All aerospace news – Page 1869
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US Coast Guard starts replacement programme
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The USCoast Guard has launched a programme to replace its fleets of aircraft and surface vessels. A request for proposals for the Integrated Deepwater System programme was released in March, and up to three teams will be awarded concept development contracts in July. The Coast ...
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Shell shocks British International Helicopters
British International Helicopters (BIH) faces an uncertain future after Shell UK Exploration and Production (Shell Expro) awarded a vital £175 million ($289 million) North Sea support contract to rival UK operator Bristow Helicopters. Aberdeen, Scotland-based BIH has held the Shell Expro contract for the past 30 years. It will ...
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Reorganised Qatar prepares to revamp short haul fleet
Qatar Airways is in negotiations to acquire a fleet of modern narrowbodied aircraft to replace its Boeing 727s as it prepares to take on the role as designated national carrier. The airline underwent a re-organisation early in 1997 which saw it boosting its long haul operations from Doha and ...
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Air Namibia switches from four engines to twinjet
Air Namibia has introduced a Boeing 767-300ER twinjet on its long haul services between Windhoek and London Heathrow, replacing a leased Boeing 747SP. The airline says that the move has enabled it to operate on a more cost-effective basis, and to introduce a first-class cabin for the first time. A ...
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Russian regional tender fails to find a winner
The Russian Aviation Consortium (RAC) has declared that there will be no winner in its tender for delivery of 50 regional airliners for three Russian airlines. The deals will now be negotiated independently. Last year the RAC revealed that it was seeking bids from manufacturers to supply aircraft for ...
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Air Lanka orders A330-200s following Emirates stake
Air Lanka has placed orders for six Airbus A330-200s, after Emirates Airlines agreed to take a 40% stake in the Sri Lankan flag carrier. The Dubai based airline will manage Air Lanka for 10 years, says the Sri Lankan Public Enterprises Reform Commission (PERC). Emirates has also agreed to ...
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Harbin agrees North American Y-12 sales deal
Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing (HAMC) of China has concluded a joint venture agreement to supply Y-12(IV) turboprop airframes to the Canadian Aerospace Group for modification, final completion, certification and sale to the North American market. The deal concluded in Beijing covers the supply of to 50 Y-12s over the next ...
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Cassini heads for Venus fly-by
NASA's Cassini Saturn Orbiter and its European Space Agency Huygens Titan lander, launched on a Titan 4 Centaur in November 1997, will pass to within 300km of the planet Venus on 26 April on its flightpath towards the ringed planet which it will reach in July 2004. The Huygens probe ...
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Hughes wins contract to build first Canadian Anik F satellite
Tim Furniss/LONDON Hughes Space and Communications has received a contract to build the first Anik F series communications satellite for Telesat Canada. The contract brings to 38 the number of geostationary orbit (GEO) communications spacecraft on Hughes' orderbook, with a further two craft on order for meteorological applications. ...
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STS90 Neurolab mission remains on schedule
NASA has confirmed that the next Space Shuttle mission will be launched on 16 April. The date had been threatened by fears that problems, mainly concerning a possible rescheduling of International Space Station (ISS)-related missions, could delay the launch to 28 April. The Neurolab - the final planned flight ...
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Israeli First
A space first for Israel occurred on 25 March when the national satellite Ofeq 3, launched in 1995, was manoeuvred into a higher orbit, reports the Molniya Space Consultancy, London. The spacecraft's 354-519km orbit was raised to 496-518km by two burns of the Ofeq's propulsion system. Source: Flight International
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Space Group
The European Space Agency (ESA) will establish a single European astronaut corps to prepare for the International Space Station programme by combining a cadre of ESA astronauts with those in programmes now operated by France, Germany and Italy. Source: Flight International
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ISS centre truss tested
Boeing has completed a test article of the 13m-long centre truss segment which is destined to become the backbone of the International Space Station (ISS). Assembly is now proceeding on the first production segment due to be attached in orbit to the crew laboratory module in early 2000. The centre ...
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China joins worldwide trend for outside airport investors
China is looking overseas for investors in its airports Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Kevin O'Toole/LONDON The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is to release investment guidelines later this year to enable foreign companies to take up to a 49% stake in the country's airports. The move follows ...
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Ariane 503 faces delay to September
Arianespace is preparing to delay the third and final European Space Agency (ESA)-funded demonstration flight of the Ariane 5 satellite launcher from July to September because it cannot find a commercial customer willing to provide a payload. The Ariane 503 launcher will be ready for lift-off in July, with ...
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Middle East Airlines prepares fleet strategy
Julian Moxon/BEIRUT Middle East Airlines (MEA) is to drop all long haul routes and consolidate its fleet around short and medium range Airbus types, as part of its plan to move into profit within three years. The airline is under new management appointed by its 99.9% owner, the ...
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Airbus in AE31X dilemma
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Airbus Industrie is looking for a collaborative programme to substitute for the AE31X to placate its Chinese aerospace industry joint venture partners in the regional jet project. The Chinese are increasingly irritated that the proposed 100-seat A319M5 derivative is gaining momentum as a quick fix alternative to compete ...
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Crossair and CityLine move closer to 728JET launch order
Andrzej Jeziorski/BASLE Crossair and Lufthansa CityLine have signed letters of intent (LoI) with Fairchild Dornier to continue work on the manufacturer's proposed 55-90 seat family of regional jets. Swiss-based Crossair may place a major launch order by the end of this year (Flight International, 25-31 March). According to ...
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US questionmark hangs over Swissair alliance
Kevin O'Toole/ZUrich Swissair's launch of the Qualifyer Group, an alliance with five other European carriers including Turkish Airlines (THY) and TAP Air Portugal, has run into questions over the lack of a transatlantic link. The grouping, unveiled with a fanfare in Zürich on 30 March, brings Swissair's European ...
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Shake-out time on the horizon for European low fare operators
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON Europe's low-cost airlines could be heading for a shake-out within the next year warns airline veteran British Midland (BM) chairman Sir Michael Bishop, highlighting a slowdown in growth and the prospect of a steep rise in airport charges. "Some of the special advantages that low cost carriers have ...