All air transport news – Page 2577
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United to dedicate fleet to shuttle division
SHUTTLE BY UNITED, THE US airline's low-cost division set up in October 1994, will operate a dedicated fleet of 45 Boeing 737s from next March. The division's 23 134-seat 737-300s and 22 116-seat 737-500s will have new interior layouts, with galleys replaced by eight economy seats and new galley equipment. ...
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Aiming for the top
Phillipine Airlines is being revamped in a determined effort to polish its tarnished image Paul Lewis/MANILA For many years Phillipine Airlines (PAL) had the reputation of being a carrier with a problem. A series of soap-opera-type shareholder battles for control, a geriatric fleet of aircraft, poor punctuality ...
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New chairman aims to begin rapid shake-up plan at BWIA
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON NEW BWIA International chief executive Gilles Filiatreault is to present to a meeting of the main board on 16 August a new strategy for the Caribbean carrier, just 11 days after his appointment was made public. BWIA announced the elevation of the former ...
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Indian courts resolve Skyline leasing wrangle
Andrew Chuter/LONDON US LEASING COMPANY PLM International has failed in a legal action to have Indian carrier Skyline NEPC, return two Boeing 737-200s, which it has on lease. The Bombay court has ordered the airline to pay arrears, which have accrued from non-payment of leases since late ...
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Business Express attracts interest, despite bankruptcy
SAAB AIRCRAFT, which forced Business Express into bankruptcy court early this year over a $20 million debt, "-has been approached by parties interested in taking over the regional airline", says Michael Magnusson, Saab's senior US-based sales executive. "We are confident that someone will take it over. A couple ...
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Alfa purchase gives Fiat control of Italy's aero-engine business
Julian Moxon/PARIS FIAT HAS acquired the bulk of Alfa Romeo Avio, in a move, which consolidates virtually all of Italy's aero-engine industry within the giant automotive group. The move follows a decision by Italian state-owned aerospace group Finmeccanica to sell its 77.5% stake in the Alfa ...
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Cathay profits, despite tough half-year
CATHAY PACIFIC Airways produced a respectable rise in profits over the first half of the year, despite restrained growth and some pressure on costs. Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering (HAECO), the Hong Kong carrier's sister company within the Swire Group, saw profits dip again, however. Financial analysts are ...
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Boeing 'flies' first 737-700 wing
THE FIRST WING FOR THE BOEING 737-700 has been transferred from its tooling to the next manufacturing position at Boeing's Renton factory, near Seattle, Washington. Later this year, the No 1 (left) wing structure and its opposite number will be attached to the first 737-700 fuselage, which is being produced ...
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KLM suffers setback as costs increase
KLM has worried financial markets with an unexpectedly poor set of first-quarter figures, revealing a steep rise in costs and further bad news from its cargo operations. Attention has focused on a drop in the Dutch carrier's operating profits, which slumped by half over the quarter to the end of ...
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Lufthansa Technik warns against maintenance monopoly dangers
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH LUFTHANSA TECHNIK (LHT) chairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber has criticised manufacturers which offer their own maintenance packages for aircraft and aero engines. LHT says that aircraft and engine manufacturers are increasingly attempting to "-elbow their way" into the maintenance and overhaul market and restrict current ...
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PW4090 flight-test programme starts on first Boeing 777
PRATT & Whitney's 400kN (90,000lb)-thrust PW4090 engine has entered a five-month flight-test programme on the first Boeing 777 aircraft, WA001. The engine will power 777-200IGW versions on order from Korean Air and United Airlines, the first of which will enter service in March 1997. The engine is an ...
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Delta launches low-cost Express from Florida base
Karen Walker/ATLANTA DELTA AIRLINES has entered the low-fare market with the launch of Delta Express, a single-class service providing non-stop flights between Florida and cities in the mid-western and north-eastern USA. Services, using a dedicated fleet of 25 Boeing 737-200s, will begin on 1 October ...
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Engines should be treated separately
Sir - Recent news suggests that civil organisations do not seem to share their safety-related views. I was amazed to find that an airline could conduct the same maintenance task, simultaneously, on both engines of a twin without a test before flight. Surely, if there is a need, for example, ...
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Lockheed
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, of Sunnyvale, California, has named Mike Henshaw executive vice-president. He was formerly vice-president for civil space as well as vice-president for business development, advanced programmes and technology. John Dietz is appointed vice-president for business development, advanced programmes and technology. He has been vice-president of data-development ...
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Concorde celebration
Seen (left) is Brian Trubshaw, chief test pilot of the Anglo-French Concorde, with (centre) Capt Jeremy Rendall, who completed his last British Airways Concorde flight on 20 July, landing at RAF Fairford, in the UK. With them are the crew of the first British Airways commercial Concorde flight, in 1976, ...
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Farnborough '96 Preview
Aerospace is flooded with air shows, but the Farnborough '96 organiser promises an "essential"event this September Compiled by Kate Sarsfield/LONDON WITH THE AEROSPACE calendar awash with air shows, Farnborough '96 show organiser The Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) is keen to promote its biennial show as ...
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Civil and military helicopter directory
Douglas Barrie, Max Kingsley-Jones and Jennifer Pite/LONDON DESPITE THE recent gloom in the civil-helicopter business, the manufacturers are now more confident that a recovery is within sight, and have been bullishly developing new models. In 1995, US-manufactured new civil helicopter shipments totalled 314, a slight improvement ...
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Oxford gives operators a Neu-SIGHT into corrosion
Andrew Doyle/LONDON AN INSPECTION tool using neutron radiography will allow non-destructive testing for corrosion in aircraft structures to be carried out more quickly and effectively than with X-ray or ultrasonic techniques, according to developer Oxford Instruments. The tool, called the Neu-SIGHT, uses a high-intensity beam ...
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DHL eyes widebody freighters for European operations
DHL AIRWAYS is targeting late 1997 or early 1998 to introduce widebodied freighters on to its European network, as it seeks to modernise and upgrade its fleet. The US-based package carrier operates some 50 aircraft on its European cross-border network, including 24 Stage 3 Boeing 727-100/200 freighters. Two more -200Fs ...
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FAA moves ahead with local-area GPS teams
FOUR TEAMS HAVE received contracts to support US Federal Aviation Administration development of the local-area augmentation system (LAAS) which is needed to provide Category II/III precision-approach capability using the global-positioning system (GPS). The delayed contracts awarded to Harris, PRC, Raytheon and Wilcox pre-qualify the teams to bid on task orders ...