All Systems & interiors articles – Page 776
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More delays expected on ISS
Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA is expected to announce further delays to the International Space Station (ISS) assembly schedule. The STS101 Atlantis mission to the ISS, which was due in December, is likely to be delayed until next year, and the major Shuttle assembly mission 3A is expected to be pushed ...
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Majors eye Kennedy terminals
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are weighing up major investments in new terminal facilities at New York's Kennedy Airport, already in the middle of a massive $9 billion redevelopment programme for new terminals and infrastructure. Delta and United operate from outdated and overcrowded facilities while many of ...
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Mind games
Twenty months into one of the most controversial accident investigations of the decade, SilkAir has told the world that a pilot who apparently intended to kill himself and 103 others was "by the best standards of the industry-fit to fly". To put it charitably, this demonstrates a disturbing readiness ...
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Raising the internet stakes
Dennis Blank ORLANDO The explosion of online travel booking in the USA - stimulated by offerings of bargain basement ticket fares - is attracting the wrath of travel agents. But US major carriers cannot ignore this rapidly growing marketplace. This year, the customary late summer round of airfare bargains across ...
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Proven pedigree
Low cost, low noise and low vibration led Eurocopter's design priorities for its AS350B3 Peter Gray/MARIGNANE Eurocopter's AS350B3 has a long pedigree. It is the latest version of a helicopter intended to succeed the popular Alouette and Lama, both of which have established a reputation for high reliability and ...
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Profits on a plateau
Kevin O'Toole In the final analysis, the airline industry's financial results for 1998 were once again a mix of the encouraging and the depressingly familiar. Overall profitability came out at almost identical levels to the year before. The industry should perhaps take heart from that fact, given the dire ...
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BA to axe 1,000 managers in bid to save profits
British Airways is to cut about 1,000 management jobs in a move it says is aimed at reducing costs to pay shareholder dividends. BA says it "will find additional savings of £225 million [$360 million] this year to deliver the profits that the City expects". Analysts had warned that ...
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Fairchild could produce freighter version of 328JET
Paul Lewis/OBERPFAFFENHOFEN Fairchild Aerospace proposes to develop a freighter version of its new 328JET, while undertaking range performance improvements of the recently certificated regional aircraft. "There is a proposal for an all-cargo version of the 328JET," says Stanley Deal, Fairchild vice-president 228/328/428 series. He declines to identify the interested ...
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US Airways Express seeks up to 400 small regional jets
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC US Airways Express has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for up to 100 small regional jets and options for up to 300 larger aircraft for its subsidiary and affiliate regional operators. The RFP specifies a firm requirement for an initial 100 regional jets seating ...
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African nations to finance CNS/ATM system
Michael Wakabi/KAMPALA Twenty-one African countries are to invest jointly in a communications, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system to manage their upper airspace. A memorandum of commitment is expected to be endorsed by members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in October, with ...
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KLM-Continental row hits Wings alliance
Chris Jasper/LONDON The planned launch of the so-called Wings alliance is in doubt after a disagreement between Dutch flag carrier KLM and Continental Airlines of the USA - two of the four major airlines that had been expected to launch the grouping this year. Sources close to the pair ...
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Strategic stretch
More than a long-range niche filler, Boeing's 767-400ER promises to bring new life to the entire big twin family Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing's big twinjet strategy takes another important step forward on 26 August when the 767-400ER is officially rolled out of the company's Everett assembly site in ...
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Matsushita prepares for deliveries of System 3000
In-flight entertainment (IFE) system supplier Matsushita will be ready to deliver its new interactive IFE hardware - the System 3000 - early next year. The first phase of the fully interactive system designed for widebody aircraft will be available in the first quarter, with full system functionality in the ...
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Harsh financial lessons - Top 50 Airlines
After a largely successful 1998, today's going is much tougher for many major airlines Chris Jasper/LONDON The airline business has never been the world's quickest to learn the lessons of harsh financial experience. Unable to break free from a boom-bust cycle that can be traced back over several decades, ...
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FAA orders insulation to be replaced on 700 aircraft
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Thermal insulation on all McDonnell Douglas DC-10s and Boeing MD-80s, MD-90s and MD-11s must be replaced within four years, the US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered. The regulation has been under consideration for more than a year, but has become mandatory just as the Transportation ...
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Boeing wins bulk of CAL order but Airbus takes widebody deal
Boeing has taken the bulk of China Airlines' (CAL) $5.6 billion buying spree, but lost out to rival Airbus on the much prized deal to supply new medium capacity widebodies. CAL has placed firm orders for up to 19 Boeing 747-400s and five 737-800s worth $3.8 billion, while Airbus' slice ...
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Falling ticket prices hit US airlines
Chris Jasper/LONDON Falling ticket prices in the USA are beginning to squeeze the profits of the country's major airlines. Figures for the first six months of this year show that few carriers were able to increase profits and that most saw income fall compared with the same period last year. ...
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Association broadcasts live TV plan
The World Airline Entertainment Association's (WAEA) technical committee will turn its attentions to live broadcast satellite service once it completes the specification for the in-flight use of digital versatile disk (DVD) next month. With several airlines interested in offering passengers live television services, the WAEA is keen to resolve ...
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Malaysia launches audio/video on demand, plans e-mail service
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) launched audio- and video-on-demand (A/VOD) capability on one of its Boeing 777s this month. It is the first stage of a programme that will see the airline's entire 777 and Boeing 747-400 fleet equipped with the latest in-flight entertainment (IFE) feature. A/VOD, which allows passengers to ...
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Smart card paves way for trouble-free travel
Passengers holding a multifunction smart card which operates as a passport, visa, and biometric identity tag "could enjoy a truly hassle-free experience from check-in to final clearance at destination", predicts International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general Pierre Jeanniot, speaking at the Aerovision 2000 Symposium in Vancouver, Canada. Effective ...