Systems & interiors – Page 893
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News
Air France Europe 'may disappear', says Blanc
Julian Moxon/PARIS AIR FRANCE Group president Christian Blanc has threatened the workforce of Air France Europe with the "disappearance" of the airline if Draconian measures to restore performance are not under- taken in the next two years. At a board meeting on 25 April, Blanc ...
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ANZ optimistic over Ansett buy-out
Air New Zealand (ANZ) has set a 30 June target date to complete its stalled NZ$350 million ($241 million) buy-out of TNT's 50% stake in Ansett. In April, the New Zealand Commerce Commission blocked ANZ's bid because it would have resulted in the carrier also acquiring 50% of domestic competitor ...
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Bombardier shows Australian maritime-patrol Dash 8s
BOMBARDIER is conducting a 12-country demonstration tour with the first of three de Havilland Dash 8-200 maritime-patrol aircraft for Surveillance Australia. The tour began in Scandinavia, and is continuing through the Mediterranean, Middle East and Asia, with the aircraft due to arrive in Australia in June and enter service in ...
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Airbus bids to slash A310 costs to rival Boeing 757
Paul Lewis/TOULOUSE AIRBUS INDUSTRIE is studying ways of cutting the cost of its A310 aircraft, in an effort to revive sales and counter proposed higher-gross-weight developments of the Boeing 757. According to Adam Brown, Airbus vice-president for strategic planning, the company is looking at a ...
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AST becomes the first victim of UK training policy
David Learmount/LONDON THE UK'S OLDEST flying training school has become the first victim of a Government policy loophole enabling UK pilots to gain UK commercial pilot's licences in foreign training establishments. The 60-year-old Air Services Training (AST) at Perth, Scotland, announced on 26 April that ...
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Hughes victor as FAA switches WAAS deal
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DCGraham Warwick/ATLANTA WILCOX ELECTRIC says that its $475 million Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) contract was terminated by the US Federal Aviation Administration because the agency became "a victim of its own experience" of cost and schedule overruns on previous programmes. The FAA ...
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New Sabena chief warns that costs must be reduced
Herman de Wulf/BRUSSELS SABENA'S NEW president, Paul Reutlinger, has warned staff that the ailing carrier needs to shave billions of Belgian francs from its cost base. Reutlinger, who joined Sabena from Swissair after Pierre Godfroid's resignation, says that the carrier needs to make annual savings of ...
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Afrique rebels
Flight crew, cabin crew and ground staff unions at Air Afrique are threatening strike action in a bid to topple the carrier's president Yves Roland-Billecarte and his management team following the failure of a number of rescue packages, according to the International Transport Workers Federation. The carrier is predicting losses ...
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Latin American lead
Increasingly creative financial mechanisms and new products that insure against political and contractual risks, are providing incentives for private sector investment in Latin American and Caribbean airports. By Ellis Juan.As the air transport sector continues its rapid expansion in an increasingly globalised economy, the entry of fast-growing new participants like ...
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Europe's cost crisis
What does it take to ensure the start up of a profitable low-cost carrier in Europe? Hugh Parry looks at the pitfalls and compares the cost of operating in Europe to what is on offer in the US.Imagine an airline based at London/Heathrow flying to Paris 15 times a ...
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Dealing in Deutsche marks
The German tax lease market is growing, and providing an important source of aircraft funds, but there are fears that any liberties taken with structures could lead to tighter regulation by the tax authorities. Trevor French reports.It doesn't often happen that the arcane world of aircraft finance hits the front ...
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Food for thought
Cost-cutting and branding are the mantras of today's airline managers and nowhere are the two more entwined than in the catering product - one of the main elements of inflight service that governs customer loyalty. By Mark Odell. In the dual battle for profitability and greater competitiveness the drive for ...
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Airline news
Lufthansa is launching an on-line reservation service that can be accessed through either a CD-ROM format or through the Internet or other on-line services. Distribution of the CD-ROM is in conjunction with travel agents, who will be able to customse their own versions of the disc. South African ...
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Pressing for open skies
The US Department of Transportation has in general had strong support from the halls of Congress of late - especially in the realm of international aviation issues. In a late March floor speech, Larry Pressler, South Dakota Republican and chairman of the Senate commerce committee, spoke on the ...
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PAL recovery under threat
The recovery of Philippine Airlines from disastrous financial losses over the past two years is under threat from rising competition from a growing number of startups with ambitions to launch on to key regional routes. Grand Air and Cebu Pacific Air, which have both made inroads on domestic ...
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CLK ponders runway two
Forecasters are about to release new traffic estimates that could dictate whether Hong Kong accelerates work on a second Chek Lap Kok runway, which would strengthen its claim as an international hub, as the geopolitical transition now underway in the region begins to undermine its role as the gateway to ...
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Is it just pie in the sky?
When an airline can save $1.5 million a year by serving salads without a lettuce liner which nobody eats anyway, you know that cost-cutting has begun to bite. These days, catering represents quite a dilemma for airlines. The marketeers say food remains a way for airlines to differentiate ...
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Big four split over labour
In their talks with labour unions, four US majors are achieving widely divergent results. FedEx and Delta have resolved protracted negotiations with their pilots. However, American Airlines is still deadlocked with its pilots after almost two years of talks. United Airlines' flight attendants have narrowly defeated a new contract with ...
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Chill winds hit Geneva
Political niceties have given way to economic realities as Swissair concentrates its longhaul activities in Zürich, moving several international destinations from Geneva. 'There is a change in the economic environment in this business and we are no longer in a position to pay attention to political considerations,' says Martin Bisang, ...