All air transport news – Page 2625
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Tan on top in PAL
The three year feud over control of Philippine Airlines appears to have ended in a deal that should leave the current chairman and chief executive, Lucio Tan, firmly in charge. At a special board meeting in late December, the warring parties agreed that Tan could take up an ...
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Five crowd over Tasman
The skies between Australia and New Zealand are becoming crowded as two new startups vie for discount traffic on secondary routes across the Tasman Sea. At the same time Ansett Australia has launched its first flights to New Zealand, joining national flags Qantas and Air New Zealand on the primary ...
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Pakistan to boost SIA?
Singapore Airlines could boost its bottom line by an estimated US$500 million in its current financial year through a major sale of aircraft. Discussions are underway with Pakistan International Airlines over eight Boeing 747-300s, which SIA wants to retire from its fleet of 69 aircraft. It is the ...
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NEPC chases Modi stake
Indian independent NEPC Airways is moving aggressively to consolidate its position as a major domestic player with a hostile takeover bid for rival Modiluft. NEPC's chairman Ravi Prakash Khemka's goal is to become the largest independent in the Indian domestic sector. 'We want to be number one in ...
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Indian lease plans stall
Bilateral limitations with Israel and Russia have partially scuppered Air-India's plans to boost capacity by bringing in wet-leased aircraft. The Indian flag carrier had brought in wet-leased aircraft as a stopgap measure to overcome capacity limitations, which have contributed to the steady decline in its market share to ...
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Job cuts could hit companies hard
America West Airlines laid off 500 machinists in December following a 736-person cutback last March. As part of its dramatic cost-cutting campaign began, Delta Air Lines let go of more than 3,000 workers. In 1995 alone, Continental Airlines dropped 5,000 jobs from its roster. What is happening? Long attributed ...
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Delta: what value pilots?
Delta Air Lines is struggling to reach a deal with its pilots over the launch of a low-cost B737 operation to go head to head with ValuJet, as the no-frills Atlanta-based carrier turns up the heat by launching into USAir's heartland. Delta management, which is seeking $340 million ...
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MDC
McDonnell Douglas (MDC) has made two senior appointments at its Washington DC operation. Robert Andrews has joined the company as vice-president, programme co-ordination. Andrews comes from Rockwell International, where he was director of strategic analysis. He will be responsible for managing the company's Washington activities for defence, space and technology ...
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Thai/US stalemate ends with new bilateral accord
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE A SIX-YEAR stand-off between Thailand and the USA has ended with agreement on a new bilateral air-services treaty which lifts capacity restrictions and increases fifth-freedom flights. The new agreement, which has still to be ratified by the Thai Government, will allow US carriers ...
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British Airways will switch 757s to Gatwick services
BRITISH AIRWAYS has earmarked Baku, Moscow and Tel Aviv as the first destinations from London Gatwick to be served with 173-seat Boeing 757s. The aircraft are scheduled to replace the smaller, 106-seat 737-200s and 130-seat -400s from October. Expanding traffic on several routes from Gatwick is accelerating the ...
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Airbus and Boeing fight for key Asiana contract
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE ASIANA AIRLINES of South Korea is near to selecting a new 150- to 180-seat passenger jet-airliner, as the first step in a wider fleet-modernisation programme. The airline has narrowed its choice to the Airbus Industrie A321 and rival Boeing 737-800. The two manufacturers ...
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Business Express yields to bankruptcy protection
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC BUSINESS EXPRESS, the US regional carrier based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has been forced into the federal bankruptcy court by Saab Aircraft. The airline owes Saab more than $20 million - much of it in unpaid lease payments. A major creditor, Saab ...
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GECAS may order up to 100 A320s
Julian Moxon/PARIS AIRBUS INDUSTRIE is set to secure between 60 and 100 orders and options for new narrow-body aircraft from GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), according to sources close to the negotiations (Flight International, 17-23 January). The order would follow on the heels of the huge ...
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Fokker's dream
REPORTS OF Fokker's death may be somewhat exaggerated, but the company's descent into administrative protection does spell the end of two dreams: that the Netherlands Government could somehow sustain a full-competence national aircraft maker, and that Daimler-Benz could be the nucleus of a powerful third Euro-pean aerospace force. ...
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Alitalia seeks ban on strikes to help recapitalisation
ALITALIA IS AWAITING responses from its main unions over plans for an 18-month ban on industrial action, which has become essential if the cash-strapped carrier is to go ahead with its badly needed recapitalisation. The Italian flag carrier requires a cash injection of L1.5 billion ($950 million) to ...
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Engine problems ground Swiss Airbuses
SWISSAIR HAS grounded five Airbus A320/321s after cracks were discovered in the turbine section of their CFM International CFM56-5B turbofans. The grounding affects Swissair aircraft recently fitted with the low- emissions dual-annular combustor (DAC). The airline describes the move as precautionary. The aircraft were withdrawn from ...
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Singapore applies to join Asian AE-100 programme
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Technologies is negotiating with China to take at least a 10% stake in the proposed new AE-100 passenger-aircraft programme. According to industry sources in Beijing, Singapore Technologies has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) to join ...
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Regional raises domestic stakes
Julian Moxon/PARIS FRANCE'S REGIONAL Airlines has joined the list of domestic carriers taking advantage of the 1 January liberalisation of French internal routes. The Nantes-based airline says that it will open several new cross-country routes between Nantes-Lyon, Bordeaux-Marseille, Lyon-Lille and Lyon-Strasbourg in the second quarter. ...
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GE90-powered 777 ETOPS tests in sight
EXTENDED-RANGE twin- operations (ETOPS) testing of the General Electric GE90-powered Boeing 777 could start in February after a series of delays. Boeing says that it is "...still waiting for a decision from the US Federal Aviation Administration reliability-assessment board [RAB]" on whether the tests can get under way. ...
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China turns down Dragonair stake to go it alone
CHINA NATIONAL Aviation (CNAC) has rejected Swire Pacific's offer of a 6% share in Dragonair, and will instead press on with plans to launch its own Hong Kong-based carrier. Beijing-controlled CNAC is reported to have already leased a Boeing 737 from the USA for delivery in March. The ...