News from FlightGlobal – Page 2241
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News
External payload
Lockheed Martin has confirmed a new configuration of its proposed VentureStar single-stage-to-orbit reusable launch vehicle (Flight International, 13-19 October). The craft will carry an external payload bay up to 19m (60ft) long and 10m wide to provide greater fuel efficiency and greater mission flexibility. With the external payload bay removed, ...
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ARINC moves into airline passenger cabins with BT link
Communications specialist ARINC, better known for its cockpit services, is expanding its activities into the passenger cabin through an alliance with UK telecommunication giant BT. Under the deal, ARINC will be the preferred distributor of BT's aeronautical services in the USA. BT provides telephone, facsimile and in-flight entertainment (IFE) ...
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Tenzing aims for e-mail flight trials next year
Internet service provider Tenzing plans to launch flight trials of its in-flight e-mail/Internet services by next September. The Redmond, Washington-based company demonstrated its FlightConnect e-mail service for the first time at the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) show last month. It has signed up an airline for flight trials, says ...
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Swissair hangs up satphones
Swissair is removing the satellite communications (satcom)-based in-seat telephones installed on its narrowbody Airbus fleet due reliability problems and a lack of passenger demand. The in-seat phones will be removed from January, but one bulkhead-installed phone will remain on each aircraft, says Don McLaren, Swissair in-flight entertainment and communication ...
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Express way to success
Airlines catering for luxury travellers have often gone to the wall. Midwest Express, however, is thriving. Paul Seidenman/MILWAUKEE Since US airlines were deregulated, a few carriers have tried to offer a single-class service catering to the demands of high-fare business travellers. Generally, these luxury operations have been unsuccessful. ...
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IAE puts turbofan back on the drawing board
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH International Aero Engines (IAE) has dropped plans to launch a higher-thrust variant of its V2500 turbofan by the end of this year after failing to develop a satisfactory business case. It has refocused studies of the proposed "-A7" version of the engine, unveiled at the Paris ...
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Regional deal heralds China breakthrough
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Paul Lewis/WASHINGTONBombardier has signed a breakthrough deal with China's Shandong Airlines to supply five Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) series 200s. It will also look at establishing a dedicated training centre as local interest in regional aviation picks up. The Jinan-based provincial operator is the first Chinese carrier to ...
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Recorders may solve EgyptAir crash riddle
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hopes the impending recovery of EgyptAir flight 990's cockpit and data recorders will shed light on the Boeing 767-300ER's rollercoaster plunge into the sea on 31 October. NTSB investigators were waiting for a break in stormy weather last week ...
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Raising cain
The paperless cockpit and passenger cabin will soon be a reality if the Rockwell Collins/Condor-led Integrated Information System (I²S) programme shows the future of airline communications. A marvellous but obvious idea - applying the universal components of the ground-based computer industry to airline communications. Such information management systems linking ...
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Marketplace
British Airways has confirmed its commitment for up to 24 Airbus A318s. The first Pratt & Whitney PW6000-powered aircraft will be delivered from 2003. South Africa's Interdoc Aerospace has placed deposits with Canadian Aerospace Group International for five 19-seat Twin Panda turboprops. The aircraft is a Westernised version of the ...
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Routes
Mesa Airlines, operating as US Airways Express, will begin offering three non-stop round trip flights each weekday between Washington's Reagan National Airport and Toronto, beginning 5 December, using 50-seat Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets. British Airways franchise operator British Regional Airlines (BRAL) is introducing services between Southampton and Frankfurt in January, ...
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Australia gets new regional carrier
A new regional carrier, Skytours, is preparing to launch operations with a Fairchild Dornier 228 in eastern Australia. The airline, which is finalising the acquisition of a 228-200 from Air Malawi, is aiming to undertake a public flotation to raise A$3.62 million ($2.3 million). Chief executive Alan Falconer says ...
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Chautauqua to fly TWA's jet feed
Trans World Airlines (TWA) has agreed a marketing tie-up with Chautauqua Airlines to launch its first regional jet services. The deal involves Chautauqua parent Wexford Management committing to orders and options for up to a further 60 Embraer RJ-145s. The 10-year agreement calls for Chautauqua to launch the first ...
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Virgin 'will join' alliance
Chris Jasper/CHICAGO Virgin Atlantic Air-ways says it is now inevitable that it will link up with a global alliance. Chairman Richard Branson has revealed the UK carrier has been approached by three major groupings. Sources at Virgin confirm that the UK carrier has entered a dialogue with at least one ...
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Brazil's airlines snub VASP idea
Brazilian airline VASP says the country's other three major carriers have snubbed its proposal to create a single holding company. An offer from Brazil's development bank to finance a merger between the struggling airlines also continues to be rejected. At the start of the month, Varig, Transbrasil and TAM Brazil ...
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Connecting East Africa
Kenya Airways has shown how to succeed, but its East African regional rivals are struggling Michael Wakabi/KAMPALA A shareholders' meeting on 26 November could pose ominous implications for the East African air industry. The stockholders control African Joint Air Services Agreement (AJAS), the holding company behind SA Alliance, the ...
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FlightSafety Boeing picks Luton for first European training unit
Max Kingsley-Jones/LUTON FlightSafety Boeing Training International (FSBTI) has rethought its European strategy, deciding to set up small training centres across Europe rather than one major hub near London Heathrow. The change of plan comes as the company initiates the development of a £44 million ($73.5 million) training centre, which ...
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Thai closes on privatisation
Jens Flottau/TOKYOThai Airways International chief executive Thamnoon Wanglee says a decision on the privatisation of the carrier will be taken next March or April, with the choice of investor determining whether the carrier remains within the Star Alliance. Wanglee confirms that British Airways and Qantas have made approaches on behalf ...
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SAirGroup earmarks cash for stakes in THY and TAP
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH SAirGroup is setting aside SFr500 million ($335 million) for its planned acquisition of equity stakes in THY Turkish Airlines and TAP Air Portugal next year. It is also close to finalising its new US airline alliance strategy. The Swiss company plans to bid for a 20% equity ...
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Onex raises offer for Air Canada
Brian Dunn/MONTREAL The Onex investment group has improved its takeover offer for Air Canada in response to Star Alliance's bid to keep the carrier in the airline grouping, but there appears to be no quick end in sight to the Canadian airline industry's nine-week old merger battle. Onex ...