the airlines should reduce frequencies ...
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Singapore Airlines joins call for US-UK open skies
LOIS JONES LONDON UK-USopen skies talks remain in gridlock, with no sign of progress this side of the Millennium. But more players are joining the queue to offer transatlantic services and increase pressure for an open skies agreement. Singapore Airlines is the latest airline to apply pressure on the ...
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Canadians spar over single airline
DAVID KNIBB SEATTLE October will be a decisive month in Canada as its airline industry struggles to define its future. Only one major carrier is likely to survive, but fundamental questions must be settled before a 10 November deadline about who will own and control the airline. ...