All aerospace news – Page 1749
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News
Flight into the future
For the past 91 years, this magazine has reflected the shape of the industry of which it is part. In the beginning it was simply Flight, and the fledgling field of aviation was its sole purview. Now it is Flight International and the entire breadth of aerospace is its domain. ...
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Brazil's carriers do battle over frequent flier plans
BRIAN HOMEWOOD RIO DE JANEIRO Last year's deep recession forced Brazil's carriers to abandon their cut throat fares war but BTAM, VASP, Varig and Transbrasil have now all turned to heavy promotion of their frequent flier programmes. Varig says 2.5 million passengers are registered on its Smiles scheme, up from ...
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Buying Power
KEVIN O'TOOLE & TOM GILL LONDON The global alliances are only just starting to use their combined buying power. Airline analysts are not alone in anxiously awaiting signs of how the global alliances may change the industry's landscape. There are hopes and fears among service providers too over how the ...
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Opening the door to space
Propulsion concepts under study may lead to a radical change in the way in which space is accessed In the 1951 science fiction classic When World's Collide, a rocket-powered spaceship hurtles down a ramp loaded with hapless escapees from Earth, gathering speed before making a boosted take-off to escape ...
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Intelligent hope
Intelligent spacecraft are still a few years away, but robots and automated systems can meanwhile play a large part in extending space exploration The spaceflight industry has just one year year left to emulate Arthur C Clarke's HAL, the spacecraft computer that became too intelligent in 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...
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Perils of prediction
Predictions can prove embarrassing. And airlines are much more cautious these days If Flight International had polled airlines 30 years ago for their predictions on long-term developments within the industry, the answers would have been exciting, ambitious and possibly outrageous. They would also have born little or no relationship to ...
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Slow road to reusability
The shift to reusable launch vehicles will be far slower and more incremental than was once considered possible and desirable Over 30 years ago, in his film 2001: a space odyssey, director Stanley Kubrick gave us his vision of a future in which man could travel from the Earth to ...
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Clean and lean
Environmental issues and the demands of safety and reliability drive airliner design as much as technology Ever since the first powered machines flew at the start of the 20th century, aviation has been driven by the quest to improve aircraft efficiency. With extraordinary persistence, often surmounting seemingly impossible technical barriers, ...
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End of an era?
The traditional look for commercial aircraft may be ending. This century's airliners could look radically different Airbus Industrie's planned A3XX will be the ultimate expression of the classic airliner configuration, representing the end of the road for the layout of cylindrical fuselage, swept wing and podded engines so familiar ...
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The sky's...the limit
UAVs will not be able to fill their potential unless the regulations governing their use in civil airspace change Proponents of the unmanned air vehicle (UAV) are keen to describe a future in which pilotless aircraft deliver mail overnight, monitor political troublespots, patrol borders in search of drug smugglers ...
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Virgin moves on Australia
DAVID KNIBB SEATTLE Richard Branson's decision to launch a low-cost domestic Australian airline is the biggest threat yet to the Qantas-Ansett duopoly During a whirlwind tour of Australia, Richard Branson announced that Virgin Australia would start mid-year with five Boeing 737s that could quickly grow. Focusing initially on the busy ...
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Investors emerge for Ansett New Zealand
News Corporation's efforts to sell Ansett New Zealand may have better luck with a new group of New Zealand investors than it has had over the past 12 years with Qantas Airways. News Corp and Qantas were unable to agree on a price, and there is no assurance the ...
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Catering - serving in the fast lane
Fast food may not be on the in-flight menu, but as consolidation takes hold of the airline catering business, speed appears to be of the essence. Last year saw a flurry of activity in the in-flight catering industry, including a host of joint ventures and two major acquisition deals. ...
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Mexico's smaller players struggle to compete
DAVID KNIBB SEATTLE Mexico's third and fourth largest airlines have both experienced problems that harm their ability to compete against the duopoly of Aeromexico and Mexicana. Taesa, Mexico's number three carrier, remains grounded for safety reasons following a fatal crash on 9 November. Mexico's communications and transport ministry says inspectors ...
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The new leaders in handling
Ground handling is developing a higher profile in the industry, attracting a new style of leadership. Analysis is by Michael Bell, who leads the global aviation practice at executive search consultants Spencer Stuart.Recent years have seen the emergence of ground handling as an industry in its own right, and there ...
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A sense of balance
CHRIS TARRY COMMERZBANK IN LONDON The traffic forecasting model developed by Commerzbank and Airline Business highlights the extent to which capacity ran ahead of demand in 1999. But the coming year could bring markets back to balance. If further evidence was needed over the pain that excess seat capacity can ...
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Canberra considers Sydney public float
DAVID KNIBB SEATTLE The Australian Government is considering a public float of Sydney Airports Corporation (SACL), departing from its previous privatisation policy. Australia's finance minister, John Fahey, says the government is considering offering SACL shares publicly rather than through trade sales as it did with the country's 17 other airports. ...
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Cargo shapes up for rapid shake up
PETER CONWAY LONDON The year ahead looks likely to see dramatic changes in air cargo, with more and more carriers offering time-definite services, and the old wholesale-retail relationships between airline and forwarder becoming more flexible. Wilhelm Althen, retiring chairman of Lufthansa Cargo, which introduced time-definite services and a programme of ...
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Air Malta prepares for Europe
GÜNTER ENDRES LONDON Increased tourist traffic, a programme of cost reductions and rationalistion of the fleet and route network have significantly improved Air Malta's financial and operating performance as it prepares to join Europe's aviation market. The Air Malta Group recorded a record turnover in the financial year to ...
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Ramp Up
TOM GILL LONDON Deregulation in Europe's ground handling market is improving prices - but not necessarily service levels This year will be a busy one for European ground handling. By January 2001, most of the region's airports must have opened their doors to competition, ushering in a new era of ...