All air transport news – Page 2585
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Embraer increases EMB-145 cruise speed
WITH THE Embraer EMB-145 flight-test programme now well on the way towards certification, the Brazilian manufacturer has released more details on the improved performance of the aircraft, with cruise speed and fuel consumption better than originally advertised. At an early stage of flight-testing, Embraer revealed that the aircraft ...
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Unions kill Air France Europe
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDONJulian Moxon/PARIS THE GRAND PLAN of Air France Group chairman Christian Blanc to create a single European operation from the merger of Air Inter and Air France's regional operations, has been blocked by the unions' failure to agree to productivity improvements. Instead, Blanc says that Air ...
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Airbus tackles A320 pilot shortage
Andrew Doyle/LONDON AN AIRBUS INDUSTRIE pilot team is attempting to improve the utilisation rate of Indian Airlines' A320 fleet. The team, which consists of Airbus training captains and airline check-pilots, has been dispatched to the airline in an effort to help it overcome a shortage ...
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Klimov details MiG-35 options
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW KLIMOV IS DEVELOPING two thrust-vectoring-engine designs, the RD-133 and the RD-333, for an advanced derivative of the MAPO-MiG MiG-29 Fulcrum, dubbed the MiG-35 (Flight International, 12-19 June). The engine-design bureau says that the RD-133 is based on the RD-33 which powers the Fulcrum, ...
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Aeroflot forges Transaero links
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW AEROFLOT AND Transaero have signed an agreement which will result in the two Russian carriers co-operating in operations, ticketing and fleet planning. The two airlines, both based at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, are responsible for 27% of Russia's passenger market. The memorandum calls for ...
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Gulf Air stems losses with rationalisation
GULF AIR SAYS that route cuts and rationalisation of its fleet have put it back on course for an early return to profitability, but warns that further cuts are in the pipeline. The airline had revealed that it lost $159 million in 1995 (Flight International, 3-9 April). Outlining ...
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Air Inter Europe shuts 18 loss-making routes
Julian Moxon/PARIS AIR INTER EUROPE is to close 18 loss-making routes in the third quarter of 1996 as part of money-saving measures as the carrier prepares for liberalisation in April 1997. The airline's moves towards competitiveness are threatened, however, by its pilots, who have until 30 ...
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Soyuz facelift
Russia's space booster, the Soyuz, is receiving new engines and avionics. Tim Furniss/LONDON RUSSIA'S CENTRAL Specialised Design Bureau in Samara has formed a partnership with France's Aerospatiale and the European launcher organisation Arianespace to attempt to market the Russian Soyuz booster for launches into low-Earth ...
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IAI makes plans to convert KLM Boeing 747s SUDs
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON THE BEDEK Aviation Division of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is about to sign a contract with KLM for the conversion of two Boeing 747-200 stretched upper deck (SUD) combis to full freighter configuration. The Netherlands airline has signed a letter of intent, and ...
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Air Littoral spins off Nice hub
Julian Moxon/PARIS FRENCH INDEPENDENT airline Air Littoral has consolidated its hold on the south of France by creating a new Nice-based airline, to be called Air Littoral Riviera. The carrier says that the move is directly aimed at preparing for the liberalisation of Europe's skies in April 1997. ...
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BAe looks to cash in on jets
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON BRITISH AEROSPACE'S jet-aircraft leasing arm has announced the sale of another three ex-Swissair Fokker 100s, and says that it plans to take advantage of the market upturn to begin selling down more of its fleet of BAe 146 regional jets. BAe Asset Management-Jets ...
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Emirates is looking at Airbus replacements
Max Kingsley-Jones andAndrew Doyle/LONDON EMIRATES IS evaluating bids from Airbus and Boeing for around 16 aircraft to replace its fleet of Airbus A300-600Rs and A310-300s after 1998. Gulf rival Kuwait Airways, meanwhile, has agreed a deal swapping Boeing 747-400 orders for Boeing 777s. The packages ...
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ILS clinches first launch contracts for Atlas 2AR
Tim Furniss/LONDON SPACE SYSTEMS/Loral has awarded ILS International Launch Services a contract for two firm launches (with one option) of communications satellites aboard the new Atlas 2AR booster. The launches have been booked for 1998 and 1999. This is the first launch contract ILS has ...
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Basic appeal
The EMB-145 is not an innovative aircraft, but Embraer's attention to basics makes it pleasant to fly. Peter Henley/SAO JOSE EMBRAER, IT SEEMS, could not be launching its EMB-145 50-seater at the world's commuter-airline market at a better time. Delays to the programme arising from its privatisation and ...
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Western Pacific nears decisions on orders
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON WESTERN PACIFIC is about to finalise plans for the acquisition of new aircraft, with orders anticipated for a 30- to 40-seat aircraft for its new commuter-airline division, and orders for Boeing 737-300s and -700s expected for its main fleet. The Colorado Springs, USA-based ...
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Cycles in the sky
The aviation-industry recovery is in full swing, but economists are even now forecasting when the next downturn will occur Kevin O'Toole/LONDON IN GERMANY THEY CALL it the pig cycle. When pork prices rise, farmers pile into the market to cash in on the boom, only to find ...
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UK's easyJet expands services under Air Foyle AOC
EASYJET HAS contracted Air Foyle Charter Airlines to operate all its services under the latter's air-operator's certificate (AOC), replacing a previous arrangement with GB Airways. London Luton Airport-based easyJet recently added to its fleetan ex-Monarch Airlines Boeing 737-300, leased from Yankee Alpha Aviation with an Air Foyle crew, ...
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A330s and 777 share Asiana deal
Paul Lewis/JAKARTA ASIANA AIRLINES of South Korea has signed agreements with Airbus Industrie and Boeing to order up to 58 new Airbus A330s, Boeing 777s, 747-400s and 767-300s in what is likely to be the largest widebody deal to be agreed this year. The carrier ...
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New test needed for CFM56-7B
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES CFM INTERNATIONAL (CFMI) plans to test a revised fan-blade retainer design on the CFM56-7B engine, following the failure of the original system during a crucial blade-off test which resulted in several blades detaching. Despite the need for a new test, CFMI is ...
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Air Inter takes first A319
AIR INTER EUROPE HAS taken delivery of its first Airbus A319, becoming the second airline (after Swissair) to operate the full range of Airbus single-aisle models. The airline will by next March receive eight more A319s on firm order, and will fly the CFM International CFM56-powered aircraft on internal French ...