Systems & interiors – Page 802
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Global outlook
With the world economy poised to slow in 1999, the airline industry may finally get the chance to show whether it has learned the lessons of the last recession. Even the most experienced of forecasters has been forced to admit that 1998 was a difficult year to call. As ...
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The rise of the global super brands
Global alliances are attempting to build and enhance new common brands, while protecting the core products of their members. It felt like a delayed reaction. Some 18 months ago Lufthansa, United Airlines, Air Canada, SAS and Thai International, later joined by Varig, jumped feet first into the branding game ...
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Economy challenge
Rising numbers of frequent business travellers fly in economy class and the trend is intensifying. By Doug Cameron. Business class seats may be getting flatter and IFE screens even bigger but the battle for premium passengers is moving inexonerably towards the back of the aircraft. For all the product upgrades ...
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TAM seeks foreign fish
Transportes Aereos Meridionais (TAM) of Brazil, which has seen profitability fall at home following a fare war and recession, was to launch its first international flights on 28 December with a daily Sao Paulo-Miami service. "It's much easier to tap a lake with fish than an empty lake," says Rolim ...
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Could you please confirm
No-one can hope to predict when a crisis will strike but you can be ready to limit the damage to brands and reputation It is the moment every airline executive dreads. To be woken in the early hours of the morning by the insistent summons of the telephone and ...
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Money well spent?
Interactive inflight entertainment technology may not have lived up to its promise as a lucrative new revenue stream, but carriers are spending more than ever on the technology to retain a competitive marketing edge. Airlines have already spent a fortune on inflight entertainment (IFE) and the sums are getting ...
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Taking action over passives
In the battle to cut distribution costs, the airlines are fighting hard to reduce computer reservation fees for passive and duplicate bookings. But despite progress on both sides of the Atlantic, the issue remains a cause of tension. Passive or duplicate ticket bookings may be sound harmless enough, but airlines ...
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Vanity fare
Luxury seats, gourmet meals and complimentary amenity kits are all commonplace in business class. As premium products continue to improve is there a future for first class or will its adepts start to want more value for money? The fallout from the global financial crisis in the second half ...
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Marconi begins NG 737 head-up display tests
Marconi Avionics has begun flight testing the HUD 2020 head-up display for the Next Generation (NG) 737 on a leased 737-800 based at Mojave, California. The tests are aimed at achieving US Federal Aviation Administration certification in the first quarter of 1999, followed by immediate deliveries to Boeing for ...
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Delta scales back Los Angeles operations
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Delta Air Lines is scaling back services to Los Angeles by discontinuing its codeshare arrangements with SkyWest Airlines. At the same time it is strengthening its Asian presence with the signature of a co-operation deal with China Southern Airlines. The two companies have announced that ...
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Blind alley
It would be difficult to describe the prospects for future supersonic civil transports as anything other than bleak, and getting bleaker, even as the enabling technology is advancing. Notwithstanding the promise of a supersonic corporate jet getting off the ground, there seems little realistic likelihood of even premium airline passengers ...
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The final frontier
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Every time a Space Shuttle blasts off, its booming sound waves pass unseen over the forgotten bones of a long abandoned project. Lying at the edge of the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, are the forlorn remains of Boeing's 2707-200 supersonic transport (SST) full-scale mock-up. Abandoned when the ...
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Thai probe focuses on ILS and weather
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Investigations into the accident which destroyed the Airbus A310 operating Thai Airways International flight TG261 on 11 December are focusing on weather conditions, human factors and the lack of a working instrument landing system (ILS) at Surat Thani Airport, Thailand. The 12-year-old A310-200 (HS-TIA), one of ...
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Boeing hopes repairs will occupy Long Beach
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing is resorting to introducing repair and modification work to keep its Long Beach plant in California busy, following the reversal of plans to set up a Next Generation 737 assembly line at the former Douglas factory. Boeing 737 operators face the prospect of their ...
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SIA eyes Ansett as it aims for Australian foothold
After months of speculation, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has confirmed interest in taking an equity stake in Ansett Australia. The airline released a speech made at the University of Melbourne by SIA deputy chairman and chief executive Cheong Choong Kong, in which he tacitly refers to an interest, while stopping ...
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BA chooses to bring A320 training in-house
British Airways is to bring training for its new fleet of Airbus A320s in house, with the airline's Flight Training (BAFT) division finalising the acquisition of its first Airbus simulator. In August, BA selected the A320 family for its future short-haul fleet, placing orders and options for up to ...
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Low cost is key for regional jet, airlines tell Bombardier
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Bombardier has launched technology cost/benefit studies after the first meeting of its BRJ-X airline advisory council confirmed that potential customers for the 90-seat regional jet are looking for the lowest possible operating cost. The council conducted preliminary talks on fly-by-wire versus conventional flight controls, steel ...
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Austria favoured for Ceats ATC centre
An independent report has come out in favour of Austria as the location for a new air traffic control centre for the central European area. While there is still some dissent on the findings of the report, there is, say industry sources, "considerable optimism" that the findings will be ...
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Star picks managers as it gears up for fight
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH The six airline members of the Star Alliance have appointed a dedicated management team to take over the day-to-day running of their operation in a bid to achieve more effective co-operation in key areas. The move forms part of aggressive plans by Star, the largest members ...
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The spectrum challenge
Chris Yates/MANCHESTER The aeronautical community must pool its resources and protect its strategic interests if it is to avoid losing the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in satellite navigation. The threat comes from an Inmarsat-sponsored proposal, currently before the International Telecommunications Union-World Radio Council (ITU-WRC), to share frequencies ...