All Systems & interiors articles – Page 791

  • News

    WAEA aims for DVD specification

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    The World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) aims to have a final specification for digital versatile disk (DVD) by the end of the third quarter, paving the way for the technology to be introduced in flight. DVD is the latest consumer technology to have captured the imagination of the in-flight ...

  • News

    US Airways joins the P@ssport providers

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    Emma Kelly/LONDON Sony Trans Com has secured a third customer for its P@ssport interactive in-flight entertainment system, with US Airways ordering the equipment for an initial seven Airbus A330-300s. The P@ssport order could increase, as the carrier holds options on a further 30 A330s. The first A330, which will ...

  • News

    All the rage

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    Prevention of 'air rage' incidents is better than cure, according to IATA David Learmount/LONDON The problem of disruptive passengers is so complex that the world's airlines are struggling to agree on remedies. There is consensus on one thing, however - prevention is better than cure. The International Air ...

  • News

    Iridium looks for avionics supplier as AlliedSignal quits

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    Emma Kelly/LONDON Iridium is in talks with avionics manufacturers following AlliedSignal's decision to drop its involvement in the new satellite system operator's aeronautical services for airlines. AlliedSignal is the sole supplier of avionics for Iridium's aeronautical services for the airline and general aviation markets. The manufacturer's single-channel Iridium ...

  • News

    Tests begin on Rafale optronics

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    Julian Moxon/PARISFlight tests of the Thomson-CSF Optronique front sector optronics (FSO)system that will give the Dassault Rafale fighter a passive infrared and television imaging capability have begun on a Dassault Falcon 20 testbed. The FSO will provide all-weather air-to-air and air-to-ground surveillance and targeting and, says Thomson-CSF Optronique, is the ...

  • News

    The big squeeze

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    European regional aviation is coming under pressure, and airlines are pessimistic about future expansion Chris Jasper/LONDONOn the face of it, the story of regional aviation in Europe is one of unparalleled success. The sector was the first in Europe to be liberalised, with the 50 and 70-seat markets freed to ...

  • News

    Franchise relationships boost expansion of regional market

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    Chris Jasper/LONDON The rapid expansion of the regional market in North America and Europe continued unabated last year, fuelled by US majors focusing on the consolidation of regional franchise relationships, and franchise expansion by their European counterparts. The US Regional Airlines Association (RAA) reports that passenger traffic increased ...

  • News

    FAA plans for VHF broadcast weather service

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    The US Federal Aviation Administration wants to provide a VHF broadcast network to send weather information to the cockpits of appropriately equipped general aviation aircraft. It will soon issue a request for proposals to commercial weather providers to develop and supply the service. The system will be two-tiered. The ...

  • News

    Scope for change

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    Pressure is mounting for the reform of regional airline pilot scope clauses Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The simmering debate over regional airline pilot scope clauses is slowly coming to the boil. With most labour agreements due for renewal from next year, pressure is building from a range of sectors - airlines, ...

  • News

    Disquieting move

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    US strong-arm tactics, of which the threatened ban on Concorde flights to the USA was the most visible sign, have forced the European Union (EU) to climb down from its deadline for implementing the ban on operating hushkitted aircraft in EU airspace. The prospect for another trade war with the ...

  • News

    Mergers

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    At least four of the 11 airlines that control a 64.9% stake in computer reservations systems provider Galileo International have announced plans to sell all or part of their holdings through a secondary public offering. United Airlines, KLM, US Airways and TAP Air Portugal are to dispose of stock, although ...

  • News

    Routes

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    LanChile is to offer three nonstop flights a week between Los Angeles, California, and its base at Santiago, Chile, from 3 July, in addition to the daily Los Angeles service via Lima, Peru. It is also adding direct services to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with connections to Cordoba and Mendoza. Swedish ...

  • News

    Shorter story

    1999-05-05T00:00:00Z

    Smaller may not always be better, but for Embraer it is a route to further success Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DCIt seems a simple, sensible approach: take a proven airframe, shorten the fuselage to produce a smaller aircraft, leave the rest unchanged, and avoid the time and cost of developing a new ...

  • News

    Time to talk about the scope clause

    1999-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Union limits on the scale and scope of regional flying are due to be brought out into the open as US regional carriers prepare to meet in Phoenix. How times have changed. In the not too distant past, regional airlines were the minnows of the aviation world, flying on "hometown" ...

  • News

    All change in Taiwan

    1999-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Sandy Liu, newly-confirmed president of China Airlines, is resorting to a radical approach to turn the airline around. Nicholas Ionides reports from Taipei. When Sandy Liu, president of China Airlines (CAL) has time on his hands, he picks up the company's internal telephone directory and picks a name. Liu then ...

  • News

    Phone alone

    1999-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Handheld internet terminals, led by the mobile phone, are promising to revolutionise contact with the customer. Jackie Gallacher reports. Hold onto your mobile phones, the wireless internet is coming your way. Scarcely has the world got to grips with email and the internet on personal computers, than the next ...

  • News

    Growth continues

    1999-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Regional airlines continue to thrive around the world, with traffic and profits climbing again last year, as the latest rankings indicate. But there are structural issues on the horizon as Kevin O'Toole, Karen Walker, Jackie Gallacher and Tom Gill report. And so regional markets continue to boom. Equipped with ...

  • News

    but UAL doubts US-UK open skies

    1999-05-01T00:00:00Z

    United Airlines is losing faith that a UK-US open skies deal will ever materialise despite industry hopes that progress is at last being made. Despairing of the lack of progress towards a new UK-US air transport pact, Michael Whitaker, United's vice-president international and regulatory affairs, claims that "there ...

  • News

    Pilots hamper TAP privatisation

    1999-05-01T00:00:00Z

    SAirGroup has agreed to take a stake in Tap Air Portugal, but a dispute over pilots' pay may jeopardise the Portuguese carrier's fragile profitability and remaining privatisation plans. As expected, Swissair's parent is to cement its relationship with the Portuguese flag carrier by taking a 20% stake, pending ...

  • News

    TAAN joins Venezuelan start-up

    1999-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Despite warnings from industry observers that Venezuela's future calls for fewer rather than more airlines, new carriers continue to line up to fill the hole left by the demise of flag carrier Viasa. TAAN (Transporte Aereo Andino) is the latest planned start-up, and one of three carriers seeking operating certificates ...