All air transport news – Page 2302

  • News

    Alitalia move brings Wings alliance closer

    1999-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Alitalia has joined the Northwest-KLM alliance, bringing a step closer a third major global airline grouping to compete with the Star Alliance and oneworld. The three-way grouping is expected to lead to the formation later this year of the global Wings Alliance, which could include part Northwest-owned carrier Continental ...

  • News

    Estonian builds with CRJ-200s

    1999-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Andrew Chuter/TALLINEstonian Air is to transform its fleet in the wake of its co-operation agreement with SAS, switching the emphasis away from the Boeing 737 and Fokker 50 turboprop towards Bombardier regional jets. The Tallin-based carrier, 49% owned by Denmark's Maersk Air, with the Estonian Government and the Baltic Cresco ...

  • News

    National Jet flies RJ70 to Papua New Guinea

    1999-05-19T00:00:00Z

    South Australia-based National Jet Systems (NJS) has begun to fly a wet-leased British Aerospace RJ70 regional aircraft to Papua New Guinea for flag carrier Air Niugini. The deal, initially set up for four months, replaces a Fokker F28, recently damaged when an undercarriage failed during a landing roll-out. It ...

  • News

    Routes

    1999-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Canadian Airlines has started codesharing with British Airways on the latter's routes from London to Brussels, Belgium and Stockholm, Sweden. Qantas and Western Samoa-based Polynesian Airlines have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a "commercial relationship" which will include codesharing. UK cargo carrier Channel Express is launching a weekly ...

  • News

    British Midland applies for bilateral exemption

    1999-05-19T00:00:00Z

    British Midland (BM) has applied to the US Department of Transportation (DoT) for an exemption from the UK/US air services agreement to allow it to launch transatlantic services in late March 2000. The UK airline is initially seeking approval for the London Heathrow-New York Kennedy route. To introduce the ...

  • News

    Alitalia shops for regional jet

    1999-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Alitalia is examining options for a major regional jet acquisition. The carrier plans to introduce aircraft in the 50-seat and 80/100-seat category for its Alitalia Express operations and it is considering placing an order for Boeing 747-400s to improve its long-haul fleet compatibility with partner KLM. The Bombardier Canadair Regional ...

  • News

    Boeing and Sikorsky seek extra cash to keep Comanche flying

    1999-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Boeing and Sikorsky are seeking an additional $108 million in US Congressional funding for theRAH-66 Comanche programme to continue flying the second prototype next year. The start of engineering and manufacturing development has been advanced by 19 months, to next year, but more money is needed in the transition from ...

  • News

    Ayres lets Czech Republic for FedEx Loadmaster production

    1999-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC FedEx has converted options on 25 additional Ayres Loadmaster freighters to firm orders. Ayres will produce the turboprop-powered aircraft, for the airline's European operation at Let in the Czech Republic, says president Fred Ayres. The package carrier already holds orders for 50 Loadmasters to be ...

  • News

    Regional TCAS

    1999-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Honeywell has announced a string of new regional customers for its TCAS 2000 traffic alert and collision avoidance system. They include a deal with KLM-UK to fit the system, plus antennas, into five ATR-72s. An order from Crossair to fit TCAS 2000 to 29 Saab 2000 and 12 Saab 340Bs ...

  • News

    Regional revolution

    1999-05-19T00:00:00Z

    Carl Albert, chief executive of Fairchild Aerospace calls it a revolution, a description delegates at the Regional Airline Association meeting in Arizona would have been hard pressed to disagree with. The revolution in question was the switch to regional jets, and not just 50 and 70-seaters, but 30, 40 and ...

  • News

    Airbus opposes FAA's 207min ETOPS proposals

    1999-05-12T00:00:00Z

    Andrew Doyle/TOULOUSE Airbus Industrie is railing against proposals by the US Federal Aviation Administration to raise extended-range twin-engined operations (ETOPs) limits by 15% to 207min, claiming that "significant technical and operational matters remain to be resolved". The consortium denies that its opposition to the further relaxation of ETOPS ...

  • News

    757s face axe as BA tackles falling yields

    1999-05-12T00:00:00Z

    Chris Jasper/LONDON Andrew Doyle/MUNICH British Airways plans to replace Boeing 757s operating from its London Heathrow hub with smaller Boeing 737s and possibly Airbus A320s as part of a strategy to tackle its crisis of falling yields on short-haul routes. The move represents a U-turn in BA's strategy at ...

  • News

    IAI signs with Boeing for work on MD-11 freighter conversions

    1999-05-12T00:00:00Z

    Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) has concluded an arrangement with Boeing which will see it become a freighter conversion and upgrade specialist on the Boeing MD-11 tri-jet. The deal between Boeing and the Tel Aviv-based Bedek division of IAI includes a subcontract to carry out 40 MD-11 freighter conversions, at ...

  • News

    El Al considers leasing for new widebody fleet

    1999-05-12T00:00:00Z

    Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV El Al is considering leasing Airbus aircraft from International Lease Finance (ILFC) to overcome any political hurdles the airline may face if it selects the A330/A340 to meet its long range requirements. The leasing option is being evaluated as the selection process comes to an end. ...

  • News

    New European safety body keeps to schedule

    1999-05-12T00:00:00Z

    The new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is on schedule to start operations in 2001 or 2002, despite disagreements on several key aspects of the organisation. Although it is being formed on the initiative of the European Union (EU), EASA will not be a European Commission (EC) agency. Instead, ...

  • News

    EVA Airways orders three 747-400 freighters

    1999-05-12T00:00:00Z

    EVA Airways is undertaking a significant expansion of its cargo operations, with a deal for three General Electric CF6-80C2-powered Boeing 747-400 freighters. The first delivery is for next year. EVA deputy senior vice-president K W Nieh says the aircraft "is ideal for long-haul routes from South-East Asia to Europe and ...

  • News

    FAA advances FDR upgrades

    1999-05-12T00:00:00Z

    Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Federal Aviation Administration will require upgraded flight data recorders (FDRs) on newer Boeing 737s, a year sooner than previously ordered. In the light of the recent report on the 1994 US Airways Boeing 737 crash near Pittsburgh, in which rudder hardover was a suspected factor, ...

  • News

    UK probes MAS 'low fuel' landings

    1999-05-12T00:00:00Z

    David Learmount/LONDON Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The UK's Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) is investigating serious safety breaches involving Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) operations into London Heathrow. The DETR declines to name the airline, but Flight International understands from government and industry sources that on several occasions MAS has ...

  • News

    Korean settles for reshuffle instead of resignations

    1999-05-12T00:00:00Z

    Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Korean Air (KAL) is not accepting any of the 29 resignations submitted by senior executives in the wake of its latest fatal accident. This fits the pattern of previous KAL accidents, where contrite senior executives offered their resignations en masse, but few were accepted. KAL's new ...

  • News

    Marketplace

    1999-05-12T00:00:00Z

    Oman Air has taken delivery of its first of two ex-Swissair Airbus A310-300s, leased from International Lease Finance (ILFC). The Pratt & Whitney JT9D-powered aircraft are scheduled to be replaced by two younger, PW4000-powered A310-300s leased from ILFC later this year. China Northwest Airlines has leased two CFM International CFM56-5-powered ...