The United Arab Emirates' General Civil Aviation Authority has banned a widely used cargo aircraft from UAE airspace, citing safety concerns. A number of recent accidents involving the Antonov An-12, a four-engine turboprop plane, prompting the authority to blacklist the plane last week. The An-12 has a range of more than 3,000 km and can carry a payload of 20 tonnes. About a half-dozen small carriers in the UAE use the Soviet-era aircraft to carry goods such as medicine and food to destinations … [Read more...] about Antonov An-12s banned from UAE airspace
Aircraft Manufacturers
Boeing set to slash 4,500 jobs
Chicago-based Boeing has announced that it will eliminate 4,500 jobs from its commercial work force in 2009, with 60-day layoff notices going out next month. Most of the jobs will be cut from its Seattle-based commercial airplane division. The job cuts will not be unionized machinists - which paralysed the company with a strike late last year - but rather administrative positions and what the company described as employees in "overhead functions." "This is a difficult and painful decision," … [Read more...] about Boeing set to slash 4,500 jobs
China to take delivery of 241 aircraft in ’09
China to take delivery of 241 aircraft in '09 China is set take delivery of 241 new planes this year, 16 of which are delayed orders from 2008, Dow Jones reported. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) the new aircraft would increase passenger seat capacity by 16 per cent despite the leases on 43 planes expiring this year. … [Read more...] about China to take delivery of 241 aircraft in ’09
China to take delivery of 241 aircraft in '09
China to take delivery of 241 aircraft in '09 China is set take delivery of 241 new planes this year, 16 of which are delayed orders from 2008, Dow Jones reported. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) the new aircraft would increase passenger seat capacity by 16 per cent despite the leases on 43 planes expiring this year. … [Read more...] about China to take delivery of 241 aircraft in '09
Thai Airways delays Airbus payment
Thai Airways International said Tuesday it had reached an agreement with Airbus to postpone the first payment for six A330 aircraft to be delivered in 2009 after being hit by the Thai airport closures and global economic crisis, according to Reuters. The Thai carrier had ordered eight A330 aircraft with six of them will be delivered this year, with the first due in April. The delivery of six A380 superjumbos is still on track for December 2010. The first payment will be postponed to April from … [Read more...] about Thai Airways delays Airbus payment
B787 problems force A330 freighter delay
Ongoing production delays of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner passenger aircraft is resulting in customers looking to Airbus passenger aircraft as a replacement which is forcing Airbus to postpone production of its freighters. Setbacks in technical development and an eight-week strike by machinists that ended only in November, has pushed delivery of the 787 to two years behind schedule, costing Boeing an estimated US$2 billion. But for carriers still needing passenger capacity despite the tough … [Read more...] about B787 problems force A330 freighter delay
