All Safety News – Page 1268
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Air Wisconsin aims to trade turboprops for regional jets
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Air Wisconsin wants to trade in its Fairchild Dornier 328 turboprops for new 32/44-seat regional jets, while playing down interest in the British Aerospace Avro RJ-X in the face of United Airlines' scope clause restrictions. The United Express carrier is evaluating the newly certificated Embraer RJ-135 ...
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KAL gears up for freighter fleet overhaul
Andrzej Jeziorski/SEOUL Korean Air's (KAL) cargo division is undertaking a rationalising and renewal of its freighter fleet and has wet-leased an Atlas Air Boeing 747-400F as it boosts transpacific frequencies. According to KAL, the Atlas deal was restricted by local regulations to two weeks from mid-July, after which the lease ...
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Safety surprises
A relatively safe first half of 1999 included some landmark events in airline flight safety David Learmount/LONDON An airline industry-feared rise in air transport accidents is not happening. A marked flight safety improvement has occurred in the first half of this year, compared with the same period last year, despite ...
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Taking on the dollar
Jack Sellsby/LONDON When the euro was introduced at the start of this year, it became a huge source of new currency financing almost overnight, although the airlines were not the quickest of the corporates to take advantage. But like any other industry on the lookout for fresh, plentiful finance ...
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Control freaks
It often takes a crisis to unite an industry and push participants into much-needed action. A crisis is exactly what Europe's air traffic control system is facing this summer, and Eurocontrol, Europe's air navigation organisation, freely admits it. The signs are already there. Last summer's system performance was poor, ...
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Eurocontrol delays steps to taking regulatory powers
Emma Kelly/BRUSSELS Eurocontrol's Council has delayed until October a decision on whether to approve plans to consider granting the air navigation organisation regulatory powers to force member states to make urgent air traffic management (ATM) improvements. The move comes as Europe's air traffic control (ATC) system is facing a summer ...
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A340 beats 777 at China Airlines
China Airlines (CAL) has selected the Airbus Industrie A340-300 over the Boeing 777-200 for its long haul requirement as part of a larger refleeting plan totalling 24 aircraft. It includes orders for additional Boeing 747-400 freighters and 737-800s. The Taiwanese flag carrier, after a prolonged evaluation, is planning to ...
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Boeing is considering 'shrunk' 767-400ER for long range role
Guy Norris/SEATTLE Boeing is considering a possible shrink of the 767-400ER as an alternative to meeting the long range requirement of the proposed 767-300ERX with discrete upgrades from the stretched twin-aisle development. The move would be a subtle but distinct change in direction for the 767 programme and ...
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KAL launches $200 million safety reforms
Andrzej Jeziorski/SEOUL Korean Air (KAL), desperate to restore its credibility after a string of crashes, is embarking on a $200 million reform programme to boost safety. The airline hopes this will lead to resumption of codeshare agreements with Air France, Delta Air Lines and Air Canada, which have ...
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Virgin makes plans to be bigger in Asia
Chris Jasper/SHANGHAI Virgin Atlantic Airways chairman Richard Branson has mapped out plans for a major expansion of the UK carrier's Asian route network over the next few years while conceding that its aim of establishing a US domestic subsidiary looks unlikely to become a reality. Speaking in Shanghai during ...
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China Eastern nears decision on MD-11 fleet replacement
Chris Jasper/SHANGHAIChina Eastern Airlines is finalising plans to order new long-haul aircraft to replace its Boeing MD-11s, as it agrees a new delivery schedule for 10 A320s with Airbus Industrie. China Eastern operates five Boeing MD-11 passenger aircraft and a single cargo version, but will remove the type from its ...
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Gemini set to double cargo capacity
Gemini Air Cargo plans to double the number of freighters it operates by the end of 2000 from nine aircraft. The increase is the result of major US investor The Caryle Group acquiring a majority stake in the carrier. "Caryle will be an excellent financial partner in the next ...
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Landing gear deals clear BFGoodrich/Coltec merger
BFGoodrich and Coltec Industries completed their $2.2 billion merger on 12 July, after agreements were reached with AlliedSignal and Crane to preserve competition in the US landing system industry. The agreements ended lawsuits which had blocked the deal, but left the "strategic and economic fundamentals of the merger completely ...
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SabreTech faces ValuJet murder charge
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC SabreTech, the maintenance contractor for the former ValuJet Airlines, says it will "vigorously defend" itself against murder and manslaughter charges brought by Florida state prosecutors. It also faces federal grand jury criminal indictments. The charges relate to the crash of a ValuJet McDonnell Douglas ...
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Boeing tackles winglet erosion in MD-11 modification package
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing plans to complete work by the end of the year on improvements to tackle long-standing operational problems on the MD-11. They include new coatings to prevent excessive erosion to the winglets, modifications to stop skin cracks and changes to system fittings and valves to prevent ...
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UK police Islander will test anti-noise propellers
In response to growing environmental concerns over noise from general aviation aircraft in Europe, the UK's Britten-Norman plans a six-month trial of new generation propellers on a BN2B light utility piston-engined Islander. The test is part of a UK Government-backed programme. Designed by US propeller manufacturer Hartzell as part ...
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Digital data network software progresses
Aeronautical Communication International (ACI) has completed the first of three phases of aeronautical telecommunications network software for the communications, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management environment. The software will determine the routing of digital data messages between aircraft and air traffic control. ACI, which comprises Airsys ATM, AlliedSignal, Honeywell, Sextant ...
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Carriers put transpolar plans on ice
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC North American carriers are being forced to shelve plans for new non-stop direct services between US and Asian destinations as infrastructural and political problems delay the opening of transpolar routes . Trial flights over the North Pole have stopped only 12 months after the inaugural ...
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Free flight
The UK's new air traffic services supremo believes privatisation is the way forward for ATC David Learmount/LONDON Airlines are condemned to face serious air traffic control delay in European airspace for the foreseeable future unless there is a revolution in how policy decisions governing the continent's air traffic services ...
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African Star licence continues, despite troubles
Hilka Birns/JOHANNESBURG South Africa's Department of Transport (DoT) is continuing to process the licence application of African Star, despite the start-up's chief executive facing charges of contravening the country's Customs & Excise Act. Investigators refuse to comment on the case, but sources say that the diversion of duty-free ...