All Systems & interiors articles – Page 865
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News
Alitalia in for a rough ride
The European Commission has asked Alitalia to reassess its proposed restructuring plan and even then looks set to rule that the carrier's planned injection is state aid. It will also be looking at Alitalia's linkup with Air France, while both carriers suffer further industrial unrest. The revelation that ...
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It's all in the name
Martin Shugrue is being self-effacing these days. 'Hey, if it was just me calling up people and telling them about Air Marty Start-up Airlines, that would not get us anywhere,' he admits. What is attracting attention within the industry, he maintains, is the fact that his new airline is called ...
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Viasa future looks bleak
Iberia and the Venezuelan government were playing a game of brinksmanship at presstime after flag carrier Viasa ran out of cash and ceased operations on 23 January. Both sides are believed to be willing to let the airline fold but, according to one source close to the negotiations, ...
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US cracks softest nuts
Hard on the heels of a landmark open skies pact between the US and Singapore, neighbouring Malaysia is poised to sign a similar deal - giving Washington a significant boost in cracking the tough nut of protectionism that exists in Asia-Pacific. The US hopes the breakthroughs will have ...
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Why the customer must still be king
Survival is key for airlines but their main focus should be on the passenger. British Airways' chief executive Bob Ayling was recently asked what he would do to change the aeronautical world were he given the power to do so. His answer went along these lines: 'It's flattering to be ...
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Surviving the customer
Innovation has always been difficult in the airline business. The basic airline product is uniform throughout the industry, and any incremental change by one carrier is usually taken up by its competitors quickly - if it is successful. To survive and stay ahead of their competitors, airlines are constantly looking ...
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Latin five set to liberalise
South America's five Mercosur nations are taking a significant if limited step towards open skies in the southern cone. The presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay have inked an accord that would give airlines from those countries the right to launch third and fourth freedom services ...
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Freight frighteners
After persistently failing to ensure on-time delivery of its product to Japan by air, a major European pharmaceutical company was forced to take a multi-million dollar stake in a local Japanese drug company to ensure consistency of supply in a last desperate bid to retain a foothold in this lucrative ...
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People movers
Hang on. The flight attendant in the blue Delta Air Lines uniform has an unmistakable Dublin accent, akin to that of her green-clad colleagues on the Aer Lingus Dublin-JFK flight. Either 100 years of Irish immigration to the US have failed to alter speech patterns or airline alliances are taking ...
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Weber pens strike plea
Chairman Jürgen Weber is attempting to stir up an internal debate at Lufthansa in a bid to persuade the pilot-dominated DAG union to pull back from strike action. In an unprecedented move Weber sent a letter to all Lufthansa employees in late January outlining the threats to Lufthansa ...
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Alitalia and Honeywell/Racal to run Aero-1 satcoms trial
Alitalia is to run a single-aircraft trial of new-generation satellite-communication (satcom) avionics intended to reduce call charges drastically. The Italian flag carrier has agreed with the Honeywell/Racal Avionics satcom team to put the Aero-I equipment on a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 once the new service is implemented by Inmarsat - ...
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Qatar finalises fleet renewal plan
Qatar Airways has arranged to lease two Airbus A300s to replace its fleet of Boeing 747s on long-haul services from its base in Doha. The airline, which underwent a major management and strategic revamp late in 1996 (Flight International 11-17 December 1996, P10), will introduce two ex-Garuda Pratt & ...
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Manx Airlines selects EMB-145
Manx Airlines has finalised its long-awaited regional-jet order with a contract for up to five Embraer EMB-145s, the first of which will be delivered in June for operation on the airline's British Airways Express franchise services. The airline selected the Brazilian regional jet after a three-way fight involving ...
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A340 switches: re-active or pro-active reaction?
Sir - In the article "Airbus fits switch guards after A340 hydraulic incident" (Flight International, 12-18 February, P16), Airbus Industrie describes the move to install guards as part of its "pro-active" stance on cockpit safety. If that stance were really pro-active, would not the A340 switch guards have ...
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Extra investigates turboprop EA 400
German aircraft manufacturer Extra Flugzeugbau is investigating a turboprop version of its six-seat EA 400 tourer machine. According to Extra, the idea has attracted strong interest from potential customers, particularly in the light of the US Federal Aviation Administration's forthcoming repeal of the ban on commercial, instrument-flight-rules (IFR), ...
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Greenwich absorbs UNC to create overhaul giant
Greenwich Air Services is poised to make its biggest acquisition to date with agreement to take over UNC. The combined group will become the world's largest independent engine-services operation, with annual sales of around $1.8 billion and more than 10,000 employees. Greenwich chairman Eugene Conese says that the ...
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Tiny aircraft come under study
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is considering funding research into so-called micro air vehicles - aircraft with wingspans which measure just 150mm - which scientists believe could be used for tasks such as surveillance and detection of toxic chemicals on the battlefield. The aim is ...
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Brit'Air order launches Canadair stretched CRJ
FRENCH REGIONAL airline Brit'Air is the launch customer for the stretched, 70-seat Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ)Series 700, with a firm order for four aircraft. The Canadian company says that it has options and conditional orders for a further 28 aircraft, plus memoranda of understanding for another 35, ...
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Fokker hopes focus on Malaysian rescue
Fokker's assembly lines face final closure in May, unless administrators running the bankrupt Dutch manufacturer succeed in pulling off a last-ditch rescue plan. Hopes of saving the company centre on talks with a coalition of Malaysian and Dutch investment groups. The latest report from the Fokker administrators says ...
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Falcon 20-B retrofit
Garrett Aviation and AlliedSignal have formed an exclusive partnership under which the latter will continue to market the TFE731 engine retrofit to CF700-powered Falcon 20 operators. Garrett will put its own Falcon 20s into the programme, retrofit and refurbish them, and offer the re-engined -20Bs for sale to non-Falcon 20 ...