All air transport news – Page 2664
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Regional winner?
Embraer's first public flight of its EMB-145 was acclaimed by observers. Graham Warwick/SAO PAULO JUDGING BY the reactions of regional-airline executives attending the 18 August roll-out and first public flight of the EMB-145 regional-jet, Embraer has produced a potential winner - if the newly privatised Brazilian ...
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Varig loses out after disastrous yen financing
BRAZILIAN AIRLINE Varig is to dispose of five Boeing 747s because of the cost of its Japanese yen financing, which has left the airline showing losses for the first half of the year. Financial director Carlos Ebner claims that Varig lost almost $71 million on the financing deal ...
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Trunkliner progress
Metal for the first Chinese-built McDonnell Douglas (MDC) MD-90-30 TrunkLiner has been cut by Shanghai Aviation Industrial (SAIC) and sub-assembly manufacturers Xian and Chengdu Aircraft. SAIC will deliver the first of 20 MD-90 twinjets in the first quarter of 1998. MDC is, meanwhile, understood to be close to concluding a ...
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MiG-MAPO offers to upgrade Polish Fulcrums
MiG-MAPO is offering to upgrade Polish air force Mikoyan MiG-29SE Fulcrums as an alternative to Poland procuring Western combat aircraft, according to a senior company official. The Polish air force is interested in improving its fighter-combat capability with the Lockheed Martin F-16, thought to be the favoured political ...
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Mikoyan is confident of interceptor service entry
THE MIKOYAN MiG-31M "Foxhound B" heavy interceptor was openly displayed for the first time at the show, with MiG-MAPO and its radar developer NIIP claiming that the Vympel R-77 (AA-12 Adder) active medium-range missile has been fully integrated with the aircraft. Despite the MiG-31M debut, its primary armament ...
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Tupolev reveals Tu-304 details
TUPOLEV HAS revealed new details of its planned Tu-304 long-range, widebodied twin, adding that it has signed a protocol with Rolls-Royce to power the aircraft. The agreement with the UK engine manufacturer covers the use of the 400kN (90,000lb)-thrust Trent 884 turbofan. Tupolev is coming to the end ...
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R-R-powered Tu-204 heads for sales break
THE AVIASTAR production plant is in advanced negotiations for the sale of 60 Rolls-Royce-powered Tupolev Tu-204s to a Russian leasing company. In a separate move, Tupolev says that it is close to clinching an agreement on a potential sale of a further ten aircraft. Negotiations between Aviastar, R-R, ...
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Orders grow for 777s but 1995 deliveries show decline
Egyptair has ordered three high gross-weight Boeing 777-200s, expanding the US airframe builder's firm orderbook to 167. At the same time, however, Boeing predicts that its 1996 deliveries will fall for the fourth consecutive year. The predicted 1996 delivery tally of 210, compared with 235 for 1995, was ...
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Virgin closes in on Europe
Virgin Atlantic Airways is poised for a major expansion into Europe. Plans for the establishment of a low-cost pan-European airline, possibly based at Brussels or Amsterdam, have advanced to the extent where a decision is expected to be made before the end of the year for a start in the ...
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Airbus hits out against Russia's import taxes
NEVER ONE to miss an opportunity for an air-show criticism, Airbus Industrie president Jean Pierson took the opportunity of MosAero '95 to take a swipe at high Russian taxes on buying and leasing imported aircraft. Russia imposes 50% taxes on imported aircraft, and 50% on any leases after ...
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Lufthansa and SAS see healthy rise in profits
LUFTHANSA AND Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS) have continued the run of strong airline performances coming out of Europe, both carriers reporting a surge in profits for the first half of the year. Following the lead already set by British Airways and KLM, Lufthansa posted record load factors of ...
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Ilyushin develops cargo variant of Il-114
THE ILYUSHIN design bureau and the TAPO Tashkent production plant are completing development of a cargo version of the Il-114 regional turboprop. The freighter will have a door measuring 3.31 x 1.78m in the tail section of the fuselage, and a take-off weight of 23,500kg. With a 6,000kg ...
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Tupolev rolls out two prototypes
TUPOLEV presented two prototypes at the show. The first to be displayed was the Tu-234 - a shortened, 160-seat version of the 220-seat Tu-204. This was followed a day later by the roll-out of the 102- to 126-seat Tu-334 twinjet. Tupolev deputy general director July Kashtanov ...
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Propeller failure blamed for fatal Brasilia crash
Graham Warwick/Atlanta Propeller-blade failure is the suspected cause of the 21 August crash of an Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia near Carrollton, Georgia, USA, which killed the captain and four passengers. Evidence of a blade-spar fatigue-fracture has been found. Blade failure has also been ...
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Fokker 70 order
KLM has ordered four Fokker 70 regional twinjets to replace its four F-28s. They will be operated by the Dutch flag carrier's subsidiary KLM Cityhopper, on three-year operating leases. Source: Flight International
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Horizon presses DASA to launch stretched 328
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA HORIZON AIR IS pressuring Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) to launch a stretched variant of the Dornier 328 regional turboprop. The Alaska Air Group subsidiary, which operates both the 328 and the de Havilland Dash 8, has made standardising on one large-turboprop type a priority, and is pushing ...
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Il-86 re-engineing near
The launch of the long-awaited project to re-engine Ilyushin Il-86s with CFM International CFM56 engines may have moved a step closer, with a deal having been reached with one Il-86 operator. "By the end of this show, or shortly after, we will meet the launching terms," says CFM shareholder GE. ...
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Airbus chief attacks JAA on grandfather rights
AIRBUS INDUSTRIE chief executive Jean Pierson has extended his attack on the attitude of the European Joint Airworthiness Authority (JAA) to certification "grandfather rights" by writing to the governments of the Airbus partner countries. In a letter sent on 18 August to the aviation and trade ministers of ...
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African dilemma
MANY AFRICAN airlines and their state owners - like their counterparts in the rest of the world - are being pressured towards privatisation. Those African airlines are not, however, like their European counterparts; nor is the environment in which they fly like Europe. The most pressing questions they face are ...
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A growing hazard
A new report on space debris says that it is a growing hazard, which needs urgent attention. Tim Furniss/LONDON A NASA-FUNDED report by the National Research Council (NRC) says that the hazard to spacecraft posed by artificial debris in orbit, although still low, is growing ...