As airlines seek to shed costs associated with expensive component repair and overhaul (R&O) activity, lucrative opportunities are emerging for companies with the wherewithal to provide such capability. U.S. engines and avionics giant Honeywell considers itself one such entity.
Air Transport and Cargo
News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.
December 13, 2006 - 7:28am
“Safety is not a book, not software; it’s a culture,” said Airbus training and flight operations support and services vice president Jean-Michel Roy, describing new flight- and ground-training systems introduced with the new A380 very large airliner. The latest Airbus inherits many characteristics of the established A320/A330/A340 fly-by-wire (FBW) models.
December 13, 2006 - 7:22am
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is about to oversee tests of antimissile airliner protection equipment on board an American Airlines Boeing 767. By year-end, three aircraft are to be used for testing prototype equipment under development by Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems as officials seek to resolve whether the systems can be sufficiently effective and affordable for mass deployment on civil airliners.
December 13, 2006 - 7:18am
To many, the notion that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will one day fly alongside passenger airliners and other aircraft, in fair weather and foul, still seems like science fiction. Yet civil aviation authorities in Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and elsewhere are now finalizing rules under which these operations will take place, possibly as soon as 2010.
December 13, 2006 - 7:15am
Airbus believes it is close to correcting a fuel management software glitch that contributed to a Virgin Atlantic Airways A340-600 diversion earlier this year. In related work, Airbus also has begun a fleet-wide retrofit program that should eliminate false fuel system fault messages.
December 13, 2006 - 7:04am
European engine manufacturers are joining forces on Vital, a research program co-funded by the European Commission that aims to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and noise emissions by commercial aircraft.
December 13, 2006 - 7:01am
Airlines around the world in the market for equipment to serve the emerging 100-seat sector have no fewer than five choices to evaluate here at the Paris Air Show this week. Bombardier with its new C Series and Embraer with the 190/195 family enjoy a high profile, but alternative programs conceived farther east won’t easily let the Western airframers steal the show.
December 13, 2006 - 6:55am
Gamesa, the Spanish aerospace equipment manufacturer, has begun a drastic cost-reduction plan for the current financial year following a two-thirds plunge in profits due mainly to a reduction in orders from Embraer. The company does not expect that new business from the Airbus A380 super-large airliner will compensate for its short-term revenue loss and has warned that if action is not taken, it expects losses next year.
December 13, 2006 - 6:52am
Aircraft cushion specialist Celso says interest is rising for its Soly’t lightened cushion. Thanks to its presence in the cabin of the new Airbus A380 airliner, the small French company is gaining market exposure. Here at the Paris Air Show, it is exhibiting its newest product in Hall 2 Stand I5b.
December 12, 2006 - 1:13pm
The three new communications media that have become indispensable in recent years– cellular telephony, electronic mail and the worldwide Web–are now becoming a realistic option for the airlines.
