All Systems & interiors articles – Page 818
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News
Alliances: three forgotten factors
Stop. Wait. Listen. Think. The whole world is alliance-mad. The fanatical alliance worshippers of this world might think this is heresy, but a fundamental question needs to be asked. Is the crazy web of continuously changing alliance relationships actually going to produce workable results? Alliance-building is basically an egotistical ...
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US alliances face scrutiny
The US General Accounting Office has planted serious seeds for concern in politicians' minds by claiming that proposed US domestic alliances could mean a reduction in competitive service to almost 101 million American passengers. The GAO highlights the Delta Air Lines/United Airlines partnership as especially worrying because of its ...
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Swissair moves to reduce fuel bill
Swissair is aiming to save SFr14 million ($10 million) a year and boost its environmentally-friendly image by cutting fuel consumption by 3%. It plans to achieve the reduction by reducing aircraft operating weights and improving operating procedures. Studies conducted jointly by Swissair flight operations and US company Flight Sciences ...
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A common cause
Arianespace's chairman says that the company must forge partnerships to maintain its market share Tim Furniss/PARIS Arianespace of France and Antrix, the commercial wing of India's Department of Space, signed an agreement on 11 June to pursue a plan to market jointly the Indian Space Research Organisation's Polar ...
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Qantas embarks on European charter routes from Heathrow
Ian Sheppard/LONDON Qantas has started operating Boeing 747-400 charter flights in Europe by leasing its aircraft to other carriers during layover at London Heathrow Airport. Qantas pilots and cabin crew will operate five trips to Barcelona and four to Istanbul, flying P&O cruise passengers to and from the ...
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A first class idea
While the rest of the airline industry promotes the idea of no-frills, virtually fat-free flying, Midwest Express is pampering its passengers with premium service. Meanwhile, in France Fairlines hopes to emulate this success. A handful of peanuts and a dribble of Coca-Cola never satisfied anyone, least of all an airline ...
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Are you IT- compatible?
Anybody who has not realised that strategic alliances between airlines are the future of the industry must have been asleep for the last few years. But as the major alliance groups seek to implement the close ties their strategists have planned, they are becoming acutely aware of a painful reality: ...
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Courting trouble
By the time that the European courts actually got round to ruling on the Air France state aid issue, it is a fair bet that few people remembered that the case was still pending. It is, after all, four years since the European Commission waved through approval for the French ...
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Russia pleads poverty to delay de-orbiting the Mir space station
Russia is continuing to play a cat-and-mouse game with NASA over the International Space Station (ISS) and national Mir space station programmes. Being pressed by NASA to de-orbit the Mir as soon as possible to pave the way for the ISS, Russia is claiming that lack of funds will ...
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ESA to develop small satellite launcher
Ministers from the European Space Agency member states have agreed to develop a new small commercial satellite launcher called the Vega. The booster will include the Italian/French-built Ariane 5 solid rocket booster, two Fiat Avio motors and a liquid propellant upper stage. The launcher is aimed at placing payloads ...
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Emirates turns down Star for its own global network plans
Doug Cameron/Dubai Emirates has turned down an offer to join the Star Alliance, the Dubai-based flag carrier opting instead to develop its own global network following an order for up to 12 ultra long haul aircraft. A decision between the Airbus Industrie A340-500 and Boeing 777-200X - for six firm ...
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Where's the glue
The major alliance groups are each taking different approaches as they try to balance the need for IT integration against potential divorce. When United Airlines' chairman Gerald Greenwald announced the planned alliance with Delta Air Lines, he pointed to IT as one of the major hurdles that would determine ...
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HUDs for hubs
Tony Booth/Basle Switzerland's Crossair has completed the installation of head-up displays (HUDs) in its Saab 2000s, thus providing the schedule reliability required for its EuroCross strategy to turn Basle Airport into a major European regional hub. With careful arrival and departure co-ordination, Crossair now guarantees more than 500 ...
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FAA approves TLS
The Transponder Landing System (TLS) developed by Advanced Navigation & Positioning of Hood River, Oregon, has been certificated by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The TLSallows Category 1 localiser and glidepath signals to be transmitted from an airfield base station to aircraft equipped for instrument landing system use, without the ...
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Luscombe Spartan
Luscombe Aircraft's four-seat Spartan 185 is scheduled to make its first flight on 19 June at Altus, Oklahoma. The aircraft was originally built between 1935 and 1966 under the title Luscombe 11A, and about 3,000 are still in operation. To date, about $4 million has been invested in retooling for ...
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CAG secures its first order for Y-12 Twin Panda
Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing will deliver its first Y-12(IV) Twin Panda turboprop airframe to the Canadian Aerospace Group (CAG) in August for final completion and supplementary type certification, before delivery to a US customer in March 1999. CAG says it has secured the first order for two Y-12s from an ...
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Asian crisis will cost 150 orders in next five years, says Boeing
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON The still unfolding economic crisis in Asia has had a big impact on Boeing's latest long-term aircraft forecasts, with predictions that the regional downturn will cost 150 aircraft orders over the next five years. Prospects for the launch of a high-capacity aircraft above the 747-400 have ...
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Europeans forge ahead with EGNOS, despite AEA fears
Julian Moxon/PARIS Europe is pressing ahead with the introduction of a high fidelity complement to the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) despite repeated accusations from the Association of European Airlines (AEA)that it "-fails to provide any operational benefits for users". Final negotiations are now under way with the ...
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Sextant/Dassault agree new venture
Julian Moxon/PARIS Sextant Avionique and Dassault Electronique have agreed details of their new joint venture, which will operate under the name CNS Avionics within a French GIE structure similar to the consortium arrangement used for Airbus Industrie. The two companies will continue to market their own avionics lines, ...